We typically think of memory as something static—a recording of past experiences. However, motor working memory reveals a far more dynamic neural landscape where our brain constantly prepares, rehearses, and refines movement sequences. Imagine your brain as a sophisticated choreographer, constantly drafting and tweaking movement plans before they become physical actions.
This research opens exciting pathways for understanding skill acquisition, rehabilitation strategies, and potentially even how we might enhance human motor learning. By examining how our brains temporarily store and manipulate motor information, scientists could develop targeted interventions for individuals with movement disorders, optimize athletic training techniques, and gain deeper insights into the intricate dance between cognitive planning and physical execution. The potential implications stretch from helping stroke patients regain motor control to advancing our comprehension of how expert musicians, athletes, and craftspeople achieve remarkable precision.
Working memory (WM) is crucial for planning, reasoning, and learning, and is one of the most extensively studied topics in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. However, the concept of a WM subsystem for motor content – or ‘motor working memory’ (MWM) – is generally neglected, even though MWM likely plays an important role in everyday action. Here, we synthesize evidence that the brain both prospectively and retrospectively maintains motor content in WM and propose that MWM carries out multiple key computational functions in motor control and skill learning. A focused research program on MWM is overdue and will deepen our understanding of the links between cognition and action.