Dr. Reza Shadmehr: Computational Motor Control & The Cerebellum

For today's episode we learn about the cerebellum with Dr. Reza Shadmehr. Dr. Shadmehr is a trailblazing neuroscientist whose groundbreaking work has reshaped our understanding of how the brain controls movement. With a rich academic journey—from a bachelor’s in electrical engineering to a PhD in robotics and computer science, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT—Dr. Shadmehr now leads the Shadmehr Lab at Johns Hopkins University. We dive into his pioneering theories, including motor memory consolidation, state space theory, and the neural encoding of action by the cerebellum’s Purkinje cells. The conversation explores the physics of motor movement, prediction, error correction, and the often-overlooked power of the cerebellum—a brain region Dr. Shadmehr calls an “underrated yet powerful” player in our daily lives.

Dr. Shadmehr shar ...