Beyond passive sensory processing: Active and closed-loop modulation in humans

Sensory processing is fundamental to perception, action, and cognition, and its disruption contributes to a wide range of neurological, psychiatric, and movement disorders. Classical models of sensory neuroscience have largely conceptualized sensory systems as passive receivers of external stimuli, emphasizing feedforward encoding and stimulus–response relationships under controlled laboratory conditions. While this framework has yielded foundational insights, it offers limited explanatory power for context-dependent perception, rapid adaptation, and the role of action and internal state in shaping sensory experience. Recent advances in wearable sensing, mobile neurophysiology, and real-time data processing have enabled a reconceptualization of sensation as an active, regulated process embedded within perception–action loops. In this emerging view, sensory input is dynamically modulated through feedback, prediction, and behavioral context, allowing the nervous system to control rather than merely receive sensory information. These developments motivate a shift toward studying sensory processing in naturalistic and clinical settings, where adaptive and closed-loop approaches can reveal causal mechanisms and support translational application.The goal of this Research Topic is to advance the understanding of sensory processing as an active, feedback-driven process, moving beyond traditional passive stimulation paradigms. Although recent technological advances have enabled closed-loop, state-dependent, and wearable sensory modulation systems, their mechanistic impact on neural dynamics, perception, and behavior in humans remains incompletely characterized. This collection seeks to address this gap by highlighting work that treats sensory input as a controllable variable within adaptive loops, rather than a fixed experimental parameter. Emphasis is placed on human studies that leverage real-time feedback, internal state estimation, and real-world deployment to probe how sensory modulation shapes learning, plasticity, and function. By integrating theoretical, methodological, and translational perspectives, this Research Topic aims to clarify how active sensory control can be harnessed to improve functional outcomes, personalize interventions, and bridge basic sensory neuroscience with clinical and industry-informed applications.This Research Topic welcomes contributions that investigate active and adaptive sensory processing in humans, with particular emphasis on closed-loop and real-world approaches. Relevant themes include, but are not limited to: feedback-driven sensory stimulation paradigms; wearable and at-home sensory or neuromodulation systems; multisensory feedback in motor control, rehabilitation, and assistive technologies; sensory modulation in sleep, pain, movement, and neuropsychiatric disorders; mechanisms of sensory-driven plasticity; and individualized or state-dependent intervention strategies. Studies that move beyond fixed, open-loop stimulation and examine sensation within perception–action or regulatory frameworks are particularly encouraged. Topic editors: Hussein Alawieh, Byounghoon Kim, Satyam Kumar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80329/beyond-passive-sensory-processing-active-and-closed-loop-modulation-in-humans