From planning to action: Fundamental insights on movement planning in the brain

by Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg

edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan

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When the signal sounds, all the runners push off from their starting blocks and set off sprinting. We can act within fractions of a second because we plan movements in our brains in advance, before carrying them out. At the interdisciplinary research center BrainLinks–BrainTools at the University of Freiburg, a team of 15 researchers from the fields of biology, artificial intelligence and neurotechnology has investigated in greater detail how the transition from mentally preparing a movement to actually executing it with one's muscles is controlled at the neural level. In their article, published in the journal Cell Reports, the researchers propose an improved model for understanding the neural processes involved in movement planning.

"Thanks to this basic research, we now have a better understanding of the neural processes in the brain that control movements. In the long term, these findings could be used to develop treatments or aids for people with mobility impairments. For example, sensors could detect movement signals in the brain and transmit them to a smart prosthesis," says Dr. Ilka Diester, spokesperson for the Center BrainLinks–BrainTools and professor of optophysiology at the Faculty of Biology, who designed the study with Dr. Joschka Bödecker, professor of computer science at the Faculty of Engineering.

Measurement of neural activity during movement planning and execution

For the study, the researchers trained rats to move a lever with their hand until they felt a vibration and then release it. As a reward, they received a drop of sugar water. Their neural activity was recorded during this experiment.

Regarding movement planning and execution, the rodent brain is similar to the human brain. Both contain two specific areas that become active when movements are planned and executed: the premotor and primary motor cortexes.

"Up to now, it was unclear precisely how movement planning is coordinated between these two areas of the brain. Above all, we wondered why these two brain regions show activity even before the movement is executed and without any premature movement occurring," explains Dr. Julian Ammer, senior researcher in Diester's Optophysiology Research Group and one of the first authors of the study, along with Dr. Mansour Alyahyay, Dr. Gabriel Kalweit and Hao Zhu.

The switching population hypothesis

The research team has demonstrated how the commands are transmitted at the neural level: During movement planning, neurons in the premotor cortex communicate with both inhibitory and excitatory neurons in the primary motor cortex. The command to execute a movement can be given only once neural activity in the premotor cortex has shifted to neurons that communicate primarily with excitatory neurons in the primary motor cortex. Only then can an external signal—in the experiment, the vibration of the lever—trigger the execution of the movement.

The research team refers to the assumption that this shifting pattern of neural activity enables the precise execution of a planned movement as the switching population hypothesis. The researchers propose that this hypothesis replace the two previously dominant hypotheses.

Interdisciplinary collaboration between biology, artificial intelligence and anatomy

The findings were made possible through interdisciplinary collaboration at the BrainLinks–BrainTools research center at the University of Freiburg: Diester's research group specializes in using light signals to influence the activity of individual neurons, determining what function they perform. An AI model supported the interpretation of the activity patterns and their role in the planning and execution of movement. The model was developed by Bödecker and his team specifically for this study and enabled the researchers to predict how different groups of neurons influence behavior.

In addition, Dr. Andreas Vlachos, head of the Department of Neuroanatomy at the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, used electron microscope images to demonstrate the connections between neurons in the premotor cortex and inhibitory and excitatory neurons in the primary motor cortex at the cellular level. This supports the switching population hypothesis from an anatomical perspective.

Publication details

Mansour Alyahyay et al, Mechanisms of premotor-motor cortex interactions during movement initiation, Cell Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117542

Journal information: Cell Reports

Key medical concepts

Area, PremotorArea 4, Brodmann

Clinical categories

Neurology Provided by Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg Who's behind this story?

Lisa Lock

BA art history, MA material culture. Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator. Editing for Science X since 2021. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

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