Nicholas Cothros
Papers
5
Total Citations
262
H-Index
4
About
Nicholas Cothros is a neuroscientist whose research bridges motor learning, neural representation, and cognitive control. His work primarily focuses on how the brain encodes and adapts to novel dynamic environments during movement, with key contributions to understanding interference in motor skill acquisition. In his highly cited 2006 study (103 citations), Cothros demonstrated that the brain forms distinct neural representations for object and limb dynamics, a foundational insight into motor memory. His subsequent work (67 citations each) revealed that proactive interference in motor learning stems from persisting neural traces in primary motor cortex, and that visual cues signaling object grasp can reduce such interference—advancing theories of how we learn to manipulate tools. Cothros also explored haptic cues, finding they do not similarly mitigate interference, and extended his research into clinical populations, examining inhibitory control deficits in children with tic disorders using an innovative object-hit-and-avoid task. With over 260 total citations, his studies have shaped understanding of motor learning's neural substrates and interference mechanisms, offering implications for rehabilitation and skill acquisition.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Are there distinct neural representations of object and limb dynamics?103 citations · 2006
- 2Visual Cues Signaling Object Grasp Reduce Interference in Motor Learning67 citations · 2009
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