Motor Control
Official Journal of the International Society of Motor Control
Indexed in: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE, ProQuest, APA PsycINFO, EBSCOhost, Google Scholar
Print ISSN: 1087-1640
Online ISSN: 1543-2696
2023 Impact Factor: 0.9
2023 CiteScore: 1.8
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Motor Control (MC), a peer-reviewed journal, provides a multidisciplinary examination of human movement across the lifespan. To keep you abreast of current developments in the field of motor control, it offers timely coverage of important topics, including issues related to motor disorders. This international journal publishes many types of research papers, from clinical experimental to modeling and theoretical studies. These papers come from such varied disciplines as biomechanics, kinesiology, neurophysiology, neuroscience, psychology, physical medicine, and rehabilitation.
MC is published quarterly in January, April, July, and October.
Mission
Motor Control, the official journal of the International Society of Motor Control, is designed to provide a multidisciplinary forum for the exchange of scientific information on the control of human movement across the lifespan, including issues related to motor disorders.
Motor Control encourages submission of papers from a variety of disciplines including, but not limited to, biomechanics, kinesiology, neurophysiology, neuroscience, psychology, physical medicine, and rehabilitation. This peer-reviewed journal publishes a wide variety of types of research papers including clinical experimental, modeling, and theoretical studies. To be considered for publication, papers should clearly demonstrate a contribution to the understanding of control of movement.
In addition to publishing research papers, Motor Control publishes review articles, quick communications, commentaries, target articles, and book reviews. When warranted, an entire issue may be devoted to a specific topic within the area of motor control.
Ethics Policy
Please visit the Ethics Policy page for information about the policies followed by MC.
Editor
Raoul M. Bongers
Department of Human Movement Sciences
University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands
E-mail: r.m.bongers@umcg.nl
Editorial Administrator
Iris Slooter
Department of Human Movement Sciences
University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands
Editors Emeriti
Mark L. Latash (Founding Editor: 1997–2007)
T. Richard Nichols (2007–2010)
Mindy F. Levin (2011–2023)
Associate Editors
Development & Learning
Mei-Hua Lee
Department of Kinesiology
Michigan State University, USA
Cognitive Neuroscience
Pratik Mutha
Department of Biological Engineering and Center for Cognitive & Brain Sciences,
Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, India
Biomechanics
Alexander Aruin
Knecht Movement Science Laboratory
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Guillaume Rao
Institute of Movement Sciences
Aix-Marseille University, France
Dynamic Systems
Francisco J. Moreno
Motor Control and Learning Lab, Sports Research Centre
Miguel Hernández University, Spain
Perception-Action
Andrew D. Wilson
Department of Psychology, School of Humanities & Social Sciences
Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom
Neurophysiology
Påvel Lindberg
Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences Paris – Inserm 1266
Université Paris Descartes, France
Movement Disorders
Mindy F. Levin
School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
McGill University, Canada
Classical Heritage
Mark L. Latash
Distinguished Professor of Kinesiology
Penn State University, USA
Social Media
Tom J.W. Buurke
Department of Human Movement Sciences
University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands
Editorial Board
L. Boyd, University of British Columbia, Canada
S. Brown, University of Michigan, USA
T. Carroll, University of Queensland, Australia
J. Coté, McGill University, Canada
F. Danion, Université de la Mediterranée, CNRS, France
A.G. Feldman, University of Montreal, Canada
R. Laboissière, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS/INSERM/UCBL, France
M. Lakie, University of Birmingham, UK
J. Misiaszek, University of Alberta, Canada
T. R. Nichols, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
M.A. Perez, University of Pittsburgh, USA
E. Perreault, Northwestern University, USA
M. Riley, University of Cincinnati, USA
J.K. Shim, University of Maryland, USA
R.E.A. van Emmerik, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA
E.P. Zehr, University of Victoria, Canada
Human Kinetics Staff
Doug Hoepker, Senior Journals Managing Editor
Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Authors must submit their manuscripts through the journal’s ScholarOne online submission system. To submit, click the button below:
Page Content
Authorship Guidelines
All Human Kinetics journals require that authors follow our manuscript guidelines in regards to use of copyrighted material, human and animal rights, and conflicts of interest as specified on our author resource page.
Aims and Scope
Motor Control provides a multidisciplinary forum for the exchange of scientific information on the control of human movement across the lifespan, including issues related to motor disorders.
Motor Control encourages submission of papers from a variety of disciplines including, but not limited to, biomechanics, kinesiology, neurophysiology, neuroscience, psychology, physical medicine, and rehabilitation, using clinical, experimental, modeling, and theoretical approaches.
To be considered for publication, papers should clearly demonstrate a contribution to the understanding of control of movement.
Types of Articles
- Full-length original research articles
Full-length original research articles should include an Abstract of 250 words, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion, Acknowledgments, References, and Figure Legend section. The word count of the text (excluding Abstract, Tables, Figure Legends, and References) must not exceed 4,500 words. Footnotes are not permitted. Tables are limited to no more than six. Figures are limited to no more than eight. Additional information can be provided in supplemental materials that will be available online only. - Review articles
Review articles should have an Abstract of 250 words, but the organization of the text is flexible. The text, excluding the Abstract, References, Figure Legends, and Tables, should not exceed 5,000 words and 75 references. Summary figures are encouraged. Systematic reviews should follow the guidelines as stated in the PRISMA-P 2015 guidelines for systematic reviews. Moreover, the filled in PRISMA 2020 checklist should be added to the submitted documents. - Short communications
Short communications are short research articles meant to communicate interesting new findings that may be in preliminary form or that do not merit a full research paper format. These are limited to 3,000 words, including the Abstract (250 words), Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References and Figure Legends, and may include up to three figures/tables. The organization of the manuscript should follow the format used for full papers. - Commentaries/Letters to the Editor
Commentaries and letters to the Editor are brief communications addressing a specific issue. Permission from the Editor is required before submitting a commentary or letter. The text should not exceed 1,000 words and up to five references may be included. - Target Articles and Special Issues
An entire issue may be devoted to a specific topic within the area of motor control. Proposals for target articles and special issues must be made to the Editor.
Criteria for Authorship
As outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Conditions a, b, c, and d must all be met. Individuals who do not meet the above criteria may be listed in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript.
Authors who use artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in their work must indicate how they were used in the cover letter and the work itself. These technologies cannot be listed as authors as they are unable to meet all the conditions above, particularly agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Free Access and Open Access
Human Kinetics is pleased to allow our authors the option of having their articles published Free or Open Access. In order for an article to be published Free or Open Access, authors must complete and return the Request for Open Access form and provide payment for this option. To learn more and request Free and Open Access, please see our Open Access resource page.
Fee for Free Access
- Copyright assigned to Human Kinetics $2,000
- Discounted price for ISMC members $1,000
Fees for Open Access
- Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license $2,250
- Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license $2,450
- Creative Commons CC-BY license $2,950
Formatting
Authors should adhere to the guidelines found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition, 2020). Copies can be found in most university libraries or may be obtained through the APA.
All articles must be preceded by an Abstract of 250 words. All segments of the manuscript must be double-spaced including the Abstract and References. Please use continuous line numbering throughout the manuscript. Label clearly any Tables and include them on separate pages after the References section. Figure captions should also be included after the References section; figures should be included as separate files. Include in-text citations for each Table or Figure (e.g., “see Figure 1”). Number all pages in the upper right corner. The sections of the manuscript should be in the following order: Title page, Abstract, Text, Acknowledgments (if any), References, Figure captions, and Tables.
Article formatting examples can be found on the APA website and the Motor Control website.
Cover Letter
All manuscripts must be accompanied by a letter indicating that the work has been completed with the appropriate approvals for the use of human or animal subjects. In addition, the author must confirm that the paper has not been submitted to any other publication simultaneously. Conflicts of interest should be stated clearly. You will have an opportunity to do this as part of the online submission process.
Title Page
With each manuscript, authors should submit a separate cover sheet including the title of the manuscript, full name of all authors (i.e., first name spelled out) as they should appear in published article, institutional affiliation(s) including department (if applicable), running head, date of manuscript submission, and e-mail address for each author. The corresponding author who is to receive the galley proofs should be clearly identified. This cover sheet should be uploaded as a separate file during electronic submission.
Acknowledgments
Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria may be listed in an Acknowledgments section. These may be individuals who provided only technical help, general facilities, or support. Funding provided to authors to conduct the research should be acknowledged in this section. If no funding was acquired, the following statement should be made: “This research received no funding from any agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.” Conflict of interests should be included in the Acknowledgments. If no conflict exists, please state that: “The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest.” For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations. Acknowledgements should appear after the article text, before the References.
Figures and Tables
All art must be professionally prepared, with clean, crisp lines. If photos are used, they should be black and white, clear, and show good contrast. Model releases are required if a person’s face is visible, or the face of the model will be blurred. Each Figure must be properly identified. In graphs, shading or color can be used, but the author should keep in mind when doing so that the design must be clear in grayscale to the reader of the print copy. Include a list of all abbreviations that appear in the Figure or Table. Figures should be 300 dpi at full size for photos and 600 dpi for line art. Acceptable formats for Figures are JPG or TIFF. Figures should be included as separate files. Format Tables in the table function of your word-processing program rather than aligning columns in text with tabs and spaces or using text boxes or images. Permission must be obtained from the author(s) and/or publisher for reprinted Figures; it is the author’s responsibility to obtain written permission.
References
In-text references should be cited in alphabetical order as Author name (year) or (Author name, year) as follows: Berninger and Chanquoy (2012) or (Berninger & Chanquoy, 2012). When there are three or more authors, the citation should be made as (Author et al., year) as follows: Balasubramaniam et al. (2000) or (Balasubramaniam et al., 2000). If multiple references could be cited as (Author et al., year), please provide additional detail by inserting a letter (a, b) after the year as follows: (Balasubramaniam et al., 2000a).
References in the reference list should be cited as follows:
Journal article
Balasubramaniam, R., Riley, M.A., & Turvey, M.T. (2000). Specificity of postural sway to the demands of a precision task. Gait & Posture, 11(1), 12–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0966-6362(99)00051-X
Chapter in a book
Berninger, V.W., & Chanquoy, L. (2012). What writing is and how it changes across early and middle childhood development: A multidisciplinary perspective. In E.L. Grigorenko, E. Mambrino, & D.D. Preiss (Eds.), Writing: A mosaic of new perspectives (pp. 65–84). Psychology Press.
Book
Beery, K.E. (1989). Developmental test of visual-motor integration: Administration, scoring and teaching manual. Modern Curriculum Press.
For additional information, purchase the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition, 2020) or view the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Submitting a Manuscript
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically via ScholarOne (see submission button at the top of this page). Authors are advised to do a final check for accuracy of references, proofread their submissions carefully, and retain a copy of the article to guard against loss.
Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication must transfer copyright to Human Kinetics, Inc. Please visit ScholarOne to download this copyright form located under the "Instructions & Forms" link in the upper right corner. You do not need an account to access this information.
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