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Dyck S, Klaes C. Training-related changes in neural beta oscillations associated with implicit and explicit motor sequence learning. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6781. [PMID: 38514711 PMCID: PMC10958048 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57285-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Many motor actions we perform have a sequential nature while learning a motor sequence involves both implicit and explicit processes. In this work, we developed a task design where participants concurrently learn an implicit and an explicit motor sequence across five training sessions, with EEG recordings at sessions 1 and 5. This intra-subject approach allowed us to study training-induced behavioral and neural changes specific to the explicit and implicit components. Based on previous reports of beta power modulations in sensorimotor networks related to sequence learning, we focused our analysis on beta oscillations at motor-cortical sites. On a behavioral level, substantial performance gains were evident early in learning in the explicit condition, plus slower performance gains across training sessions in both explicit and implicit sequence learning. Consistent with the behavioral trends, we observed a training-related increase in beta power in both sequence learning conditions, while the explicit condition displayed stronger beta power suppression during early learning. The initially stronger beta suppression and subsequent increase in beta power specific to the explicit component, correlated with enhanced behavioral performance, possibly reflecting higher cortical excitability. Our study suggests an involvement of motor-cortical beta oscillations in the explicit component of motor sequence learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Dyck
- Department of Neurotechnology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
- International Graduate School of Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Christian Klaes
- Department of Neurotechnology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
- International Graduate School of Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
- Neurosurgery, University hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, In der Schornau 23-25, 44892, Bochum, Germany.
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2
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Brooks E, Wallis S, Hendrikse J, Coxon J. Micro-consolidation occurs when learning an implicit motor sequence, but is not influenced by HIIT exercise. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:23. [PMID: 38509108 PMCID: PMC10954609 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00238-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
We investigated if micro-consolidation, a phenomenon recently discovered during the brief rest periods between practice when learning an explicit motor sequence, generalises to learning an implicit motor sequence task. We demonstrate micro-consolidation occurs in the absence of explicit sequence awareness. We also investigated the effect of a preceding bout of high-intensity exercise, as exercise is known to augment the consolidation of new motor skills. Micro-consolidation was not modified by exercise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Brooks
- School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Victoria, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Sarah Wallis
- School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Victoria, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Joshua Hendrikse
- School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Victoria, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - James Coxon
- School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Victoria, VIC, 3800, Australia.
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3
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Wang Y, Huynh AT, Bao S, Buchanan JJ, Wright DL, Lei Y. Memory consolidation of sequence learning and dynamic adaptation during wakefulness. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad507. [PMID: 38185987 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Motor learning involves acquiring new movement sequences and adapting motor commands to novel conditions. Labile motor memories, acquired through sequence learning and dynamic adaptation, undergo a consolidation process during wakefulness after initial training. This process stabilizes the new memories, leading to long-term memory formation. However, it remains unclear if the consolidation processes underlying sequence learning and dynamic adaptation are independent and if distinct neural regions underpin memory consolidation associated with sequence learning and dynamic adaptation. Here, we first demonstrated that the initially labile memories formed during sequence learning and dynamic adaptation were stabilized against interference through time-dependent consolidation processes occurring during wakefulness. Furthermore, we found that sequence learning memory was not disrupted when immediately followed by dynamic adaptation and vice versa, indicating distinct mechanisms for sequence learning and dynamic adaptation consolidation. Finally, by applying patterned transcranial magnetic stimulation to selectively disrupt the activity in the primary motor (M1) or sensory (S1) cortices immediately after sequence learning or dynamic adaptation, we found that sequence learning consolidation depended on M1 but not S1, while dynamic adaptation consolidation relied on S1 but not M1. For the first time in a single experimental framework, this study revealed distinct neural underpinnings for sequence learning and dynamic adaptation consolidation during wakefulness, with significant implications for motor skill enhancement and rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyu Wang
- Program of Motor Neuroscience, Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States
| | - Angelina T Huynh
- Program of Motor Neuroscience, Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States
| | - Shancheng Bao
- Program of Motor Neuroscience, Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States
| | - John J Buchanan
- Program of Motor Neuroscience, Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States
| | - David L Wright
- Program of Motor Neuroscience, Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States
| | - Yuming Lei
- Program of Motor Neuroscience, Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States
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4
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Szücs-Bencze L, Vékony T, Pesthy O, Szabó N, Kincses TZ, Turi Z, Nemeth D. Modulating Visuomotor Sequence Learning by Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: What Do We Know So Far? J Intell 2023; 11:201. [PMID: 37888433 PMCID: PMC10607545 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11100201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Predictive processes and numerous cognitive, motor, and social skills depend heavily on sequence learning. The visuomotor Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) can measure this fundamental cognitive process. To comprehend the neural underpinnings of the SRTT, non-invasive brain stimulation stands out as one of the most effective methodologies. Nevertheless, a systematic list of considerations for the design of such interventional studies is currently lacking. To address this gap, this review aimed to investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a viable method of modulating visuomotor sequence learning and to identify the factors that mediate its efficacy. We systematically analyzed the eligible records (n = 17) that attempted to modulate the performance of the SRTT with rTMS. The purpose of the analysis was to determine how the following factors affected SRTT performance: (1) stimulated brain regions, (2) rTMS protocols, (3) stimulated hemisphere, (4) timing of the stimulation, (5) SRTT sequence properties, and (6) other methodological features. The primary motor cortex (M1) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were found to be the most promising stimulation targets. Low-frequency protocols over M1 usually weaken performance, but the results are less consistent for the DLPFC. This review provides a comprehensive discussion about the behavioral effects of six factors that are crucial in designing future studies to modulate sequence learning with rTMS. Future studies may preferentially and synergistically combine functional neuroimaging with rTMS to adequately link the rTMS-induced network effects with behavioral findings, which are crucial to develop a unified cognitive model of visuomotor sequence learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Szücs-Bencze
- Department of Neurology, University of Szeged, Semmelweis utca 6, H-6725 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Teodóra Vékony
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, INSERM, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 95 Boulevard Pinel, F-69500 Bron, France
| | - Orsolya Pesthy
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella utca 46, H-1064 Budapest, Hungary
- Brain, Memory and Language Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Magyar Tudósok Körútja 2, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd Universiry, Izabella utca 46, H-1064 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Nikoletta Szabó
- Department of Neurology, University of Szeged, Semmelweis utca 6, H-6725 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Tamás Zsigmond Kincses
- Department of Neurology, University of Szeged, Semmelweis utca 6, H-6725 Szeged, Hungary
- Department of Radiology, University of Szeged, Semmelweis utca 6, H-6725 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Turi
- Department of Neuroanatomy, Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 17, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Dezso Nemeth
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, INSERM, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 95 Boulevard Pinel, F-69500 Bron, France
- BML-NAP Research Group, Institute of Psychology & Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University & Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Damjanich utca 41, H-1072 Budapest, Hungary
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Lu Y, Guo X, Weng X, Jiang H, Yan H, Shen X, Feng Z, Zhao X, Li L, Zheng L, Liu Z, Men W, Gao JH. Theta Signal Transfer from Parietal to Prefrontal Cortex Ignites Conscious Awareness of Implicit Knowledge during Sequence Learning. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6760-6778. [PMID: 37607820 PMCID: PMC10552945 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2172-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Unconscious acquisition of sequence structure from experienced events can lead to explicit awareness of the pattern through extended practice. Although the implicit-to-explicit transition has been extensively studied in humans using the serial reaction time (SRT) task, the subtle neural activity supporting this transition remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether frequency-specific neural signal transfer contributes to this transition. A total of 208 participants (107 females) learned a sequence pattern through a multisession SRT task, allowing us to observe the transitions. Session-by-session measures of participants' awareness for sequence knowledge were conducted during the SRT task to identify the session when the transition occurred. By analyzing time course RT data using switchpoint modeling, we identified an increase in learning benefit specifically at the transition session. Electroencephalogram (EEG)/magnetoencephalogram (MEG) recordings revealed increased theta power in parietal (precuneus) regions one session before the transition (pretransition) and a prefrontal (superior frontal gyrus; SFG) one at the transition session. Phase transfer entropy (PTE) analysis confirmed that directional theta transfer from precuneus → SFG occurred at the pretransition session and its strength positively predicted learning improvement at the subsequent transition session. Furthermore, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) modulated precuneus theta power and altered transfer strength from precuneus to SFG, resulting in changes in both transition rate and learning benefit at that specific point of transition. Our brain-stimulation evidence supports a role for parietal → prefrontal theta signal transfer in igniting conscious awareness of implicitly acquired knowledge.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT There exists a pervasive phenomenon wherein individuals unconsciously acquire sequence patterns from their environment, gradually becoming aware of the underlying regularities through repeated practice. While previous studies have established the robustness of this implicit-to-explicit transition in humans, the refined neural mechanisms facilitating conscious access to implicit knowledge remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that prefrontal activity, known to be crucial for conscious awareness, is triggered by neural signal transfer originating from the posterior brain region, specifically the precuneus. By employing brain stimulation techniques, we establish a causal link between neural signal transfer and the occurrence of awareness. Our findings unveil a mechanism by which implicit knowledge becomes consciously accessible in human cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Lu
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
- Ministry of education (MOE) Laboratory for National Development and Intelligent Governance, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
- School of Psychology and cognitive science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200062
| | - Xiuyan Guo
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
- Ministry of education (MOE) Laboratory for National Development and Intelligent Governance, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
| | - Xue Weng
- School of Psychology and cognitive science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200062
| | - Haoran Jiang
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
- Ministry of education (MOE) Laboratory for National Development and Intelligent Governance, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
| | - Huidan Yan
- School of Psychology and cognitive science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200062
| | - Xianting Shen
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
- Department of Psychology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
| | - Zhengning Feng
- School of Psychology and cognitive science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200062
| | - Xinyue Zhao
- School of Psychology and cognitive science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200062
| | - Lin Li
- School of Psychology and cognitive science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, 200062
| | - Li Zheng
- Fudan Institute on Ageing, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
- Ministry of education (MOE) Laboratory for National Development and Intelligent Governance, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200433
| | - Zhiyuan Liu
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China, 710062
| | - Weiwei Men
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China, 100871
- Beijing City Key Laboratory for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China, 100871
| | - Jia-Hong Gao
- Beijing City Key Laboratory for Medical Physics and Engineering, Institute of Heavy Ion Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China, 100871
- Center for MRI Research and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China, 100871
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6
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Maldonado T, Jackson TB, Bernard JA. Anodal cerebellar stimulation increases cortical activation: Evidence for cerebellar scaffolding of cortical processing. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:1666-1682. [PMID: 36468490 PMCID: PMC9921230 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
While the cerebellum contributes to nonmotor task performance, the specific contributions of the structure remain unknown. One possibility is that the cerebellum allows for the offloading of cortical processing, providing support during task performance, using internal models. Here we used transcranial direct current stimulation to modulate cerebellar function and investigate the impact on cortical activation patterns. Participants (n = 74; 22.03 ± 3.44 years) received either cathodal, anodal, or sham stimulation over the right cerebellum before a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan during which they completed a sequence learning and a working memory task. We predicted that cathodal stimulation would improve, and anodal stimulation would hinder task performance and cortical activation. Behaviorally, anodal stimulation negatively impacted behavior during late-phase sequence learning. Functionally, we found that anodal cerebellar stimulation resulted in increased bilateral cortical activation, particularly in parietal and frontal regions known to be involved in cognitive processing. This suggests that if the cerebellum is not functioning optimally, there is a greater need for cortical resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted Maldonado
- Department of Psychology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Trevor Bryan Jackson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Jessica A Bernard
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.,Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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7
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Baudou E, Nemmi F, Peran P, Cignetti F, Blais M, Maziero S, Tallet J, Chaix Y. Atypical connectivity in the cortico-striatal network in NF1 children and its relationship with procedural perceptual-motor learning and motor skills. J Neurodev Disord 2022; 14:15. [PMID: 35232382 PMCID: PMC8903485 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-022-09428-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is considered a model of neurodevelopmental disorder because of the high frequency of learning deficits, especially developmental coordination disorder. In neurodevelopmental disorder, Nicolson and Fawcett formulated the hypothesis of an impaired procedural learning system that has its origins in cortico-subcortical circuits. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between cortico-striatal connectivity and procedural perceptual-motor learning performance and motor skills in NF1 children. METHODS Seventeen NF1 and 18 typically developing children aged between 8 and 12 years old participated in the study. All were right-handed and did not present intellectual or attention deficits. In all children, procedural perceptual-motor learning was assessed using a bimanual visuo-spatial serial reaction time task (SRTT) and motor skills using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC). All participants underwent a resting-state functional MRI session. We used a seed-based approach to explore cortico-striatal connectivity in somatomotor and frontoparietal networks. A comparison between the groups' striato-cortical connectivity and correlations between connectivity and learning (SRTT) and motor skills (M-ABC) were performed. RESULTS At the behavioral level, SRTT scores are not significantly different in NF1 children compared to controls. However, M-ABC scores are significantly impaired within 9 patients (scores below the 15th percentile). At the cerebral level, NF1 children present a higher connectivity in the cortico-striatal regions mapping onto the right angular gyrus compared to controls. We found that the higher the connectivity values between these regions, differentiating NF1 and controls, the lower the M-ABC scores in the whole sample. No correlation was found for the SRTT scores. CONCLUSION NF1 children present atypical hyperconnectivity in cortico-striatal connections. The relationship with motor skills could suggest a sensorimotor dysfunction already found in children with developmental coordination disorder. These abnormalities are not linked to procedural perceptual-motor learning assessed by SRTT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eloïse Baudou
- ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, University of Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France.
- Children's Hospital, Toulouse-Purpan University Hospital, Toulouse, France.
- Pediatric Neurology Unit, Hôpital des Enfants, CHU Toulouse, 330 av de Grande Bretagne-TSA, 31059, Toulouse, France.
| | - Federico Nemmi
- ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, University of Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Patrice Peran
- ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, University of Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Fabien Cignetti
- CNRS, TIMC-IMAG, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Melody Blais
- ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, University of Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France
- EuroMov Digital Health in Motion, Université Montpellier, IMT Mines Ales, Montpellier, France
| | - Stéphanie Maziero
- ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, University of Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Jessica Tallet
- ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, University of Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Yves Chaix
- ToNIC, Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, University of Toulouse, Inserm, UPS, Toulouse, France
- Children's Hospital, Toulouse-Purpan University Hospital, Toulouse, France
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8
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Barham MP, Lum JAG, Conduit R, Fernadez L, Enticott PG, Clark GM. A Daytime Nap Does Not Enhance the Retention of a First-Order or Second-Order Motor Sequence. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:659281. [PMID: 34335198 PMCID: PMC8324096 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.659281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined the effects of a daytime nap on the retention of implicitly learnt “first-order conditional” (FOC) and “second-order conditional” (SOC) motor sequences. The implicit learning and retention of a motor sequence has been linked to the neural processes undertaken by the basal ganglia and primary motor cortex (i.e., procedural memory system). There is evidence, however, suggesting that SOC learning may further rely on the hippocampus-supported declarative memory system. Sleep appears to benefit the retention of information processed by the declarative memory system, but not the procedural memory system. Thus, it was hypothesized that sleep would benefit the retention of a SOC motor sequence but not a FOC sequence. The implicit learning and retention of these sequences was examined using the Serial Reaction Time Task. In this study, healthy adults implicitly learnt either a FOC (n = 20) or a SOC sequence (n = 20). Retention of both sequences was assessed following a daytime nap and period of wakefulness. Sleep was not found to improve the retention of the SOC sequence. There were no significant differences in the retention of a FOC or a SOC sequence following a nap or period of wakefulness. The study questions whether the declarative memory system is involved in the retention of implicitly learnt SOC sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael P Barham
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Jarrad A G Lum
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Russell Conduit
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Lara Fernadez
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Peter G Enticott
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Gillian M Clark
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
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9
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Prutean N, Martín-Arévalo E, Leiva A, Jiménez L, Vallesi A, Lupiáñez J. The causal role of DLPFC top-down control on the acquisition and the automatic expression of implicit learning: State of the art. Cortex 2021; 141:293-310. [PMID: 34116383 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Implicit learning refers to the incidental acquisition and expression of knowledge that is not accompanied by full awareness of its contents. Implicit sequence learning (ISL) represents one of the most useful paradigms to investigate these processes. In this paradigm, participants are usually instructed to respond to the location of a target that moves regularly through a set of possible locations. Although participants are not informed about the existence of a sequence, they eventually learn it implicitly, as attested by the costs observed when this sequence is violated in a reduced set of control trials. Interestingly, the expression of this learning decreases immediately after a control trial, in a way that resembles the adjustments triggered in response to incongruent trials in interference tasks. These effects have been attributed to a control network involving dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and cingulate (ACC) structures. In the present work, we reviewed a group of recent studies which had inhibited DLPFC top-down control by means of non-invasive brain stimulation to increase the acquisition of ISL. In addition, as no previous study has investigated the effect of inhibiting top-down control on releasing the automatic expression of ISL, we present a pre-registered - yet exploratory - study in which an inhibitory continuous theta burst stimulation protocol was applied over an anterior-ventral portion of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) highly interconnected with the ACC, and whose activity has been specifically linked to motor control (i.e., Right DLPFC, n = 10 or the Left DLPFC, n = 10), compared to active Vertex stimulation (n = 10). Contrary to our hypotheses, the results did not show evidence for the involvement of such region in the expression of ISL. We discussed the results in the context of the set of contradictory findings reported in the systematic review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoleta Prutean
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Center, University of Granada, Spain; Department of Neuroscience & Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Italy.
| | - Elisa Martín-Arévalo
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Center, University of Granada, Spain.
| | - Alicia Leiva
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Center, University of Granada, Spain.
| | - Luis Jiménez
- Department of Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Antonino Vallesi
- Department of Neuroscience & Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Italy; Brain Imaging & Neural Dynamics Research Group, IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, Venice, Italy.
| | - Juan Lupiáñez
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Center, University of Granada, Spain.
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10
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Tremblay SA, Jäger AT, Huck J, Giacosa C, Beram S, Schneider U, Grahl S, Villringer A, Tardif CL, Bazin PL, Steele CJ, Gauthier CJ. White matter microstructural changes in short-term learning of a continuous visuomotor sequence. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:1677-1698. [PMID: 33885965 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02267-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Efficient neural transmission is crucial for optimal brain function, yet the plastic potential of white matter (WM) has long been overlooked. Growing evidence now shows that modifications to axons and myelin occur not only as a result of long-term learning, but also after short training periods. Motor sequence learning (MSL), a common paradigm used to study neuroplasticity, occurs in overlapping learning stages and different neural circuits are involved in each stage. However, most studies investigating short-term WM plasticity have used a pre-post design, in which the temporal dynamics of changes across learning stages cannot be assessed. In this study, we used multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at 7 T to investigate changes in WM in a group learning a complex visuomotor sequence (LRN) and in a control group (SMP) performing a simple sequence, for five consecutive days. Consistent with behavioral results, where most improvements occurred between the two first days, structural changes in WM were observed only in the early phase of learning (d1-d2), and in overall learning (d1-d5). In LRNs, WM microstructure was altered in the tracts underlying the primary motor and sensorimotor cortices. Moreover, our structural findings in WM were related to changes in functional connectivity, assessed with resting-state functional MRI data in the same cohort, through analyses in regions of interest (ROIs). Significant changes in WM microstructure were found in a ROI underlying the right supplementary motor area. Together, our findings provide evidence for highly dynamic WM plasticity in the sensorimotor network during short-term MSL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéfanie A Tremblay
- Department of Physics/PERFORM Center, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Anna-Thekla Jäger
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Charite Universitätsmedizin, Charite, Berlin, Germany
| | - Julia Huck
- Department of Physics/PERFORM Center, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Chiara Giacosa
- Department of Physics/PERFORM Center, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Stephanie Beram
- Department of Physics/PERFORM Center, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Uta Schneider
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sophia Grahl
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Arno Villringer
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, Leipzig, Germany.,Leipzig University Medical Centre, IFB Adiposity Diseases, Leipzig, Germany.,Collaborative Research Centre 1052-A5, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christine L Tardif
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Pierre-Louis Bazin
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Christopher J Steele
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Claudine J Gauthier
- Department of Physics/PERFORM Center, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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11
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Joy MT, Carmichael ST. Encouraging an excitable brain state: mechanisms of brain repair in stroke. Nat Rev Neurosci 2021; 22:38-53. [PMID: 33184469 PMCID: PMC10625167 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-00396-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Stroke induces a plastic state in the brain. This period of enhanced plasticity leads to the sprouting of new axons, the formation of new synapses and the remapping of sensory-motor functions, and is associated with motor recovery. This is a remarkable process in the adult brain, which is normally constrained in its levels of neuronal plasticity and connectional change. Recent evidence indicates that these changes are driven by molecular systems that underlie learning and memory, such as changes in cellular excitability during memory formation. This Review examines circuit changes after stroke, the shared mechanisms between memory formation and brain repair, the changes in neuronal excitability that underlie stroke recovery, and the molecular and pharmacological interventions that follow from these findings to promote motor recovery in animal models. From these findings, a framework emerges for understanding recovery after stroke, central to which is the concept of neuronal allocation to damaged circuits. The translation of the concepts discussed here to recovery in humans is underway in clinical trials for stroke recovery drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary T Joy
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - S Thomas Carmichael
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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12
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King BR, Rumpf JJ, Heise KF, Veldman MP, Peeters R, Doyon J, Classen J, Albouy G, Swinnen SP. Lateralized effects of post-learning transcranial direct current stimulation on motor memory consolidation in older adults: An fMRI investigation. Neuroimage 2020; 223:117323. [PMID: 32882377 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has consistently demonstrated that older adults have difficulties transforming recently learned movements into robust, long-lasting memories (i.e., motor memory consolidation). One potential avenue to enhance consolidation in older individuals is the administration of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to task-relevant brain regions after initial learning. Although this approach has shown promise, the underlying cerebral correlates have yet to be revealed. Moreover, it is unknown whether the effects of tDCS are lateralized, an open question with implications for rehabilitative approaches following predominantly unilateral neurological injuries. In this research, healthy older adults completed a sequential motor task before and 6 h after receiving anodal or sham stimulation to right or left primary motor cortex (M1) while functional magnetic resonance images were acquired. Unexpectedly, anodal stimulation to right M1 following left-hand sequence learning significantly hindered consolidation as compared to a sham control, whereas no differences were observed with left M1 stimulation following right-hand learning. Impaired performance following right M1 stimulation was paralleled by sustained engagement of regions known to be critical for early learning stages, including the caudate nucleus and the premotor and parietal cortices. Thus, post-learning tDCS in older adults not only exerts heterogenous effects across the two hemispheres but can also disrupt ongoing memory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley R King
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; LBI - KU Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium.
| | | | - Kirstin-Friederike Heise
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; LBI - KU Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Menno P Veldman
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; LBI - KU Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ronald Peeters
- Department of Radiology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Imaging and Pathology, Biomedical Sciences Group, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Julien Doyon
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Joseph Classen
- Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Genevieve Albouy
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; LBI - KU Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stephan P Swinnen
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; LBI - KU Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium
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13
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Berlot E, Popp NJ, Diedrichsen J. A critical re-evaluation of fMRI signatures of motor sequence learning. eLife 2020; 9:e55241. [PMID: 32401193 PMCID: PMC7266617 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite numerous studies, there is little agreement about what brain changes accompany motor sequence learning, partly because of a general publication bias that favors novel results. We therefore decided to systematically reinvestigate proposed functional magnetic resonance imaging correlates of motor learning in a preregistered longitudinal study with four scanning sessions over 5 weeks of training. Activation decreased more for trained than untrained sequences in premotor and parietal areas, without any evidence of learning-related activation increases. Premotor and parietal regions also exhibited changes in the fine-grained, sequence-specific activation patterns early in learning, which stabilized later. No changes were observed in the primary motor cortex (M1). Overall, our study provides evidence that human motor sequence learning occurs outside of M1. Furthermore, it shows that we cannot expect to find activity increases as an indicator for learning, making subtle changes in activity patterns across weeks the most promising fMRI correlate of training-induced plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Berlot
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
| | - Nicola J Popp
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
| | - Jörn Diedrichsen
- The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
- Department of Computer Science, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
- Department of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, University of Western OntarioOntarioCanada
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14
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CAO N, MENG H, WANG Y, QIU F, TAN X, WU Y, ZHANG J. Functional role of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in procedural motor learning. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA SINICA 2020. [DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1041.2020.00597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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15
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Jarret T, Stockert A, Kotz SA, Tillmann B. Implicit learning of artificial grammatical structures after inferior frontal cortex lesions. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0222385. [PMID: 31539390 PMCID: PMC6754135 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Previous research associated the left inferior frontal cortex with implicit structure learning. The present study tested patients with lesions encompassing the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG; including Brodmann areas 44 and 45) to further investigate this cognitive function, notably by using non-verbal material, implicit investigation methods, and by enhancing potential remaining function via dynamic attending. Patients and healthy matched controls were exposed to an artificial pitch grammar in an implicit learning paradigm to circumvent the potential influence of impaired language processing. METHODS Patients and healthy controls listened to pitch sequences generated within a finite-state grammar (exposure phase) and then performed a categorization task on new pitch sequences (test phase). Participants were not informed about the underlying grammar in either the exposure phase or the test phase. Furthermore, the pitch structures were presented in a highly regular temporal context as the beneficial impact of temporal regularity (e.g. meter) in learning and perception has been previously reported. Based on the Dynamic Attending Theory (DAT), we hypothesized that a temporally regular context helps developing temporal expectations that, in turn, facilitate event perception, and thus benefit artificial grammar learning. RESULTS Electroencephalography results suggest preserved artificial grammar learning of pitch structures in patients and healthy controls. For both groups, analyses of event-related potentials revealed a larger early negativity (100-200 msec post-stimulus onset) in response to ungrammatical than grammatical pitch sequence events. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that (i) the LIFG does not play an exclusive role in the implicit learning of artificial pitch grammars, and (ii) the use of non-verbal material and an implicit task reveals cognitive capacities that remain intact despite lesions to the LIFG. These results provide grounds for training and rehabilitation, that is, learning of non-verbal grammars that may impact the relearning of verbal grammars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Jarret
- CNRS, UMR5292, INSERM, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Auditory Cognition and Psychoacoustics Team, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Anika Stockert
- Language and Aphasia Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sonja A. Kotz
- Dept. of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dept. of Neuropsychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychopharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Barbara Tillmann
- CNRS, UMR5292, INSERM, U1028, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Auditory Cognition and Psychoacoustics Team, Lyon, France
- University Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
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16
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Ribot B, Aupy J, Vidailhet M, Mazère J, Pisani A, Bezard E, Guehl D, Burbaud P. Dystonia and dopamine: From phenomenology to pathophysiology. Prog Neurobiol 2019; 182:101678. [PMID: 31404592 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2019.101678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A line of evidence suggests that the pathophysiology of dystonia involves the striatum, whose activity is modulated among other neurotransmitters, by the dopaminergic system. However, the link between dystonia and dopamine appears complex and remains unclear. Here, we propose a physiological approach to investigate the clinical and experimental data supporting a role of the dopaminergic system in the pathophysiology of dystonic syndromes. Because dystonia is a disorder of motor routines, we first focus on the role of dopamine and striatum in procedural learning. Second, we consider the phenomenology of dystonia from every angle in order to search for features giving food for thought regarding the pathophysiology of the disorder. Then, for each dystonic phenotype, we review, when available, the experimental and imaging data supporting a connection with the dopaminergic system. Finally, we propose a putative model in which the different phenotypes could be explained by changes in the balance between the direct and indirect striato-pallidal pathways, a process critically controlled by the level of dopamine within the striatum. Search strategy and selection criteria References for this article were identified through searches in PubMed with the search terms « dystonia », « dopamine", « striatum », « basal ganglia », « imaging data », « animal model », « procedural learning », « pathophysiology », and « plasticity » from 1998 until 2018. Articles were also identified through searches of the authors' own files. Only selected papers published in English were reviewed. The final reference list was generated on the basis of originality and relevance to the broad scope of this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastien Ribot
- Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Jérome Aupy
- Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Hôpital Pellegrin, place Amélie-Raba-Léon, 33076 Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Marie Vidailhet
- AP-HP, Department of Neurology, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne Université, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière UPMC Univ Paris 6 UMR S 1127, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France
| | - Joachim Mazère
- Université de Bordeaux, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; Service de médecine nucléaire, CHU de Bordeaux, France
| | - Antonio Pisani
- Department of Neuroscience, University "Tor Vergata'', Rome, Italy; Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Plasticity, Fondazione Santa Lucia I.R.C.C.S., Rome, Italy
| | - Erwan Bezard
- Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Dominique Guehl
- Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Hôpital Pellegrin, place Amélie-Raba-Léon, 33076 Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Pierre Burbaud
- Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Hôpital Pellegrin, place Amélie-Raba-Léon, 33076 Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France; CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.
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17
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Batterink LJ, Paller KA, Reber PJ. Understanding the Neural Bases of Implicit and Statistical Learning. Top Cogn Sci 2019; 11:482-503. [PMID: 30942536 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Both implicit learning and statistical learning focus on the ability of learners to pick up on patterns in the environment. It has been suggested that these two lines of research may be combined into a single construct of "implicit statistical learning." However, by comparing the neural processes that give rise to implicit versus statistical learning, we may determine the extent to which these two learning paradigms do indeed describe the same core mechanisms. In this review, we describe current knowledge about neural mechanisms underlying both implicit learning and statistical learning, highlighting converging findings between these two literatures. A common thread across all paradigms is that learning is supported by interactions between the declarative and nondeclarative memory systems of the brain. We conclude by discussing several outstanding research questions and future directions for each of these two research fields. Moving forward, we suggest that the two literatures may interface by defining learning according to experimental paradigm, with "implicit learning" reserved as a specific term to denote learning without awareness, which may potentially occur across all paradigms. By continuing to align these two strands of research, we will be in a better position to characterize the neural bases of both implicit and statistical learning, ultimately improving our understanding of core mechanisms that underlie a wide variety of human cognitive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Batterink
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, Western University.,Department of Psychology, Northwestern University
| | - Ken A Paller
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University
| | - Paul J Reber
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University
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18
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Motor Sequence Learning in the Brain: The Long and Short of It. Neuroscience 2018; 389:85-98. [PMID: 29427654 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.01.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Motor sequence learning involves predictive processing that results in the anticipation of each component of a sequence of actions. In smooth pursuit, this predictive processing is required to decrease tracking errors between the eye and the stimulus. Current models for motor sequence learning suggest parallel mechanisms in the brain for acquiring sequences of differing complexity. We examined this model by comparing shorter versus longer sequences of pursuit eye movements during fMRI. In this way we were able to identify overlapping and distinct brain areas involved in simple versus more complex oculomotor learning. Participants revealed predictive pursuit eye movements from the second presentation of the stimulus in both short and long sequences. Brain imaging results indicated activation of parallel brain areas for the different sequence lengths that consisted of the Inferior Occipital Gyrus and the Cingulate as areas in common. In addition, distinct activation was found in more working memory related brain regions for the shorter sequences (e.g. the middle frontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and higher activation in the frontal eye fields, supplementary motor cortex and motor cortex for the longer sequences, independent on the number of repetitions. These findings provide new evidence that there are parallel brain areas that involve working memory circuitry for short sequences, and more motoric areas when the sequence is longer and more cognitively demanding. Additionally, our findings are the first to show that the parallel brain regions involved in sequence learning in pursuit are independent of the number of repetitions, but contingent on sequence complexity.
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19
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San Anton E, Cleeremans A, Destrebecqz A, Peigneux P, Schmitz R. Spontaneous eyeblinks are sensitive to sequential learning. Neuropsychologia 2018; 119:489-500. [PMID: 30243927 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Although sequential learning and spontaneous eyeblink rate (EBR) have both been shown to be tightly related to cerebral dopaminergic activity, they have never been investigated at the same time. In the present study, EBR, taken as an indirect marker of dopaminergic activity, was investigated in two resting state conditions, both before and after visuomotor sequence learning in a serial reaction time task (SRT) and during task practice. Participants' abilities to produce and manipulate their knowledge about the sequential material were probed in a generation task. We hypothesized that the time course of spontaneous EBR might follow the progressive decrease of RTs during the SRT session. Additionally, we manipulated the structure of the transfer blocks as well as their respective order, assuming that (1) fully random trials might generate a larger psychophysiological response than an unlearned but structured material, and (2) a second (final) block of transfer might give rise to larger effects given that the sequential material was better consolidated after further practice. Finally, we tentatively hypothesized that, in addition to their online version, spontaneous EBR recorded during the pre- and post-learning resting sessions might be predictive of (1) the SRT learning curve, (2) the magnitude of the transfer effects, and (3) performance in the generation task. Results showed successful sequence learning with decreased accuracy and increased reaction times (RTs) in transfer blocks featuring a different material (random trials or a structured, novel sequence). In line with our hypothesis that EBR reflects dopaminergic activity associated with sequential learning, we observed increased EBR in random trials as well as when the second transfer block occurred at the end of the learning session. There was a positive relationship between the learning curve (RTs) and the slope of EBR during the SRT session. Additionally, inter-individual differences in resting and real-time EBR predicted the magnitude of accuracy and RTs transfer effects, respectively, but they were not related to participants' performances during the generation task. Notwithstanding, our results suggest that the degree of explicit sequential knowledge modulates the association between the magnitude of the transfer effect in EBR and SRT performance. Overall, the present study provides evidence that EBR may represent a valid indirect psychophysiological correlate of dopaminergic activity coupled to sequential learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estibaliz San Anton
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium; Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN) and ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Belgium; Consciousness Cognition & Computation Group (CO3), Belgium
| | - Axel Cleeremans
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium; Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN) and ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Belgium; Consciousness Cognition & Computation Group (CO3), Belgium
| | - Arnaud Destrebecqz
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium; Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN) and ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Belgium; Consciousness Cognition & Computation Group (CO3), Belgium
| | - Philippe Peigneux
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium; Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN) and ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Belgium; Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Group (UR2NF), Belgium
| | - Rémy Schmitz
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium; Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN) and ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Belgium; Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Group (UR2NF), Belgium.
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20
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Khilkevich A, Zambrano J, Richards MM, Mauk MD. Cerebellar implementation of movement sequences through feedback. eLife 2018; 7:37443. [PMID: 30063004 PMCID: PMC6107335 DOI: 10.7554/elife.37443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Most movements are not unitary, but are comprised of sequences. Although patients with cerebellar pathology display severe deficits in the execution and learning of sequences (Doyon et al., 1997; Shin and Ivry, 2003), most of our understanding of cerebellar mechanisms has come from analyses of single component movements. Eyelid conditioning is a cerebellar-mediated behavior that provides the ability to control and restrict inputs to the cerebellum through stimulation of mossy fibers. We utilized this advantage to test directly how the cerebellum can learn a sequence of inter-connected movement components in rabbits. We show that the feedback signals from one component are sufficient to serve as a cue for the next component in the sequence. In vivo recordings from Purkinje cells demonstrated that all components of the sequence were encoded similarly by cerebellar cortex. These results provide a simple yet general framework for how the cerebellum can use simple associate learning processes to chain together a sequence of appropriately timed responses. Imagine a gymnastics competition in which participants take turns to cartwheel and somersault across the floor. The routines on display comprise sequences of precisely timed movements learned through practice. This is also true for many of the actions we perform every day, such as reaching for a cup of coffee. A region of the brain called the cerebellum helps us learn sequences of movements. But how does it do this? To find out, Khilkevich et al. came up with a new version of an old experiment. Rabbits were first trained to blink their eye in response to a specific external cue. This type of learning, called associative learning, has been shown before in the cerebellum. But Khilkevich et al. wondered whether the cerebellum could also use internal feedback signals from the eyeblink as a cue to learn the next movement? If so, this might explain how the cerebellum can chain movements together in a sequence. As predicted, Khilkevich et al. found that rabbits could learn to blink their eye in response to an initial signal, and then blink again in response to the first blink. Control experiments confirmed that the second eyeblink was coupled to the first, and not to the original cue. Moreover, on many trials the rabbits showed a third and even fourth eyeblink. This is because feedback signals from the first, second or third blink were the same. Thus, the feedback signals from the first blink triggered the second blink, feedback from the second triggered the third, and so forth. Rabbits could also learn to use a blink of the left eye as a cue for a blink of the right eye. Similar patterns of neuronal activity accompanied each blink, suggesting that the same mechanism generated them all. The cerebellum can thus use feedback from one movement as a cue to learn the proper timing of the next movement in a sequence. A key question is whether this mechanism of sequence learning extends beyond movement. The cerebellum has extensive connections to the brain’s outer layer, the cortex, including many areas involved in cognition. Future experiments should test whether the cerebellum might help guide sequences of cortical activity during cognitive tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Khilkevich
- Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States
| | - Juan Zambrano
- Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States
| | - Molly-Marie Richards
- Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States
| | - Michael Dean Mauk
- Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States.,Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States
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21
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Neurocomputational Dynamics of Sequence Learning. Neuron 2018; 98:1282-1293.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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22
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Hirano M, Kubota S, Furuya S, Koizume Y, Tanaka S, Funase K. Acquisition of skilled finger movements is accompanied by reorganization of the corticospinal system. J Neurophysiol 2018; 119:573-584. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00667.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Dexterous finger movements are often characterized by highly coordinated movements. Such coordination might be derived from reorganization of the corticospinal system. In this study, we investigated 1) the manner in which finger movement covariation patterns are acquired, by examining the effects of the implicit and explicit learning of a serial reaction time task (SRTT), and 2) how such changes in finger coordination are represented in the corticospinal system. The subjects learned a button press sequence in both implicit and explicit learning conditions. In the implicit conditions, they were naive about what they were learning, whereas in the explicit conditions the subjects consciously learned the order of the sequence elements. Principal component analysis decomposed both the voluntary movements produced during the SRTT and the passive movements evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex into a set of five finger joint covariation patterns. The structures of the voluntary and passive TMS-evoked movement patterns were reorganized by implicit learning but not explicit learning. Furthermore, in the implicit learning conditions the finger covariation patterns derived from the TMS-evoked and voluntary movements spanned similar movement subspaces. These results provide the first evidence that skilled sequential finger movements are acquired differently through implicit and explicit learning, i.e., the changes in finger coordination patterns induced by implicit learning are accompanied by functional reorganization of the corticospinal system, whereas explicit learning results in faster recruitment of individual finger movements without causing any changes in finger coordination. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Skilled sequential multifinger movements are characterized as highly coordinated movement patterns. These finger coordination patterns are represented in the corticospinal system, yet it still remains unclear how these patterns are acquired through implicit and explicit motor sequence learning. A direct comparison of learning-related changes between actively generated finger movements and passively evoked finger movements by TMS provided evidence that finger coordination patterns represented in the corticospinal system are reorganized through implicit, but not explicit, sequence learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masato Hirano
- Human Motor Control Laboratory, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shinji Kubota
- Human Motor Control Laboratory, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shinichi Furuya
- Musical Skill and Injury Center (MuSIC), Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
- SONY Computer Science Laboratory, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshiki Koizume
- Human Motor Control Laboratory, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Shinya Tanaka
- Human Motor Control Laboratory, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kozo Funase
- Human Motor Control Laboratory, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
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Salimi-Badr A, Ebadzadeh MM, Darlot C. A system-level mathematical model of Basal Ganglia motor-circuit for kinematic planning of arm movements. Comput Biol Med 2018; 92:78-89. [PMID: 29156412 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2017.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2017] [Revised: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, a novel system-level mathematical model of the Basal Ganglia (BG) for kinematic planning, is proposed. An arm composed of several segments presents a geometric redundancy. Thus, selecting one trajectory among an infinite number of possible ones requires overcoming redundancy, according to some kinds of optimization. Solving this optimization is assumed to be the function of BG in planning. In the proposed model, first, a mathematical solution of kinematic planning is proposed for movements of a redundant arm in a plane, based on minimizing energy consumption. Next, the function of each part in the model is interpreted as a possible role of a nucleus of BG. Since the kinematic variables are considered as vectors, the proposed model is presented based on the vector calculus. This vector model predicts different neuronal populations in BG which is in accordance with some recent experimental studies. According to the proposed model, the function of the direct pathway is to calculate the necessary rotation of each joint, and the function of the indirect pathway is to control each joint rotation considering the movement of the other joints. In the proposed model, the local feedback loop between Subthalamic Nucleus and Globus Pallidus externus is interpreted as a local memory to store the previous amounts of movements of the other joints, which are utilized by the indirect pathway. In this model, activities of dopaminergic neurons would encode, at short-term, the error between the desired and actual positions of the end-effector. The short-term modulating effect of dopamine on Striatum is also modeled as cross product. The model is simulated to generate the commands of a redundant manipulator. The performance of the model is studied for different reaching movements between 8 points in a plane. Finally, some symptoms of Parkinson's disease such as bradykinesia and akinesia are simulated by modifying the model parameters, inspired by the dopamine depletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armin Salimi-Badr
- Department of Computer Engineering and Information Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran; INSERM-U1093 Cognition, Action, et Plasticité Sensorimotrice, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France
| | - Mohammad Mehdi Ebadzadeh
- Department of Computer Engineering and Information Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Christian Darlot
- INSERM-U1093 Cognition, Action, et Plasticité Sensorimotrice, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France
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24
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Foti F, Menghini D, Alfieri P, Costanzo F, Mandolesi L, Petrosini L, Vicari S. Learning by observation and learning by doing in Down and Williams syndromes. Dev Sci 2017; 21:e12642. [PMID: 29280247 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
New skills may be learned by active experience (experiential learning or learning by doing) or by observation of others' experience (learning by observation). In general, learning by observation reduces the time and the attempts needed to learn complex actions and behaviors. The present research aimed to compare learning by observation and learning by doing in two clinical populations with different etiology of intellectual disability (ID), as individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), with the hypothesis that specific profiles of learning may be found in each syndrome. To this end, we used a mixture of new and existing data to compare the performances of 24 individuals with DS, 24 individuals with WS and 24 typically developing children on computerized tasks of learning by observation or learning by doing. The main result was that the two groups with ID exhibited distinct patterns of learning by observation. Thus, individuals with DS were impaired in reproducing the previously observed visuo-motor sequence, while they were as efficient as TD children in the experiential learning task. On the other hand, individuals with WS benefited from the observational training while they were severely impaired in detecting the visuo-motor sequence in the experiential learning task (when presented first). The present findings reinforce the syndrome-specific hypothesis and the view of ID as a variety of conditions in which some cognitive functions are more disrupted than others because of the differences in genetic profile and brain morphology and functionality. These findings have important implications for clinicians, who should take into account the genetic etiology of ID in developing learning programs for treatment and education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.,Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Alfieri
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Floriana Costanzo
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University Parthenope, Naples, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy
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25
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A possible correlation between the basal ganglia motor function and the inverse kinematics calculation. J Comput Neurosci 2017; 43:295-318. [DOI: 10.1007/s10827-017-0665-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Revised: 09/24/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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26
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Spampinato D, Celnik P. Temporal dynamics of cerebellar and motor cortex physiological processes during motor skill learning. Sci Rep 2017; 7:40715. [PMID: 28091578 PMCID: PMC5238434 DOI: 10.1038/srep40715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2016] [Accepted: 12/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning motor tasks involves distinct physiological processes in the cerebellum (CB) and primary motor cortex (M1). Previous studies have shown that motor learning results in at least two important neurophysiological changes: modulation of cerebellar output mediated in-part by long-term depression of parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse and induction of long-term plasticity (LTP) in M1, leading to transient occlusion of additional LTP-like plasticity. However, little is known about the temporal dynamics of these two physiological mechanisms during motor skill learning. Here we use non-invasive brain stimulation to explore CB and M1 mechanisms during early and late motor skill learning in humans. We predicted that early skill acquisition would be proportional to cerebellar excitability (CBI) changes, whereas later stages of learning will result in M1 LTP-like plasticity modifications. We found that early, and not late into skill training, CBI changed. Whereas, occlusion of LTP-like plasticity over M1 occurred only during late, but not early training. These findings indicate a distinct temporal dissociation in the physiological role of the CB and M1 when learning a novel skill. Understanding the role and temporal dynamics of different brain regions during motor learning is critical to device optimal interventions to augment learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Spampinato
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 720 Rutland Avenue Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - P Celnik
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 North Wolfe Street Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.,Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
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27
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Cassady K, Koppelmans V, Reuter-Lorenz P, De Dios Y, Gadd N, Wood S, Castenada RR, Kofman I, Bloomberg J, Mulavara A, Seidler R. Effects of a spaceflight analog environment on brain connectivity and behavior. Neuroimage 2016; 141:18-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.07.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Revised: 06/22/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
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28
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Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the left premotor cortex (PMC) stabilizes a newly learned motor sequence. Behav Brain Res 2016; 316:87-93. [PMID: 27542725 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.08.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 08/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
While the primary motor cortex (M1) is involved in the acquisition the premotor cortex (PMC) has been related to over-night consolidation of a newly learned motor skill. The present study aims at investigating the possible contribution of the left PMC for the stabilization of a motor sequence immediately after acquisition as determined by susceptibility to interference. Thirty six healthy volunteers received anodal, cathodal and sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left PMC either immediately prior to or during training on a serial reaction time task (SRTT) with the right hand. TDCS was applied for 10min, respectively. Reaction times were measured prior to training (t1), at the end of training (t2), and after presentation of an interfering random pattern (t3). Beyond interference from learning, the random pattern served as control condition in order to estimate general effects of tDCS on reaction times. TDCS applied during SRTT training did not result in any significant effects neither on acquisition nor on susceptibility to interference. In contrast to this, tDCS prior to SRTT training yielded an unspecific facilitation of reaction times at t2 independent of tDCS polarity. At t3, reduced susceptibility to interference was found following cathodal stimulation. The results suggest the involvement of the PMC in early consolidation and reveal a piece of evidence for the hypothesis that behavioral tDCS effects vary with the activation state of the stimulated area.
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29
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Hayes HA, Hunsaker N, Dibble LE. Implicit Motor Sequence Learning in Individuals with Parkinson Disease: A Meta-Analysis. JOURNAL OF PARKINSONS DISEASE 2016; 5:549-60. [PMID: 26406135 DOI: 10.3233/jpd-140441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deficits in implicit motor sequence learning (IMSL) in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) compared to age matched healthy controls (HC) are unclear. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this paper is to present results of a systematic review with a meta-analysis examining the hypothesis that IMSL is impaired in individuals with PD when compared to HC. METHODS Fifteen articles met our final criteria and assessed 299 individuals with PD and 244 HC. Raw mean and standard deviation data for the final block of repeated and final block of random practice trials were obtained to calculate sequence-specific learning (SSL) for individuals with PD and HC. Forest plots were used to depict the comparison of the groups by assessing standardized mean difference with random effect size. RESULTS A significant and moderate effect size, 0.83 was found suggesting that individuals with PD demonstrated impaired SSL of motor sequences compared to HC. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with PD demonstrate a deficit compared with HC in their ability to implicitly learn motor tasks. Existing research lacks detail on the factors which may alter IMSL, either negatively or positively, such as the design features of current IMSL paradigms utilized and disease-specific characteristics. Successful motor rehabilitation of functional tasks in persons with PD is highly dependent on IMSL; therefore, an improved knowledge of the influence of these additional variables is critical.
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30
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Tsai CL, Chen FC, Pan CY, Tseng YT. The Neurocognitive Performance of Visuospatial Attention in Children with Obesity. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1033. [PMID: 27458421 PMCID: PMC4933706 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2016] [Accepted: 06/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigates the behavioral performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) in children with obesity and healthy weight children when performing a visuospatial attention task. Twenty-six children with obesity (obese group) and 26 healthy weight children (control group) were recruited. Their behavioral performance during a variant of the Posner paradigm was measured, and brain ERPs were recorded concurrently. The behavioral data revealed that the obese group responded more slowly, especially in the invalid condition, and exhibited a deficit in attentional inhibition capacity as compared to the control group. In terms of cognitive electrophysiological performance, although the obese group did not show significant differences on P3 latency elicited by the target stimuli when compared to the control group, they exhibited smaller P3 amplitudes when performing the visuospatial attention task. These results broaden previous findings, and indicate that childhood obesity is associated with a reduced ability to modulate the executive function network which supports visuospatial attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Liang Tsai
- Lab of Cognitive Neurophysiology, Institute of Physical Education, Health and Leisure Studies, National Cheng Kung University Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Fu-Chen Chen
- Department of Recreational Sport and Health Promotion, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Yu Pan
- Department of Physical Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Ting Tseng
- Lab of Cognitive Neurophysiology, Institute of Physical Education, Health and Leisure Studies, National Cheng Kung UniversityTainan, Taiwan; School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, MinneapolisMN, USA
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31
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Long AW, Roemmich RT, Bastian AJ. Blocking trial-by-trial error correction does not interfere with motor learning in human walking. J Neurophysiol 2016; 115:2341-8. [PMID: 26912598 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00941.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Movements can be learned implicitly in response to new environmental demands or explicitly through instruction and strategy. The former is often studied in an environment that perturbs movement so that people learn to correct the errors and store a new motor pattern. Here, we demonstrate in human walking that implicit learning of foot placement occurs even when an explicit strategy is used to block changes in foot placement during the learning process. We studied people learning a new walking pattern on a split-belt treadmill with and without an explicit strategy through instruction on where to step. When there is no instruction, subjects implicitly learn to place one foot in front of the other to minimize step-length asymmetry during split-belt walking, and the learned pattern is maintained when the belts are returned to the same speed, i.e., postlearning. When instruction is provided, we block expression of the new foot-placement pattern that would otherwise naturally develop from adaptation. Despite this appearance of no learning in foot placement, subjects show similar postlearning effects as those who were not given any instruction. Thus locomotor adaptation is not dependent on a change in action during learning but instead can be driven entirely by an unexpressed internal recalibration of the desired movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W Long
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Motion Analysis Laboratory, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; and
| | - Ryan T Roemmich
- Motion Analysis Laboratory, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; and Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Amy J Bastian
- Motion Analysis Laboratory, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; and Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
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32
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Sharer E, Crocetti D, Muschelli J, Barber AD, Nebel MB, Caffo BS, Pekar JJ, Mostofsky SH. Neural Correlates of Visuomotor Learning in Autism. J Child Neurol 2015; 30:1877-86. [PMID: 26350725 PMCID: PMC4941625 DOI: 10.1177/0883073815600869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Motor impairments are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder. The Serial Reaction Time Task, a well-established visuomotor sequence learning probe, has produced inconsistent behavioral findings in individuals with autism. Moreover, it remains unclear how underlying neural processes for visuomotor learning in children with autism compare to processes for typically developing children. Neural activity differences were assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a modified version of the Serial Reaction Time Task in children with and without autism. Though there was no group difference in visuomotor sequence learning, underlying patterns of neural activation significantly differed when comparing sequence (i.e., learning) to random (i.e., nonlearning) blocks. Children with autism demonstrated decreased activity in brain regions implicated in visuomotor sequence learning: superior temporal sulcus and posterior cingulate cortex. The findings implicate differences in brain mechanisms that support initial sequence learning in autism and can help explain behavioral observations of autism-associated impairments in skill development (motor, social, communicative) reliant on visuomotor integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Sharer
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Deana Crocetti
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - John Muschelli
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Anita D. Barber
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Mary Beth Nebel
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Brian S. Caffo
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jim J. Pekar
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland,FM Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stewart H. Mostofsky
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland,Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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33
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Dovern A, Fink GR, Timpert DC, Saliger J, Karbe H, Weiss PH, Koch I. Timing Matters? Learning of Complex Spatiotemporal Sequences in Left-hemisphere Stroke Patients. J Cogn Neurosci 2015; 28:223-36. [PMID: 26439271 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
During rehabilitation after stroke motor sequence learning is of particular importance because considerable effort is devoted to (re)acquiring lost motor skills. Previous studies suggest that implicit motor sequence learning is preserved in stroke patients but were restricted to the spatial dimension, although the timing of single action components is as important as their spatial order. As the left parietal cortex is known to play a critical role in implicit timing and spatiotemporal integration, in this study we applied an adapted version of the SRT task designed to assess both spatial (different stimulus locations) and temporal (different response-stimulus intervals) aspects of motor learning to 24 right-handed patients with a single left-hemisphere (LH) stroke and 24 age-matched healthy controls. Implicit retrieval of sequence knowledge was tested both at Day 1 and after 24 hr (Day 2). Additionally, voxel-based lesion symptom mapping was used to investigate the neurobiological substrates of the behavioral effects. Although LH stroke patients showed a combined spatiotemporal learning effect that was comparable to that observed in controls, LH stroke patients did not show learning effects for the learning probes in which only one type of sequence information was maintained whereas the other one was randomized. Particularly on Day 2, patients showed significantly smaller learning scores for these two learning probes than controls. Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analyses revealed for all learning probes that diminished learning scores on Day 2 were associated with lesions of the striatum. This might be attributed to its role in motor chunking and offline consolidation as group differences occurred on Day 2 only. The current results suggest that LH stroke patients rely on multimodal information (here: temporal and spatial information) when retrieving motor sequence knowledge and are very sensitive to any disruption of the learnt sequence information as they seem to build very rigid chunks preventing them from forming independent spatial and temporal sequence representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Dovern
- University Hospital Cologne.,Research Centre Jülich
| | | | | | - Jochen Saliger
- Neurological Rehabilitation Centre Godeshöhe, Bonn, Germany
| | - Hans Karbe
- Neurological Rehabilitation Centre Godeshöhe, Bonn, Germany
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34
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Wilkinson L, Steel A, Mooshagian E, Zimmermann T, Keisler A, Lewis JD, Wassermann EM. Online feedback enhances early consolidation of motor sequence learning and reverses recall deficit from transcranial stimulation of motor cortex. Cortex 2015; 71:134-47. [PMID: 26204232 PMCID: PMC4575846 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2014] [Revised: 02/05/2015] [Accepted: 06/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Feedback and monetary reward can enhance motor skill learning, suggesting reward system involvement. Continuous theta burst (cTBS) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor area (M1) disrupts processing, reduces excitability and impairs motor learning. To see whether feedback and reward can overcome the learning impairment associated with M1 cTBS, we delivered real or sham stimulation to two groups of participants before they performed a motor sequence learning task with and without feedback. Participants were trained on two intermixed sequences, one occurring 85% of the time (the "probable" sequence) and the other 15% of the time (the "improbable" sequence). We measured sequence learning as the difference in reaction time (RT) and error rate between probable and improbable trials (RT and error difference scores). Participants were also tested for sequence recall with the same indices of learning 60 min after cTBS. Real stimulation impaired initial sequence learning and sequence knowledge recall as measured by error difference scores and impaired sequence knowledge recall as measured by RT difference score. Relative to non-feedback learning, the introduction of feedback during sequence learning improved subsequent sequence knowledge recall indexed by RT difference score, in both real and sham stimulation groups and feedback reversed the RT difference score based sequence knowledge recall impairment from real cTBS that we observed in the non-feedback learning condition. Only the real cTBS group in the non-feedback condition showed no evidence of explicit sequence knowledge when tested at the end of the study. Feedback improves recall of implicit and explicit motor sequence knowledge and can protect sequence knowledge against the effect of M1 inhibition. Adding feedback and monetary reward/punishment to motor skill learning may help overcome retention impairments or accelerate training in clinical and other settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonora Wilkinson
- Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Adam Steel
- Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Eric Mooshagian
- Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, USA.
| | - Trelawny Zimmermann
- Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, USA.
| | - Aysha Keisler
- Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Jeffrey D Lewis
- Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Eric M Wassermann
- Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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35
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Fling BW, Gera Dutta G, Horak FB. Functional connectivity underlying postural motor adaptation in people with multiple sclerosis. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2015; 8:281-9. [PMID: 26106552 PMCID: PMC4474363 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2015] [Revised: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/30/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
A well-characterized neural network is associated with motor learning, involving several brain regions known to have functional and structural deficits in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). However, it is not known how MS affects postural motor learning or the neural networks involved. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the neural networks underlying adaptation of postural responses within PwMS. Participants stood on a hydraulically driven, servo-controlled platform that translated horizontally forward and backward in a continuous sinusoidal pattern across multiple trials over two consecutive days. Our results show similar postural adaptation between PwMS and age-matched control participants despite overall deficits in postural motor control in PwMS. Moreover, PwMS demonstrated better retention the following day. PwMS had significantly reduced functional connectivity within both the cortico-cerebellar and cortico-striatal motor loops; neural networks that subserve implicit motor learning. In PwMS, greater connectivity strength within the cortico-cerebellar circuit was strongly related to better baseline postural control, but not to postural adaptation as it was in control participants. Further, anti-correlated cortico-striatal connectivity within the right hemisphere was related to improved postural adaptation in both groups. Taken together with previous studies showing a reduced reliance on cerebellar- and proprioceptive-related feedback control in PwMS, we suggest that PwMS may rely on cortico-striatal circuitry to a greater extent than cortico-cerebellar circuitry for the acquisition and retention of motor skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett W Fling
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97239-3098, USA ; Portland VA Medical Center, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd., Portland, OR 97239-9264, USA
| | - Geetanjali Gera Dutta
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97239-3098, USA
| | - Fay B Horak
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97239-3098, USA ; Portland VA Medical Center, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd., Portland, OR 97239-9264, USA
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36
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Foti F, Menghini D, Orlandi E, Rufini C, Crinò A, Spera S, Vicari S, Petrosini L, Mandolesi L. Learning by observation and learning by doing in Prader-Willi syndrome. J Neurodev Disord 2015; 7:6. [PMID: 25914757 PMCID: PMC4409733 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-015-9102-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND New competencies may be learned through active experience (learning by doing) or observation of others' experience (learning by observation). Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer's acquisition of the same action, limiting the time-consuming process of learning by doing. Here, we compared learning by observation and learning by doing in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). It is hypothesized that PWS individuals could show more difficulties with learning by observation than learning by doing because of their specific difficulty in interpreting and using social information. METHODS The performance of 24 PWS individuals was compared with that of 28 mental age (MA)- and gender-matched typically developing (TD) children in tasks of learning a visuo-motor sequence by observation or by doing. To determine whether the performance pattern exhibited by PWS participants was specific to this population or whether it was a nonspecific intellectual disability effect, we compared the PWS performances with those of a third MA- and gender-matched group of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS). RESULTS PWS individuals were severely impaired in detecting a sequence by observation, were able to detect a sequence by doing, and became as efficient as TD children in reproducing an observed sequence after a task of learning by doing. The learning pattern of PWS children was reversed compared with that of WS individuals. CONCLUSIONS The observational learning deficit in PWS individuals may be rooted, at least partially, in their incapacity to understand and/or use social information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - Deny Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Enzo Orlandi
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Cristina Rufini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonino Crinò
- Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Palidoro, Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Spera
- Pediatric and Autoimmune Endocrine Disease Unit, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Palidoro, Via Torre di Palidoro, 00050 Fiumicino, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefano Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Neuroscience Department, "Children's Hospital Bambino Gesù", Piazza Sant'Onofrio 4, 00100 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Petrosini
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy ; Department of Motor Science and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope", Via Medina 40, 80133 Naples, Italy
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Wolf S, Brölz E, Scholz D, Ramos-Murguialday A, Keune PM, Hautzinger M, Birbaumer N, Strehl U. Winning the game: brain processes in expert, young elite and amateur table tennis players. Front Behav Neurosci 2014; 8:370. [PMID: 25386126 PMCID: PMC4209814 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 10/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This study tested two hypotheses: (1) compared with amateurs and young elite, expert table tennis players are characterized by enhanced cortical activation in the motor and fronto-parietal cortex during motor imagery in response to table tennis videos; (2) in elite athletes, world rank points are associated with stronger cortical activation. To this aim, electroencephalographic data were recorded in 14 expert, 15 amateur and 15 young elite right-handed table tennis players. All subjects watched videos of a serve and imagined themselves responding with a specific table tennis stroke. With reference to a baseline period, power decrease/increase of the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) during the pretask- and task period indexed the cortical activation/deactivation (event-related desynchronization/synchronization, ERD/ERS). Regarding hypothesis (1), 8–10 Hz SMR ERD was stronger in elite athletes than in amateurs with an intermediate ERD in young elite athletes in the motor cortex. Regarding hypothesis (2), there was no correlation between ERD/ERS in the motor cortex and world rank points in elite experts, but a weaker ERD in the fronto-parietal cortex was associated with higher world rank points. These results suggest that motor skill in table tennis is associated with focused excitability of the motor cortex during reaction, movement planning and execution with high attentional demands. Among elite experts, less activation of the fronto-parietal attention network may be necessary to become a world champion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Wolf
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Ellen Brölz
- Department of Internal Medicine VI: Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
| | - David Scholz
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Ander Ramos-Murguialday
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany ; TECNALIA, Health-Technologies San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Philipp M Keune
- Department of Neurology, Klinikum Bayreuth Bayreuth, Germany ; Department of Physiological Psychology, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg, Germany
| | - Martin Hautzinger
- Faculty of Science, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Niels Birbaumer
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany ; Ospedale San Camillo, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Venice, Italy ; German Center for Diabetes Research Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Ute Strehl
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
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Foti F, Mazzone L, Menghini D, De Peppo L, Federico F, Postorino V, Baumgartner E, Valeri G, Petrosini L, Vicari S. Learning by observation in children with autism spectrum disorder. Psychol Med 2014; 44:2437-2447. [PMID: 24433947 DOI: 10.1017/s003329171300322x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer's acquisition of the same action and limits the time-consuming process of learning by trial and error. Learning by observation requires specific skills such as attending, imitating and understanding contingencies. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit deficits in these skills. METHOD The performance of 20 ASD children was compared with that of a group of typically developing (TD) children matched for chronological age (CA), IQ and gender on tasks of learning of a visuomotor sequence by observation or by trial and error. Acquiring the correct sequence involved three phases: a detection phase (DP), in which participants discovered the correct sequence and learned how to perform the task; an exercise phase (EP), in which they reproduced the sequence until performance was error free; and an automatization phase (AP), in which by repeating the error-free sequence they became accurate and speedy. RESULTS In the DP, ASD children were impaired in detecting a sequence by trial and error only when the task was proposed as first, whereas they were as efficient as TD children in detecting a sequence by observation. In the EP, ASD children were as efficient as TD children. In the AP, ASD children were impaired in automatizing the sequence. Although the positive effect of learning by observation was evident, ASD children made a high number of imitative errors, indicating marked tendencies to hyperimitate. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate the imitative abilities of ASD children although the presence of imitative errors indicates an impairment in the control of imitative behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Foti
- Department of Psychology,Sapienza University of Rome,Italy
| | - L Mazzone
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience,Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital,Rome,Italy
| | - D Menghini
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience,Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital,Rome,Italy
| | - L De Peppo
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience,Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital,Rome,Italy
| | - F Federico
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology,Sapienza University of Rome,Italy
| | - V Postorino
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience,Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital,Rome,Italy
| | - E Baumgartner
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology,Sapienza University of Rome,Italy
| | - G Valeri
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience,Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital,Rome,Italy
| | - L Petrosini
- Department of Psychology,Sapienza University of Rome,Italy
| | - S Vicari
- Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience,Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital,Rome,Italy
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Langner R, Sternkopf MA, Kellermann TS, Grefkes C, Kurth F, Schneider F, Zilles K, Eickhoff SB. Translating working memory into action: behavioral and neural evidence for using motor representations in encoding visuo-spatial sequences. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:3465-84. [PMID: 24222405 PMCID: PMC6869028 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2013] [Revised: 08/02/2013] [Accepted: 09/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The neurobiological organization of action-oriented working memory is not well understood. To elucidate the neural correlates of translating visuo-spatial stimulus sequences into delayed (memory-guided) sequential actions, we measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants encoded sequences of four to seven dots appearing on fingers of a left or right schematic hand. After variable delays, sequences were to be reproduced with the corresponding fingers. Recall became less accurate with longer sequences and was initiated faster after long delays. Across both hands, encoding and recall activated bilateral prefrontal, premotor, superior and inferior parietal regions as well as the basal ganglia, whereas hand-specific activity was found (albeit to a lesser degree during encoding) in contralateral premotor, sensorimotor, and superior parietal cortex. Activation differences after long versus short delays were restricted to motor-related regions, indicating that rehearsal during long delays might have facilitated the conversion of the memorandum into concrete motor programs at recall. Furthermore, basal ganglia activity during encoding selectively predicted correct recall. Taken together, the results suggest that to-be-reproduced visuo-spatial sequences are encoded as prospective action representations (motor intentions), possibly in addition to retrospective sensory codes. Overall, our study supports and extends multi-component models of working memory, highlighting the notion that sensory input can be coded in multiple ways depending on what the memorandum is to be used for.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Langner
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐1)Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical PsychologyHeinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Melanie A. Sternkopf
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐1)Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Department of PsychiatryPsychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
- Jülich–Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) – Translational Brain MedicineGermany
| | - Tanja S. Kellermann
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐1)Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Department of PsychiatryPsychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
| | - Christian Grefkes
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of Cologne, and Neuromodulation & Neurorehabilitation Group, Max Planck Institute for Neurological ResearchCologneGermany
| | - Florian Kurth
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐1)Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Department of PsychiatrySemel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of CaliforniaLos AngelesCalifornia
| | - Frank Schneider
- Department of PsychiatryPsychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
- Jülich–Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) – Translational Brain MedicineGermany
| | - Karl Zilles
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐1)Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Department of PsychiatryPsychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
- Jülich–Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) – Translational Brain MedicineGermany
| | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM‐1)Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical PsychologyHeinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
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Delineating the cortico-striatal-cerebellar network in implicit motor sequence learning. Neuroimage 2014; 94:222-230. [PMID: 24632466 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2014] [Revised: 02/28/2014] [Accepted: 03/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Theoretical models and experimental evidence suggest that cortico-striatal-cerebellar networks play a crucial role in mediating motor sequence learning. However, how these different regions interact in order to mediate learning is less clear. In the present fMRI study, we used dynamic causal modeling to investigate effective connectivity within the cortico-striatal-cerebellar network while subjects performed a serial reaction time task. Using Bayesian model selection and family wise inference, we show that the cortico-cerebellar loop had higher model evidence than the cortico-striatal loop during motor learning. We observed significant negative modulatory effects on the connections from M1 to cerebellum bilaterally during learning. The results suggest that M1 causes the observed decrease in activity in the cerebellum as learning progresses. The current study stresses the significant role that the cerebellum plays in motor learning as previously suggested by fMRI studies in healthy subjects as well as behavioral studies in patients with cerebellar dysfunction. These results provide important insight into the neural mechanisms underlying motor learning.
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Abstract
This chapter focuses on neurodevelopmental diseases that are tightly linked to abnormal function of the striatum and connected structures. We begin with an overview of three representative diseases in which striatal dysfunction plays a key role--Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Rett's syndrome, and primary dystonia. These diseases highlight distinct etiologies that disrupt striatal integrity and function during development, and showcase the varied clinical manifestations of striatal dysfunction. We then review striatal organization and function, including evidence for striatal roles in online motor control/action selection, reinforcement learning, habit formation, and action sequencing. A key barrier to progress has been the relative lack of animal models of these diseases, though recently there has been considerable progress. We review these efforts, including their relative merits providing insight into disease pathogenesis, disease symptomatology, and basal ganglia function.
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42
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Koppelmans V, Erdeniz B, De Dios YE, Wood SJ, Reuter-Lorenz PA, Kofman I, Bloomberg JJ, Mulavara AP, Seidler RD. Study protocol to examine the effects of spaceflight and a spaceflight analog on neurocognitive performance: extent, longevity, and neural bases. BMC Neurol 2013; 13:205. [PMID: 24350728 PMCID: PMC3878338 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2377-13-205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Long duration spaceflight (i.e., 22 days or longer) has been associated with changes in sensorimotor systems, resulting in difficulties that astronauts experience with posture control, locomotion, and manual control. The microgravity environment is an important causal factor for spaceflight induced sensorimotor changes. Whether spaceflight also affects other central nervous system functions such as cognition is yet largely unknown, but of importance in consideration of the health and performance of crewmembers both in- and post-flight. We are therefore conducting a controlled prospective longitudinal study to investigate the effects of spaceflight on the extent, longevity and neural bases of sensorimotor and cognitive performance changes. Here we present the protocol of our study. Methods/design This study includes three groups (astronauts, bed rest subjects, ground-based control subjects) for which each the design is single group with repeated measures. The effects of spaceflight on the brain will be investigated in astronauts who will be assessed at two time points pre-, at three time points during-, and at four time points following a spaceflight mission of six months. To parse out the effect of microgravity from the overall effects of spaceflight, we investigate the effects of seventy days head-down tilted bed rest. Bed rest subjects will be assessed at two time points before-, two time points during-, and three time points post-bed rest. A third group of ground based controls will be measured at four time points to assess reliability of our measures over time. For all participants and at all time points, except in flight, measures of neurocognitive performance, fine motor control, gait, balance, structural MRI (T1, DTI), task fMRI, and functional connectivity MRI will be obtained. In flight, astronauts will complete some of the tasks that they complete pre- and post flight, including tasks measuring spatial working memory, sensorimotor adaptation, and fine motor performance. Potential changes over time and associations between cognition, motor-behavior, and brain structure and function will be analyzed. Discussion This study explores how spaceflight induced brain changes impact functional performance. This understanding could aid in the design of targeted countermeasures to mitigate the negative effects of long-duration spaceflight.
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Albouy G, King BR, Maquet P, Doyon J. Hippocampus and striatum: Dynamics and interaction during acquisition and sleep-related motor sequence memory consolidation. Hippocampus 2013; 23:985-1004. [DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/29/2013] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Geneviève Albouy
- Functional Neuroimaging Unit, C.R.I.U.G.M.; Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of Psychology; University of Montreal; Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Bradley R. King
- Functional Neuroimaging Unit, C.R.I.U.G.M.; Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of Psychology; University of Montreal; Montreal Quebec Canada
| | - Pierre Maquet
- Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège; Liège Belgium
| | - Julien Doyon
- Functional Neuroimaging Unit, C.R.I.U.G.M.; Montreal Quebec Canada
- Department of Psychology; University of Montreal; Montreal Quebec Canada
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Vaillancourt DE, Schonfeld D, Kwak Y, Bohnen NI, Seidler R. Dopamine overdose hypothesis: evidence and clinical implications. Mov Disord 2013; 28:1920-9. [PMID: 24123087 DOI: 10.1002/mds.25687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2013] [Revised: 08/15/2013] [Accepted: 08/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
About a half a century has passed since dopamine was identified as a neurotransmitter, and it has been several decades since it was established that people with Parkinson's disease receive motor symptom relief from oral levodopa. Despite the evidence that levodopa can reduce motor symptoms, there has been a developing body of literature that dopaminergic therapy can improve cognitive functions in some patients but make them worse in others. Over the past two decades, several laboratories have shown that dopaminergic medications can impair the action of intact neural structures and impair the behaviors associated with these structures. In this review, we consider the evidence that has accumulated in the areas of reversal learning, motor sequence learning, and other cognitive tasks. The purported inverted-U shaped relationship between dopamine levels and performance is complex and includes many contributory factors. The regional striatal topography of nigrostriatal denervation is a critical factor, as supported by multimodal neuroimaging studies. A patient's individual genotype will determine the relative baseline position on this inverted-U curve. Dopaminergic pharmacotherapy and individual gene polymorphisms can affect the mesolimbic and prefrontal cortical dopaminergic functions in a comparable, inverted-U dose-response relationship. Depending on these factors, a patient can respond positively or negatively to levodopa when performing reversal learning and motor sequence learning tasks. These tasks may continue to be relevant as our society moves to increased technological demands of a digital world that requires newly learned motor sequences and adaptive behaviors to manage daily life activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E Vaillancourt
- Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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45
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Altamura M, Carver FW, Elvevåg B, Weinberger DR, Coppola R. Dynamic cortical involvement in implicit anticipation during statistical learning. Neurosci Lett 2013; 558:73-7. [PMID: 24080375 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2013.09.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2013] [Revised: 09/04/2013] [Accepted: 09/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The prediction of future events is fundamental in a large number of critical neurobehavioral contexts including implicit motor learning. This learning process relies on the probabilities with which events occur, and is a dynamic phenomenon. The aim of present study was to investigate the development of anticipatory processes during implicit learning. A decision making task was employed in which the frequency of trial types was manipulated such that one trial type was disproportionately prevalent as compared to the remaining three trial types. A 275 channel whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) system was used to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of event-related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS). The results revealed that oscillations within the alpha (10-12 Hz) and beta (14-30 Hz) frequencies were associated with anticipatory processes in distinct networks in the course of learning. During early phases of learning the contralateral motor cortex, the anterior cingulate, the caudate and the inferior frontal gyrus showed ERDs within beta and alpha frequencies, putatively reflecting preparation of next motor response. As the task progressed, alpha ERSs in occipitotemporal regions and putamen likely reflect perceptual anticipation of the forthcoming stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Altamura
- Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, NIMH, Building 10, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Psychiatry Unit, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
| | | | - Brita Elvevåg
- Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, NIMH, Building 10, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Daniel R Weinberger
- Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, NIMH, Building 10, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience, and the Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Richard Coppola
- Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, NIMH, Building 10, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; MEG Core Facility, NIMH, Building 10, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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46
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Reber PJ. The neural basis of implicit learning and memory: A review of neuropsychological and neuroimaging research. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:2026-42. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2012] [Revised: 06/14/2013] [Accepted: 06/15/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Ruddy KL, Carson RG. Neural pathways mediating cross education of motor function. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:397. [PMID: 23908616 PMCID: PMC3725409 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2013] [Accepted: 07/07/2013] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cross education is the process whereby training of one limb gives rise to enhancements in the performance of the opposite, untrained limb. Despite interest in this phenomenon having been sustained for more than a century, a comprehensive explanation of the mediating neural mechanisms remains elusive. With new evidence emerging that cross education may have therapeutic utility, the need to provide a principled evidential basis upon which to design interventions becomes ever more pressing. Generally, mechanistic accounts of cross education align with one of two explanatory frameworks. Models of the “cross activation” variety encapsulate the observation that unilateral execution of a movement task gives rise to bilateral increases in corticospinal excitability. The related conjecture is that such distributed activity, when present during unilateral practice, leads to simultaneous adaptations in neural circuits that project to the muscles of the untrained limb, thus facilitating subsequent performance of the task. Alternatively, “bilateral access” models entail that motor engrams formed during unilateral practice, may subsequently be utilized bilaterally—that is, by the neural circuitry that constitutes the control centers for movements of both limbs. At present there is a paucity of direct evidence that allows the corresponding neural processes to be delineated, or their relative contributions in different task contexts to be ascertained. In the current review we seek to synthesize and assimilate the fragmentary information that is available, including consideration of knowledge that has emerged as a result of technological advances in structural and functional brain imaging. An emphasis upon task dependency is maintained throughout, the conviction being that the neural mechanisms that mediate cross education may only be understood in this context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy L Ruddy
- School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast Belfast, UK ; Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin Dublin, Ireland
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48
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Seidler RD, Bo J, Anguera JA. Neurocognitive contributions to motor skill learning: the role of working memory. J Mot Behav 2013; 44:445-53. [PMID: 23237467 DOI: 10.1080/00222895.2012.672348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Researchers have begun to delineate the precise nature and neural correlates of the cognitive processes that contribute to motor skill learning. The authors review recent work from their laboratory designed to further understand the neurocognitive mechanisms of skill acquisition. The authors have demonstrated an important role for spatial working memory in 2 different types of motor skill learning, sensorimotor adaptation and motor sequence learning. They have shown that individual differences in spatial working memory capacity predict the rate of motor learning for sensorimotor adaptation and motor sequence learning, and have also reported neural overlap between a spatial working memory task and the early, but not late, stages of adaptation, particularly in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral inferior parietal lobules. The authors propose that spatial working memory is relied on for processing motor error information to update motor control for subsequent actions. Further, they suggest that working memory is relied on during learning new action sequences for chunking individual action elements together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachael D Seidler
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2214, USA.
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Rosenthal CR, Ng TWC, Kennard C. Generalisation of new sequence knowledge depends on response modality. PLoS One 2013; 8:e53990. [PMID: 23393553 PMCID: PMC3564847 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2011] [Accepted: 12/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
New visuomotor skills can guide behaviour in novel situations. Prior studies indicate that learning a visuospatial sequence via responses based on manual key presses leads to effector- and response-independent knowledge. Little is known, however, about the extent to which new sequence knowledge can generalise, and, thereby guide behaviour, outside of the manual response modality. Here, we examined whether learning a visuospatial sequence either via manual (key presses, without eye movements), oculomotor (obligatory eye movements), or perceptual (covert reorienting of visuospatial attention) responses supported generalisation to direct and indirect tests administered either in the same (baseline conditions) or a novel response modality (transfer conditions) with respect to initial study. Direct tests measured the use of conscious knowledge about the studied sequence, whereas the indirect tests did not ostensibly draw on the study phase and measured response priming. Oculomotor learning supported the use of conscious knowledge on the manual direct tests, whereas manual learning supported generalisation to the oculomotor direct tests but did not support the conscious use of knowledge. Sequence knowledge acquired via perceptual responses did not generalise onto any of the manual tests. Manual, oculomotor, and perceptual sequence learning all supported generalisation in the baseline conditions. Notably, the manual baseline condition and the manual to oculomotor transfer condition differed in the magnitude of general skill acquired during the study phase; however, general skill did not predict performance on the post-study tests. The results demonstrated that generalisation was only affected by the responses used to initially code the visuospatial sequence when new knowledge was applied to a novel response modality. We interpret these results in terms of response-effect distinctiveness, the availability of integrated effector- and motor-plan based information, and discuss their implications for neurocognitive accounts of sequence learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clive R Rosenthal
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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50
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Foti F, Menghini D, Mandolesi L, Federico F, Vicari S, Petrosini L. Learning by observation: insights from Williams syndrome. PLoS One 2013; 8:e53782. [PMID: 23326504 PMCID: PMC3542281 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Observing another person performing a complex action accelerates the observer’s acquisition of the same action and limits the time-consuming process of learning by trial and error. Observational learning makes an interesting and potentially important topic in the developmental domain, especially when disorders are considered. The implications of studies aimed at clarifying whether and how this form of learning is spared by pathology are manifold. We focused on a specific population with learning and intellectual disabilities, the individuals with Williams syndrome. The performance of twenty-eight individuals with Williams syndrome was compared with that of mental age- and gender-matched thirty-two typically developing children on tasks of learning of a visuo-motor sequence by observation or by trial and error. Regardless of the learning modality, acquiring the correct sequence involved three main phases: a detection phase, in which participants discovered the correct sequence and learned how to perform the task; an exercise phase, in which they reproduced the sequence until performance was error-free; an automatization phase, in which by repeating the error-free sequence they became accurate and speedy. Participants with Williams syndrome beneficiated of observational training (in which they observed an actor detecting the visuo-motor sequence) in the detection phase, while they performed worse than typically developing children in the exercise and automatization phases. Thus, by exploiting competencies learned by observation, individuals with Williams syndrome detected the visuo-motor sequence, putting into action the appropriate procedural strategies. Conversely, their impaired performances in the exercise phases appeared linked to impaired spatial working memory, while their deficits in automatization phases to deficits in processes increasing efficiency and speed of the response. Overall, observational experience was advantageous for acquiring competencies, since it primed subjects’ interest in the actions to be performed and functioned as a catalyst for executed action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Foti
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy.
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