From Neural Decoding to Neuromodulation: Translating Sensorimotor–Affective Circuit Biomarkers into Neuromodulation Control

Sensorimotor and affective processes are deeply intertwined through distributed neural circuits spanning cortical and subcortical structures. Dysfunctions within these sensorimotor–sensory–affective (SSA) circuits can manifest as a broad spectrum of neurological and psychiatric conditions, including movement disorders, chronic pain syndromes, affective dysregulation, and related comorbidities. Understanding circuit-level mechanisms underlying these complex domains is therefore of high clinical relevance.
In recent years, rapid advances in electrophysiology, functional neuroimaging, and multimodal biosignal acquisition have enabled increasingly precise observation of circuit dynamics across spatial and temporal scales. Building on these observational and analytical capabilities, the field is moving toward the translation of decoded circuit features into actionable entities—such as neural biomarkers, predictive signatures, and control commands—that can support brain–machine/muscle–machine interfaces, guide neuromodulation targeting, enable closed-loop intervention, and improve clinical prognostication. These developments collectively signal a paradigm shift: from descriptive circuit mapping to interventional, adaptive, and patient-specific circuit control.

This Research Topic aims to catalyze interdisciplinary efforts that bridge (i) robust neural decoding of SSA circuit dysfunction and (ii) the development of translational tools for neuromodulation and clinical decision-making. We seek contributions that:
1. advance rigorous methodologies for monitoring and decoding SSA circuit dynamics;
2. transform decoded features into reliable biomarkers/predictors/control policies;
3. enable closed-loop neurotechnology and neuromodulation strategies for movement, sensory, and affective dysfunction; and
4. demonstrate or critically evaluate clinical translation pathways, including feasibility, safety, personalization, and outcome prediction.
Submissions may span mechanistic, methodological, computational, engineering, and clinical perspectives, with an emphasis on transparency, validation, and reproducibility.
We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:
1) Electrophysiology-based monitoring & decoding of sensorimotor–sensory dysfunction
• Invasive and noninvasive electrophysiology (EEG/MEG/EMG/HD-EMG/ECoG) for circuit monitoring
• Feature extraction of abnormal motor/sensory processing (oscillations, connectivity, cross-frequency coupling, evoked potentials)
• Task- and state-dependent decoding; robustness across sessions/subjects
• Validation strategies: test–retest reliability, cross-site generalization, confound control
2) Closed-loop neural interfaces for SSA-related dysfunction
• Closed-loop Brain-Computer Interface, Muscle–machine interfaces, and hybrid systems (brain–muscle–peripheral signals)
• Adaptive decoding and control policies (online learning, drift correction, personalization)
• Feedback design (sensory feedback, affect-aware feedback, reinforcement signals)
• Clinical feasibility studies in movement impairment, chronic pain, or affective dysregulation contexts
3) Neuromodulation for affective dysregulation and neuropsychiatric disorders
• TMS, DBS, ultrasound neuromodulation, tES, vagus/peripheral stimulation, and multimodal combinations
• Circuit-guided targeting and dose optimization; individualized stimulation strategies
• Biomarker-driven patient stratification and response prediction
• Mechanistic studies linking stimulation to circuit dynamics and symptom change
4) Novel decoding methods and computational tools for fine-grained circuit characterization
• Data-rich and high-dimensional bio-signal representations supporting fine-grained circuit decoding, including high-density EMG, multimodal neural recordings, and integrated brain–peripheral signal spaces
• Subject-specific neural signatures and neural fingerprints, capturing stable yet adaptable individual circuit characteristics across tasks, states, and time
• Distributed circuit models and network-level biomarkers, including controllability- and observability-inspired approaches for understanding and manipulating large-scale neural systems
• Advanced computational frameworks such as generative and causal models, state-space modeling, multimodal data fusion, graph-based machine learning, and foundation-model-enabled neural decoding
• Reproducible and open science resources, including open-source toolboxes, benchmarking datasets, standardized evaluation protocols, and transparent analysis pipelines
5) Clinical translation and real-world deployment
• Biomarker qualification: sensitivity/specificity, predictive validity, clinical utility
• Human factors, longitudinal monitoring, home-based/ambulatory systems
• Regulatory, safety, ethics, privacy, and data governance considerations
• Pragmatic trials, comparative effectiveness, health-system integration

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Sensorimotor–affective circuits (SSA), Neural decoding, Multimodal biosignals, Closed-loop neuromodulation, Circuit-based biomarkers

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.