Skilled movement represents one of the pinnacles of human development. Professional athletes, dancers and musicians hone their skills through hours of training and the celebration of such skill in our arts and sports culture is embedded in societies across the world. Unfortunately, expert performers often undergo conditions that affect their physical and mental health, such as performance anxiety, musculoskeletal pain or movement disorders.

Performance anxiety has a debilitating effect in many individuals working in high stress and high risk environments, such as surgeons, athletes, and musicians. PA is highly prevalent among skilled performers, and affects an estimated 2% of the total population worldwide, significantly challenging their health and professional career. However, despite the significant advances in our understanding of anxiety disorders, the processes underlying the detrimental effects of performance anxiety are still unclear. As a consequence, clinical outcomes are suboptimal for many affected individuals.

In addition, in a proportion of individuals, a painless deficit of motor control specific to a particular motor skill emerges called task-specific dystonia. With a prevalence of at least 1% amongst professional musicians the disorder can mark the end of performing careers. Neuroscientific research has increasingly identified the neurophysiological and psychological processes that are fundamental to skilled motor performance. However, such research is rarely discussed in the broader public, among musicians and the musical pedagogues. The neuroscientific literature not only has capacity to better optimise musical practice and performance but also can inform musicians how to avoid task-specific dystonia and other occupation related disorders.

There is increasing recognition amongst musical conservatoires that research-led scientific discussion is an unmet need. Other performance domains such as sport or surgery have achieved much better cross-talk between research in neuroscience and its practical application. Engaging with performers provides a stimulating environment for discussing such topics. This dynamic relationship fosters synergy, allowing discussions to shape the direction of future research. By leveraging insights from neuroscience, we can enhance our understanding and safeguard performers from potential harm as they strive for excellence in their skills.

In this symposium we will discuss the current understanding of the factors that contribute to expertise, including neurological conditions and performance anxiety

The primary target audience are musicians in training and musicians performing professionally, athletes, dancers, as well as researchers, clinicians, pedagogues and the general public.