Cortical circuits and modules in movement generation: experiments and theories

•Studies of modularity and compositionality provide insights into cortical organization.•Neural population activities are analyzed from representational and dynamic approaches.•Motor mapping and neural decoding studies promise new insights into motor organization.•New computational tools and theoretical modeling offer promise for further progress.

Here we review recent studies of the cortical circuits subserving the control of posture and movement. This topic is addressed from neurophysiological and evolutionary perspectives describing recent advancements achieved through experimental studies in humans and non-human primates. We also describe current debates and controversies concerning motor mapping within the motor cortex and the different computational approaches aimed at resolving the mystery around motor representations and computations. In recent years there is growing interest in the possibly modular organization of motor representations and dynamical processes and the potential of such studies to provide new clues into motor information processing. Hence this review focuses on motor modularity, highlighting the new research directions inspired by empirical findings and theoretical models developed within the last several years.