Personal profile
Biography
I am a neuroscientist interested in human movement and cognition, based at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health. I am an Associate Professor in the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University, Melbourne Australia.
My undergraduate training was in Exercise Science at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. I was awarded a PhD in Human Movement Neuroscience in 2007, supervised by Professor Winston Byblow and Professor Cathy Stinear. From 2008 to 2012 I worked with Emeritus Professor Stephan Swinnen and Professor Nicole Wenderoth in the Faculty of Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences at KU Leuven, Belgium. I was awarded Postdoctoral Research Fellowships from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and Centre for Brain Research, before establishing my lab at Monash in 2015.
Research interests
The Movement and Exercise Neuroscience Laboratory at Monash University (MEXlab) seeks to better understand neuroplasticity processes, and their relationship to learning, memory, and cognition. Our research is multidisciplinary, spanning the domains of exercise physiology, movement neurophysiology, and cognitive neuroscience. We use neuroimaging techniques (MRI and EEG) in conjunction with non-invasive brain stimulation (transcranial ultrasound stimulation, TUS, and transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS) to gain insight into the neural control of human movement and cognition.
The goal of our research is to develop an evidence-base for exercise and brain stimulation interventions that promote healthy brain ageing and help people living with neurological disease better manage their symptoms.
Education/Academic qualification
Movement Neuroscience, PhD, The neural basis of preventing movement, University of Auckland
Award Date: 21 Dec 2007
Exercise Science, Bachelor of Science (Hons), STIMULUS-RESPONSE PROPERTIES DURING PASSIVE MOVEMENT OF THE WRIST JOINT
Award Date: 31 Dec 2003
Research area keywords
- Ageing
- Brain stimulation
- Cognitive control
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Exercise
- Inhibition
- Motor learning
- Movement neuroscience
- Neurodegenerative disorders
- Neuroimaging
- Plasticity
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation
- GABA
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Lactate
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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The cognitive neuroscience of motor skill learning
Coxon, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
ARC - Australian Research Council
1/01/24 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
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Neuropharmacology of decision-making: causal brain network modelling across species
Bellgrove, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Thiele, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Chong, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Coxon, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Deco, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Lyra Gollo, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Arnatkeviciute, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), O’Connell, R. G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fornito, A. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Breakspear, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Davey, C. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Razi, A. (Associate Investigator (AI))
NHMRC - National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia)
1/01/22 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
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NHMRC Equipment Grant - New system to manipulate neural circuit dynamics based on Digital Mirror Device (DMD) technology
Shimaoka, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Cowley, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hall, G. S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rosa, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Andrews, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Coxon, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fornito, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pang, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Tsuchiya, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Bellgrove, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/11/23 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
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Transcranial focused ultrasound neuromodulation system
Coxon, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Egan, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bellgrove, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rosa, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Fornito, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Verdejo-Garcia, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Chong, T. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Alizadeh Mansouri, F. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hendrikse, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Biabani, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/10/21 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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How exercise modulates neural plasticity and memory consolidation
Coxon, J. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Byblow, W. D. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Hawi, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI))
3/02/20 → 31/12/24
Project: Research
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The effect of dopamine D2-like receptor blockade on human motor performance and skill acquisition
Taylor, E. M., Curtin, D., Chong, T. T. J., Bellgrove, M. A. & Coxon, J. P. (Leading Author), 20 Jan 2026, In: Scientific Reports. 16, 1, 12 p., 5857.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Default mode and motor networks facilitate early learning of implicit motor sequences: a multimodal MR spectroscopy and fMRI study
Hendrikse, J. (Leading Author), Brooks, E., Wallis, S., Curtin, D., Rogasch, N. C., Yücel, M., Biabani, M., Stagg, C. J., Bellgrove, M., McIntyre, R., Suo, C. & Coxon, J. (Leading Author), 15 Nov 2025, In: The Journal of Physiology. 603, 22, p. 7071-7087 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Disinhibition across Secondary Motor Cortical Regions during Motor Sequence Learning: A TMS-EEG Study
Thong, S., Doery, E., Biabani, M., Rogasch, N. C., Chong, T. T. J., Hendrikse, J. & Coxon, J. P. (Leading Author), 19 Feb 2025, In: Journal of Neuroscience. 45, 8, 12 p., e0443242024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
5 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Dopamine D2 Receptor Modulates Exercise Related Effect on Cortical Excitation/Inhibition and Motor Skill Acquisition
Curtin, D., Taylor, E. M., Bellgrove, M. A., Chong, T. T. J. & Coxon, J. P. (Leading Author), 8 May 2024, In: The Journal of Neuroscience. 44, 19, 9 p., e2028232024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
9 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Exercise-induced cortical disinhibition mediates the relationship between fitness and memory in older adults
Cadwallader, C. J., Curtin, D., Taylor, E. M., de Moel, T., Jarvis, H., Hutchison, C., Hendrikse, J., Chong, T. T. J. & Coxon, J. P. (Leading Author), 15 Jun 2024, In: The Journal of Physiology. 602, 12, p. 2945-2959 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)
Activities
- 2 Editorial responsibility
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Experimental Brain Research (Journal)
Coxon, J. (Editorial board member)
2023Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial responsibility
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The Journal of Physiology (Journal)
Coxon, J. (Editorial board member)
2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial responsibility