It's in your head: Study reveals how brain helps form 'muscle memory'

Suggests memory centre of brain is behind building motor memories

Developing muscle memory – key to fluid movements seen in practised performers, including musicians and sportspersons – could involve the hippocampus, the brain region traditionally related with 'episodic memory', or remembering events, according to a new study.

Muscle memory allows for performing physical tasks automatically without much conscious effort. It is also important for recovering from injuries and can help regain lost muscle mass in physical training.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham, UK, said muscle memory has been previously linked with 'basal ganglia' and the 'cerebellum' – the brain's motor or movement areas.