In a wide range of everyday activities, humans actively collect information from the environment and use this information to perform motor actions, as accurately as possible. Typically, it occurs when people play sports, drive a car, dance, or play musical instruments, but also when they perform simpler actions such as walking. The correct execution of similar activities often requires people to perceive one’s own and other’s movements, make fast decisions, and prepare an adequate motor response. In this regard, research on perceptual-motor processes helps us understand the functioning of the human mind when perceiving and performing complex movements. In particular, research allows us to understand how humans perceive biological motion in ecological settings and provides us with useful information to create proper interventions aimed at improving motor performances, both of healthy people and of individuals affected by neurological/movement disorders.

The aim of the present Research Topic is twofold. On the one hand, we intend to provide new evidence on biological motion perception and mental representation of complex movements through the integration of auditory and visual information. On the other hand, we would like to show how auditory and visual cues can affect motor production, including the effects of perceptual-motor interventions in different domains.

We welcome submissions of manuscripts dealing with (but not limited to): perceptual-motor training in applied contexts (e.g., sport, dance, music, driving); modulation of movements through sounds and/or videos in laboratory tasks and in ecological situations; influence of auditory and/or visual cues on biological motion perception; novice-expert differences in perceiving and performing complex movements, as well as in decision making associated with motor actions; biological motion perception and perceptual-motor training in patients affected by neurological/movement disorders.

We encourage researchers with different backgrounds and expertise to contribute interdisciplinary studies dealing with the above mentioned (and similar) topics. Therefore, contributions of multi-disciplinary research teams including psychologists, medical doctors, engineers, physical therapists, and sport scientists are more than welcome. Research studies using new technologies such as virtual reality and sonification are also welcome, as well as studies using more traditional methods.

We will consider both manuscripts with a mainly theoretical focus and contributions dealing with more practical issues. We encourage researchers to contribute original papers, review articles, and opinion papers, as well as other types of contributions supported by Frontiers.

Keywords: Perception, Action, Movement, Auditory information, Visual information, Sport, Music, Movement disorders, Complex movements, Training, Rehabilitation

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.