Left posterior parietal brain stimulation to boost motor learning
Official title: Lateralization of posterior-parietal cortex contributions to motor learning
Funded at Pennsylvania State University, the · NIH-11385434 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study tests whether non-invasive brain stimulation to the left back part of the brain can help people learn new movements faster and transfer skills between limbs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State University, the NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (University Park, United States) |
| Project start | September 16, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $561,909 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS139424-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11385434 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults, including individuals with a history of stroke affecting motor learning.
✕Less likely to help
Participants with conditions or circumstances that contraindicate non-invasive brain stimulation may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project uses healthy volunteers and stroke patients to explore how the left posterior parietal cortex contributes to two kinds of motor learning: adapting to changes and building new skills. Researchers apply non-invasive brain stimulation (HD-tDCS) to the left PPC while participants perform motor tasks and measure learning and memory transfer between limbs. The goal is to understand if targeted stimulation can enhance learning and consolidation of motor memories. Findings could inform rehabilitation approaches for stroke survivors and others needing improved motor relearning.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could lead to new brain-stimulation approaches to accelerate rehabilitation and improve everyday motor skills.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work suggests left PPC involvement in motor learning and lateralized effects, supporting this approach as plausible but still exploratory.
Where this research is happening
-
Pennsylvania State University, the
University Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sainburg, Robert L — Pennsylvania State University, the
- Study coordinator: Sainburg, Robert L
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Population Research Institute: Understanding how communities, movement, and social factors shape health across ages
A Pennsylvania State University research center is studying how where people live, move, and participate in families affects health and well‑being from childhood through adulthood.
-
Integrated data platform for infectious disease research using scalable public infrastructure
A large NIH grant funds a platform that makes infectious-disease data easier to access, combine, and analyze using powerful public infrastructure so researchers can work faster and more collaboratively.
-
READI-SET-GO: Improving Delirium Screening for Hospitalized Older Adults
A hospital-based program tests how well routine nurse delirium screening using UB-CAM works when integrated into the electronic health record to improve outcomes for older patients.
-
Healthy Brain and Child Development: a big study following kids from birth through age 10
A large, nationwide study will follow 7,200 mothers and their babies to map how early life experiences shape brain growth and development.
-
How sex differences affect the rewarding feel of aggression in the brain
This grant explores why aggressive experiences feel more rewarding in females and how specific brain circuits and chemical signals shape this in both sexes.
-
How parents' emotions shape young children's anxiety
This project explores how parents' moment-by-moment emotions and bodily signals shape anxiety in children from infancy through age 11.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.