Better functional restoration of impaired sensory and motor systems remains an unmet clinical need. Progress towards this goal requires an improved understanding of neural processing of sensory and motor information as well as of the disease mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, and network levels. Moreover, harnessing the potential of methods arising from basic research promises new avenues such as for transforming current neuroprostheses using optogenetics. Finally, sensory and motor activities of our nervous system are strongly intertwined, providing further motivation for integrating translational research on sensory and motor systems. This initiative targets disorders of the sensory and motor systems by combining experimental and theoretical neuroscience with medical sciences to understand disease mechanisms and devise novel strategies for functional restoration.