1
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Yadav G, Vassiliadis P, Dubuc C, Hummel FC, Derosiere G, Duque J. Effect of Extrinsic Reward on Motor Plasticity during Skill Learning. eNeuro 2025; 12:ENEURO.0410-24.2025. [PMID: 40139803 PMCID: PMC11984755 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0410-24.2025] [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: 09/20/2024] [Revised: 12/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2025] [Indexed: 03/29/2025] Open
Abstract
Human motor skill acquisition is improved by performance feedback, and coupling such feedback with extrinsic reward (such as money) can enhance skill learning. However, the neurophysiology underlying such behavioral effect is unclear. To bridge this gap, we assessed the effects of reward on multiple forms of motor plasticity during skill learning. Sixty-five healthy participants divided into three groups performed a pinch-grip skill task with sensory feedback only, sensory and reinforcement feedback, or both feedback coupled with an extrinsic monetary reward during skill training. To probe motor plasticity, we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation at rest, on the left primary motor cortex before, at an early-training time point, and after training in the three groups and measured motor-evoked potentials from task-relevant muscle of the right arm. This allowed us to evaluate the amplitude and variability of corticospinal output, GABAergic short-intracortical inhibition, and use-dependent plasticity before training and at two additional time points (early and end training). At the behavioral level, monetary reward accelerated skill learning. In parallel, corticospinal output became less variable early on during training in the presence of extrinsic reward. Interestingly, this effect was particularly pronounced for participants who were more sensitive to reward, as evaluated in an independent questionnaire. Other measures of motor excitability remained comparable across groups. These findings highlight that a mechanism underlying the benefit of reward on motor skill learning is the fine-tuning of early-training resting-state corticospinal variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goldy Yadav
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium
| | - Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (INX), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva 1202, Switzerland
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (INX), EPFL Valais, Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Sion 1951, Switzerland
| | - Cecile Dubuc
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium
| | - Friedhelm C Hummel
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (INX), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva 1202, Switzerland
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (INX), EPFL Valais, Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Sion 1951, Switzerland
- Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva 1202, Switzerland
| | - Gerard Derosiere
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), U1028 UMR5292, Impact Team, Bron F-69500, France
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels 1200, Belgium
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2
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Derosiere G, Shokur S, Vassiliadis P. Reward signals in the motor cortex: from biology to neurotechnology. Nat Commun 2025; 16:1307. [PMID: 39900901 PMCID: PMC11791067 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55016-0] [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: 08/13/2024] [Accepted: 11/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2025] Open
Abstract
Over the past decade, research has shown that the primary motor cortex (M1), the brain's main output for movement, also responds to rewards. These reward signals may shape motor output in its final stages, influencing movement invigoration and motor learning. In this Perspective, we highlight the functional roles of M1 reward signals and propose how they could guide advances in neurotechnologies for movement restoration, specifically brain-computer interfaces and non-invasive brain stimulation. Understanding M1 reward signals may open new avenues for enhancing motor control and rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Derosiere
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Impact team, INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, Bron, France.
| | - Solaiman Shokur
- Translational Neural Engineering Laboratory, Neuro-X Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Sensorimotor Neurotechnology Lab (SNL), The BioRobotics Institute, Health Interdisciplinary Center and Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
- MySpace Lab, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Lausanne, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- MINE Lab, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy
| | - Pierre Vassiliadis
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (INX), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland.
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, INX, EPFL Valais, Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Sion, Switzerland.
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3
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Neige C, Vassiliadis P, Ali Zazou A, Dricot L, Lebon F, Brees T, Derosiere G. Connecting the dots: harnessing dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation to quantify the causal influence of medial frontal areas on the motor cortex. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11339-11353. [PMID: 37804253 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation has been widely employed to investigate the influence of cortical structures on the primary motor cortex. Here, we leveraged this technique to probe the causal influence of two key areas of the medial frontal cortex, namely the supplementary motor area and the medial orbitofrontal cortex, on primary motor cortex. We show that supplementary motor area stimulation facilitates primary motor cortex activity across short (6 and 8 ms) and long (12 ms) inter-stimulation intervals, putatively recruiting cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortico-cortical circuits, respectively. Crucially, magnetic resonance imaging revealed that this facilitatory effect depended on a key morphometric feature of supplementary motor area: individuals with larger supplementary motor area volumes exhibited more facilitation from supplementary motor area to primary motor cortex for both short and long inter-stimulation intervals. Notably, we also provide evidence that the facilitatory effect of supplementary motor area stimulation at short intervals is unlikely to arise from spinal interactions of volleys descending simultaneously from supplementary motor area and primary motor cortex. On the other hand, medial orbitofrontal cortex stimulation moderately suppressed primary motor cortex activity at both short and long intervals, irrespective of medial orbitofrontal cortex volume. These results suggest that dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation is a fruitful approach to investigate the differential influence of supplementary motor area and medial orbitofrontal cortex on primary motor cortex activity, paving the way for the multimodal assessment of these fronto-motor circuits in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécilia Neige
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21078, Dijon, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, PsyR2 Team, F-69500, Bron, France
- Centre Hospitalier le Vinatier, 95 Boulevard Pinel, 300 3969678 Bron Cedex, France
| | - Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53 & 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
- Defitech Chair for Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (INX) and Brain Mind Institute (BMI), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1202, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Abdelkrim Ali Zazou
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53 & 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Laurence Dricot
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53 & 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Florent Lebon
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21078, Dijon, France
| | - Thomas Brees
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53 & 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue E. Mounier 53 & 73, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, Impact Team, F-69500, Bron, France
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4
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Chen XJ, Kwak Y. Contribution of the sensorimotor beta oscillations and the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry during value-based decision making: A simultaneous EEG-fMRI investigation. Neuroimage 2022; 257:119300. [PMID: 35568351 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In decision neuroscience, the motor system has primarily been considered to be involved in executing choice actions. However, a competing perspective suggests its engagement in the evaluation of options, traditionally considered to be performed by the brain's valuation system. Here, we investigate the role of the motor system in value-based decision making by determining the neural circuitries associated with the sensorimotor beta oscillations previously identified to encode decision options. In a simultaneous EEG-fMRI study, participants evaluated reward and risk associated with a forthcoming action. A significant sensorimotor beta desynchronization was identified prior to and independent of response. The level of beta desynchronization showed evidence of encoding the reward levels. This beta desynchronization covaried, on a trial-by-trial level, with BOLD activity in the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry. In contrast, there was only a weak covariation within the valuation network, despite significant modulation of its BOLD activity by reward levels. These results suggest that the way in which decision variables are processed differs in the valuation network and in the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry. We propose that sensorimotor beta oscillations indicate incentive motivational drive towards a choice action computed from the decision variables even prior to making a response, and it arises from the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing-Jie Chen
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Youngbin Kwak
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
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5
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Derosiere G, Thura D, Cisek P, Duque J. Hasty sensorimotor decisions rely on an overlap of broad and selective changes in motor activity. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001598. [PMID: 35389982 PMCID: PMC9017893 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans and other animals are able to adjust their speed–accuracy trade-off (SAT) at will depending on the urge to act, favoring either cautious or hasty decision policies in different contexts. An emerging view is that SAT regulation relies on influences exerting broad changes on the motor system, tuning its activity up globally when hastiness is at premium. The present study aimed to test this hypothesis. A total of 50 participants performed a task involving choices between left and right index fingers, in which incorrect choices led either to a high or to a low penalty in 2 contexts, inciting them to emphasize either cautious or hasty policies. We applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on multiple motor representations, eliciting motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in 9 finger and leg muscles. MEP amplitudes allowed us to probe activity changes in the corresponding finger and leg representations, while participants were deliberating about which index to choose. Our data indicate that hastiness entails a broad amplification of motor activity, although this amplification was limited to the chosen side. On top of this effect, we identified a local suppression of motor activity, surrounding the chosen index representation. Hence, a decision policy favoring speed over accuracy appears to rely on overlapping processes producing a broad (but not global) amplification and a surround suppression of motor activity. The latter effect may help to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the chosen representation, as supported by single-trial correlation analyses indicating a stronger differentiation of activity changes in finger representations in the hasty context. Many have argued that the regulation of the speed-accuracy tradeoff relies on an urgency signal, which implements "collapsing decision thresholds" by tuning neural activity in a global manner in decision-related structures. This study indicates that the reality is more subtle, with several aspects of "urgency" being specifically targeted to particular corticospinal populations within the motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| | - David Thura
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center–Impact Team, Inserm U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, Bron, France
| | - Paul Cisek
- Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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6
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Herrojo Ruiz M, Maudrich T, Kalloch B, Sammler D, Kenville R, Villringer A, Sehm B, Nikulin VV. Modulation of neural activity in frontopolar cortex drives reward-based motor learning. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20303. [PMID: 34645848 PMCID: PMC8514446 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98571-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The frontopolar cortex (FPC) contributes to tracking the reward of alternative choices during decision making, as well as their reliability. Whether this FPC function extends to reward gradients associated with continuous movements during motor learning remains unknown. We used anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right FPC to investigate its role in reward-based motor learning. Nineteen healthy human participants practiced novel sequences of finger movements on a digital piano with corresponding auditory feedback. Their aim was to use trialwise reward feedback to discover a hidden performance goal along a continuous dimension: timing. We additionally modulated the contralateral motor cortex (left M1) activity, and included a control sham stimulation. Right FPC-tDCS led to faster learning compared to lM1-tDCS and sham through regulation of motor variability. Bayesian computational modelling revealed that in all stimulation protocols, an increase in the trialwise expectation of reward was followed by greater exploitation, as shown previously. Yet, this association was weaker in lM1-tDCS suggesting a less efficient learning strategy. The effects of frontopolar stimulation were dissociated from those induced by lM1-tDCS and sham, as motor exploration was more sensitive to inferred changes in the reward tendency (volatility). The findings suggest that rFPC-tDCS increases the sensitivity of motor exploration to updates in reward volatility, accelerating reward-based motor learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Herrojo Ruiz
- Psychology Department, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK. .,Center for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. .,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - T Maudrich
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - B Kalloch
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - D Sammler
- Research Group Neurocognition of Music and Language, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - R Kenville
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - A Villringer
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - B Sehm
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Halle (Saale), Halle, Germany
| | - V V Nikulin
- Center for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation. .,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
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7
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Vassiliadis P, Derosiere G, Dubuc C, Lete A, Crevecoeur F, Hummel FC, Duque J. Reward boosts reinforcement-based motor learning. iScience 2021; 24:102821. [PMID: 34345810 PMCID: PMC8319366 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Besides relying heavily on sensory and reinforcement feedback, motor skill learning may also depend on the level of motivation experienced during training. Yet, how motivation by reward modulates motor learning remains unclear. In 90 healthy subjects, we investigated the net effect of motivation by reward on motor learning while controlling for the sensory and reinforcement feedback received by the participants. Reward improved motor skill learning beyond performance-based reinforcement feedback. Importantly, the beneficial effect of reward involved a specific potentiation of reinforcement-related adjustments in motor commands, which concerned primarily the most relevant motor component for task success and persisted on the following day in the absence of reward. We propose that the long-lasting effects of motivation on motor learning may entail a form of associative learning resulting from the repetitive pairing of the reinforcement feedback and reward during training, a mechanism that may be exploited in future rehabilitation protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier, Brussels 1200, Belgium
- Defitech Chair for Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics (CNP) and Brain Mind Institute (BMI), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva 1202, Switzerland
| | - Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier, Brussels 1200, Belgium
| | - Cecile Dubuc
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier, Brussels 1200, Belgium
| | - Aegryan Lete
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier, Brussels 1200, Belgium
| | - Frederic Crevecoeur
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier, Brussels 1200, Belgium
- Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium
| | - Friedhelm C. Hummel
- Defitech Chair for Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics (CNP) and Brain Mind Institute (BMI), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva 1202, Switzerland
- Defitech Chair for Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics (CNP) and Brain Mind Institute (BMI), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Sion (EPFL), Sion 1951, Switzerland
- Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva Medical School (HUG), Geneva 1202, Switzerland
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, 53, Avenue Mounier, Brussels 1200, Belgium
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8
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Bosc M, Bucchioni G, Ribot B, Michelet T. Bypassing use-dependent plasticity in the primary motor cortex to preserve adaptive behavior. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12102. [PMID: 34103649 PMCID: PMC8187343 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91663-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral adaptation, a central feature of voluntary movement, is known to rely on top-down cognitive control. For example, the conflict-adaptation effect on tasks such as the Stroop task leads to better performance (e.g. shorter reaction time) for incongruent trials following an already incongruent one. The role of higher-order cortices in such between-trial adjustments is well documented, however, a specific involvement of the primary motor cortex (M1) has seldom been questioned. Here we studied changes in corticospinal excitability associated with the conflict-adaptation process. For this, we used single-pulse transcranial-magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied between two consecutive trials in an interference flanker task, while measuring motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) after agonistic and antagonistic voluntary movements. In agonist movement, MEP amplitude was modulated by recent movement history with an increase favoring movement repetition, but no significant change in MEP size was observed whether a previous trial was incongruent or congruent. Critically, for an antagonist movement, the relative size of MEPs following incongruent trials correlated positively with the strength of behavioral adaptation measured as the degree of RT shortening across subjects. This post-conflict increase in corticospinal excitability related to antagonist muscle recruitment could compensate for a potential deleterious bias due to recent movement history that favors the last executed action. Namely, it prepares the motor system to rapidly adapt to a changing and unpredictable context by equalizing the preparation for all possible motor responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Bosc
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, IMN, UMR 5293, 33000, Bordeaux, France.,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
| | - G Bucchioni
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, EPHE, INCIA, UMR 5287, 33000, Bordeaux, France.,iBrain, UMR 1253 Inserm, Université de Tours, 2 Boulevard Tonnellé, 37044, Tours Cedex, France
| | - B Ribot
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, IMN, UMR 5293, 33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - T Michelet
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, EPHE, INCIA, UMR 5287, 33000, Bordeaux, France.
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9
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Vassiliadis P, Derosiere G, Grandjean J, Duque J. Motor training strengthens corticospinal suppression during movement preparation. J Neurophysiol 2020; 124:1656-1666. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00378.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Movement preparation involves a broad suppression in the excitability of the corticospinal pathway, a phenomenon called preparatory suppression. Here, we show that motor training strengthens preparatory suppression and that this strengthening is associated with faster reaction times. Our findings highlight a key role of preparatory suppression in training-driven behavioral improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julien Grandjean
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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10
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Vassiliadis P, Derosiere G. Selecting and Executing Actions for Rewards. J Neurosci 2020; 40:6474-6476. [PMID: 32817389 PMCID: PMC7486658 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1250-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, 1200, Belgium
- Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, 1202, Switzerland
| | - Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, 1200, Belgium
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11
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Grandjean J, Duque J. A TMS study of preparatory suppression in binge drinkers. Neuroimage Clin 2020; 28:102383. [PMID: 32828028 PMCID: PMC7451449 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Binge drinking consists in a pattern of consumption characterised by the repeated alternation between massive alcohol intakes and abstinence periods. A continuum hypothesis suggests that this drinking endeavour represents an early stage of alcohol dependence rather than a separate phenomenon. Among the variety of alterations in alcohol-dependent individuals (ADIs), one has to do with the motor system, which does not show a normal pattern of activity during action preparation. In healthy controls (HCs), motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over primary motor cortex (M1) show both facilitation and suppression effects, depending on the time and setting of TMS during action preparation. A recent study focusing on the suppression component revealed that this aspect of preparatory activity is abnormally weak in ADIs and that this defect scales with the risk of relapse. In the present study, we tested whether binge drinkers (BDs) present a similar deficit. To do so, we recorded MEPs in a set of hand muscles applying TMS in 20 BDs and in 20 matched HCs while they were preparing index finger responses in an instructed-delay choice reaction time task. Consistent with past research, the MEP data in HCs revealed a strong MEP suppression in this task. This effect was evident in all hand muscles, regardless of whether they were relevant or irrelevant in the task. BDs also showed some preparatory suppression, yet this effect was less consistent, especially in the prime mover of the responding hand. These findings suggest abnormal preparatory activity in BDs, similar to alcohol-dependent patients, though some of the current results also raise new questions regarding the significance of these observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Grandjean
- CoActions Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Julie Duque
- CoActions Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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12
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Advanced TMS approaches to probe corticospinal excitability during action preparation. Neuroimage 2020; 213:116746. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
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13
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Derosiere G, Thura D, Cisek P, Duque J. Motor cortex disruption delays motor processes but not deliberation about action choices. J Neurophysiol 2019; 122:1566-1577. [PMID: 31411932 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00163.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Decisions about actions typically involve a period of deliberation that ends with the commitment to a choice and the motor processes overtly expressing that choice. Previous studies have shown that neural activity in sensorimotor areas, including the primary motor cortex (M1), correlates with deliberation features during action selection. However, the causal contribution of these areas to the decision process remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether M1 determines choice commitment or whether it simply reflects decision signals coming from upstream structures and instead mainly contributes to the motor processes that follow commitment. To do so, we tested the impact of a disruption of M1 activity, induced by continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), on the behavior of human subjects in 1) a simple reaction time (SRT) task allowing us to estimate the duration of the motor processes and 2) a modified version of the tokens task (Cisek P, Puskas GA, El-Murr S. J Neurosci 29: 11560-11571, 2009), which allowed us to estimate subjects' time of commitment as well as accuracy criterion. The efficiency of cTBS was attested by a reduction in motor evoked potential amplitudes following M1 disruption compared with those following a sham stimulation. Furthermore, M1 cTBS lengthened SRTs, indicating that motor processes were perturbed by the intervention. Importantly, all of the behavioral results in the tokens task were similar following M1 disruption and sham stimulation, suggesting that the contribution of M1 to the deliberation process is potentially negligible. Taken together, these findings favor the view that M1 contribution is downstream of the decision process.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Decisions between actions are ubiquitous in the animal realm. Deliberation during action choices entails changes in the activity of the sensorimotor areas controlling those actions, but the causal role of these areas is still often debated. With the use of continuous theta burst stimulation, we show that disrupting the primary motor cortex (M1) delays the motor processes that follow instructed commitment but does not alter volitional deliberation, suggesting that M1 contribution may be downstream of the decision process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Derosiere
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - David Thura
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center - IMPACT Team, INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR 5292, Bron, France
| | - Paul Cisek
- Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Julie Duque
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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Quoilin C, Fievez F, Duque J. Preparatory inhibition: Impact of choice in reaction time tasks. Neuropsychologia 2019; 129:212-222. [PMID: 31015024 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.04.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
By applying transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over primary motor cortex (M1) to elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in muscles of the contralateral hand during reaction time (RT) tasks, many studies have reported a strong global suppression of motor excitability during action preparation, a phenomenon called preparatory inhibition. Several hypotheses have been put forward regarding the role of this broad suppression, with the predominant view that it reflects inhibitory processes assisting action selection. However, this assumption is still a matter of debate. Here, we aimed at directly addressing this idea by comparing MEPs in a task that required subjects to select a finger response within a set of predefined options (choice RT task: left or right index finger abduction) or when subjects simply had to provide the same finger response on every trial, in the absence of choice (simple RT task). Moreover, we minimized any effect that could be associated with other forms of inhibition. In both versions of the task, TMS was applied on both M1 (double-coil protocol) at several time points between the go signal and the left or right index finger response, eliciting MEPs bilaterally in the prime mover (index finger agonist) and in an irrelevant muscle (pinky agonist). Overall, MEP suppression was moderate in this study compared to past research; it was only found for the irrelevant muscle. As such, MEPs in the index agonist were facilitated when elicited in a responding hand (e.g. left MEPs preceding left responses) and remained mostly unchanged in a non-responding hand (e.g. left MEPs preceding right responses). In contrast, MEPs were almost always suppressed in the pinky muscle when elicited in the non-responding hand. This finding contrasts with previous studies where preparatory inhibition usually concerns both relevant and irrelevant muscles. Yet importantly, the suppression was more consistent in the choice than in the simple RT task, supporting the view that preparatory inhibition may assist action selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Quoilin
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Fanny Fievez
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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15
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Kim H, Anderson BA. Neural evidence for automatic value-modulated approach behaviour. Neuroimage 2019; 189:150-158. [PMID: 30592971 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.12.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Revised: 12/08/2018] [Accepted: 12/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Reward learning has the ability to bias both attention and behaviour. The current study presents behavioural and neural evidence that irrelevant responses evoked by previously reward-associated stimuli are more robustly represented in the motor system using a combined go/no-go and flankers task. Following a colour-reward association training, participants were instructed to respond to a central target only in a response-relevant context, while ignoring flankers that appeared either in a high-value or low-value colour. The motor cortex and cerebellum exhibited reduced activation to low-value flankers in a response-irrelevant context, consistent with goal-directed response suppression. However, these same regions exhibited similar activation to high-value flankers regardless of their response relevance, indicating less effective suppression, and the resulting interaction in motor cortex activation was strongly predicted by the influence of the flankers on behaviour. These findings suggest that associative reward learning produces a general approach bias, which is particularly evident when it conflicts with task goals, extending the principle of value-driven attention to stimulus-evoked responses in the motor system.
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Beyond Motor Noise: Considering Other Causes of Impaired Reinforcement Learning in Cerebellar Patients. eNeuro 2019; 6:eN-COM-0458-18. [PMID: 30809589 PMCID: PMC6390197 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0458-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 01/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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17
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Implicit visual cues tune oscillatory motor activity during decision-making. Neuroimage 2019; 186:424-436. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
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Investigating the effect of anticipating a startling acoustic stimulus on preparatory inhibition. Neurophysiol Clin 2018; 49:137-147. [PMID: 30528379 DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Revised: 11/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) show a profound suppression when elicited during the instructed-delay of reaction time (RT) tasks. One predominant hypothesis is that this phenomenon, called "preparatory inhibition", reflects the operation of processes that suppress motor activity to withhold prepared (but delayed) responses, a form of impulse control. In addition, a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS) - a loud and narrow sound - can trigger the release of prepared responses in RT tasks. We predicted that, if such premature release is clearly forbidden, then anticipating a SAS during delay periods may be associated with increased preparatory inhibition for greater impulse control. METHODS Subjects performed a behavioural (n=16) and TMS (n=11) experiment. Both used a choice RT task that required subjects to choose a response based on a preparatory cue but to only release it after an imperative signal. SAS and TMS pulses were elicited at the end of the delay period and subjects were asked to do their best to only release their response after the imperative signal, even in the presence of SAS. SAS could be either rare or frequent, in separate blocks. RESULTS Consistent with the literature, SAS shortened RTs, especially when they occurred frequently. Moreover, MEPs were suppressed when subjects delayed prepared responses but this preparatory inhibition did not depend on whether SAS were frequent or rare. DISCUSSION The stronger RT shortening with frequent rather than rare SAS may be due to increased attention and/or reduced reactive inhibition to SAS, leaving preparatory inhibition unaffected.
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Alamia A, Solopchuk O, Zénon A. Strong Conscious Cues Suppress Preferential Gaze Allocation to Unconscious Cues. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:427. [PMID: 30459582 PMCID: PMC6232777 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual attention allows relevant information to be selected for further processing. Both conscious and unconscious visual stimuli can bias attentional allocation, but how these two types of visual information interact to guide attention remains unclear. In this study, we explored attentional allocation during a motion discrimination task with varied motion strength and unconscious associations between stimuli and cues. Participants were instructed to report the motion direction of two colored patches of dots. Unbeknown to participants, dot colors were sometimes informative of the correct response. We found that subjects learnt the associations between colors and motion direction but failed to report this association using the questionnaire filled at the end of the experiment, confirming that learning remained unconscious. The eye movement analyses revealed that allocation of attention to unconscious sources of information occurred mostly when motion coherence was low, indicating that unconscious cues influence attentional allocation only in the absence of strong conscious cues. All in all, our results reveal that conscious and unconscious sources of information interact with each other to influence attentional allocation and suggest a selection process that weights cues in proportion to their reliability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Alamia
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Oleg Solopchuk
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alexandre Zénon
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- UMR5287 Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine (INCIA), CNRS, Bordeaux, France
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Visuomotor Correlates of Conflict Expectation in the Context of Motor Decisions. J Neurosci 2018; 38:9486-9504. [PMID: 30201772 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0623-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Revised: 07/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Many behaviors require choosing between conflicting options competing against each other in visuomotor areas. Such choices can benefit from top-down control processes engaging frontal areas in advance of conflict when it is anticipated. Yet, very little is known about how this proactive control system shapes the visuomotor competition. Here, we used electroencephalography in human subjects (male and female) to identify the visual and motor correlates of conflict expectation in a version of the Eriksen Flanker task that required left or right responses according to the direction of a central target arrow surrounded by congruent or incongruent (conflicting) flankers. Visual conflict was either highly expected (it occurred in 80% of trials; mostly incongruent blocks) or very unlikely (20% of trials; mostly congruent blocks). We evaluated selective attention in the visual cortex by recording target- and flanker-related steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEPs) and probed action selection by measuring response-locked potentials (RLPs) in the motor cortex. Conflict expectation enhanced accuracy in incongruent trials, but this improvement occurred at the cost of speed in congruent trials. Intriguingly, this behavioral adjustment occurred while visuomotor activity was less finely tuned: target-related SSVEPs were smaller while flanker-related SSVEPs were higher in mostly incongruent blocks than in mostly congruent blocks, and incongruent trials were associated with larger RLPs in the ipsilateral (nonselected) motor cortex. Hence, our data suggest that conflict expectation recruits control processes that augment the tolerance for inappropriate visuomotor activations (rather than processes that downregulate their amplitude), allowing for overflow activity to occur without having it turn into the selection of an incorrect response.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Motor choices made in front of discordant visual information are more accurate when conflict can be anticipated, probably due to the engagement of top-down control from frontal areas. How this control system modulates activity within visual and motor areas is unknown. Here, we show that, when control processes are recruited in anticipation of conflict, as evidenced by higher midfrontal theta activity, visuomotor activity is less finely tuned: visual processing of the goal-relevant location was reduced and the motor cortex displayed more inappropriate activations, compared with when conflict was unlikely. We argue that conflict expectation is associated with an expansion of the distance-to-selection threshold, improving accuracy while the need for online control of visuomotor activity is reduced.
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Vassiliadis P, Grandjean J, Derosiere G, de Wilde Y, Quemener L, Duque J. Using a Double-Coil TMS Protocol to Assess Preparatory Inhibition Bilaterally. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:139. [PMID: 29568258 PMCID: PMC5852071 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied over the primary motor cortex (M1), elicits motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in contralateral limb muscles which are valuable indicators of corticospinal excitability (CSE) at the time of stimulation. So far, most studies have used single-coil TMS over one M1, yielding MEPs in muscles of a single limb-usually the hand. However, tracking CSE in the two hands simultaneously would be useful in many contexts. We recently showed that, in the resting state, double-coil stimulation of the two M1 with a 1 ms inter-pulse interval (double-coil1 ms TMS) elicits MEPs in both hands that are comparable to MEPs obtained using single-coil TMS. To further evaluate this new technique, we considered the MEPs elicited by double-coil1 ms TMS in an instructed-delay choice reaction time task where a prepared response has to be withheld until an imperative signal is displayed. Single-coil TMS studies have repetitively shown that in this type of task, the motor system is transiently inhibited during the delay period, as evident from the broad suppression of MEP amplitudes. Here, we aimed at investigating whether a comparable inhibitory effect can be observed with MEPs elicited using double-coil1 ms TMS. To do so, we compared the amplitude as well as the coefficient of variation (CV) of MEPs produced by double-coil1 ms or single-coil TMS during action preparation. We observed that MEPs were suppressed (smaller amplitude) and often less variable (smaller CV) during the delay period compared to baseline. Importantly, these effects were equivalent whether single-coil or double-coil1 ms TMS was used. This suggests that double-coil1 ms TMS is a reliable tool to assess CSE, not only when subjects are at rest, but also when they are involved in a task, opening new research horizons for scientists interested in the corticospinal correlates of human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julien Grandjean
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ysaline de Wilde
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Louise Quemener
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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Grandjean J, Derosiere G, Vassiliadis P, Quemener L, Wilde YD, Duque J. Towards assessing corticospinal excitability bilaterally: Validation of a double-coil TMS method. J Neurosci Methods 2017; 293:162-168. [PMID: 28962906 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Revised: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND For several decades, Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to monitor corticospinal excitability (CSE) changes in various contexts. Habitually, single-coil TMS is applied over one primary motor cortex (M1), eliciting motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in a contralateral limb muscle, usually a hand effector. However, in many situations, it would be useful to obtain MEPs in both hands simultaneously, to track CSE bilaterally. Such an approach requires stimulating both M1 concurrently while avoiding interference between the two descending stimuli. NEW METHOD We examined MEPs obtained at rest using a double-coil TMS approach where the two M1 are stimulated with a 1ms inter-pulse interval (double-coil1ms). MEPs were acquired using double-coil1ms (MEPdouble) or single-coil (MEPsingle) TMS, at five different intensities of stimulation (100, 115, 130, 145 or 160% of the resting motor threshold, rMT). Given the 1ms inter-pulse interval in double-coil1ms trials, MEPdouble were either evoked by a 1st (MEPdouble-1) or a 2nd (MEPdouble-2) TMS pulse. RESULTS All MEPTYPE (MEPTYPE=MEPsingle, MEPdouble-1 and MEPdouble-2) were equivalent, regardless of the hand within which they were elicited, the intensity of stimulation or the pulse order. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD This method allows one to observe state-related CSE changes for the two hands simultaneously on a trial-by-trial basis. CONCLUSION These results infer the absence of any neural interactions between the two cortico-spinal volleys with double-coil1ms TMS. Hence, this technique can be reliably used to assess CSE bilaterally, opening new research perspectives for scientists interested in physiological markers of activity in the motor output system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Grandjean
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Louise Quemener
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ysaline de Wilde
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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Derosiere G, Vassiliadis P, Demaret S, Zénon A, Duque J. Learning stage-dependent effect of M1 disruption on value-based motor decisions. Neuroimage 2017; 162:173-185. [PMID: 28882634 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Revised: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed at characterizing the impact of M1 disruption on the implementation of implicit value information in motor decisions, at both early stages (during reinforcement learning) and late stages (after consolidation) of action value encoding. Fifty subjects performed, over three consecutive days, a task that required them to select between two finger responses according to the color (instruction) and to the shape (implicit, undisclosed rule) of an imperative signal: considering the implicit rule in addition to the instruction allowed subjects to earn more money. We investigated the functional contribution of M1 to the implementation of the implicit rule in subjects' motor decisions. Continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) was applied over M1 either on Day 1 or on Day 3, producing a temporary lesion either during reinforcement learning (cTBSLearning group) or after consolidation of the implicit rule, during decision-making (cTBSDecision group), respectively. Interestingly, disrupting M1 activity on Day 1 improved the reliance on the implicit rule, plausibly because M1 cTBS increased dopamine release in the putamen in an indirect way. This finding corroborates the view that cTBS may affect activity in unstimulated areas, such as the basal ganglia. Notably, this effect was short-lasting; it did not persist overnight, suggesting that the functional integrity of M1 during learning is a prerequisite for the consolidation of implicit value information to occur. Besides, cTBS over M1 did not impact the use of the implicit rule when applied on Day 3, although it did so when applied on Day 2 in a recent study where the reliance on the implicit rule declined following cTBS (Derosiere et al., 2017). Overall, these findings indicate that the human M1 is functionally involved in the consolidation and implementation of implicit value information underlying motor decisions. However, M1 contribution seems to vanish as subjects become more experienced in using the implicit value information to make their motor decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, 1200, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Pierre Vassiliadis
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sophie Demaret
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alexandre Zénon
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
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Duque J, Petitjean C, Swinnen SP. Effect of Aging on Motor Inhibition during Action Preparation under Sensory Conflict. Front Aging Neurosci 2016; 8:322. [PMID: 28082896 PMCID: PMC5186800 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Motor behaviors often require refraining from selecting options that may be part of the repertoire of natural response tendencies but that are in conflict with ongoing goals. The presence of sensory conflict has a behavioral cost but the latter can be attenuated in contexts where control processes are recruited because conflict is expected in advance, producing a behavioral gain compared to contexts where conflict occurs in a less predictable way. In the present study, we investigated the corticospinal correlates of these behavioral effects (both conflict-driven cost and context-related gain). To do so, we measured motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) of young and healthy older adults performing the Eriksen Flanker Task. Subjects performed button-presses according to a central arrow, flanked by irrelevant arrows pointing in the same (congruent trial) or opposite direction (incongruent trial). Conflict expectation was manipulated by changing the probability of congruent and incongruent trials in a given block. It was either high (mostly incongruent blocks, MIB, 80% incongruent trials) or low (mostly congruent blocks, MCB, 80% congruent). The MEP data indicate that the conflict-driven behavioral cost is associated with a strong increase in inappropriate motor activity regardless of the age of individuals, as revealed by larger MEPs in the non-responding muscle in incongruent than in congruent trials. However, this aberrant facilitation disappeared in both groups of subjects when conflict could be anticipated (i.e., in the MIBs) compared to when it occurred in a less predictably way (MCBs), probably allowing the behavioral gain observed in both the young and the older individuals. Hence, the ability to overcome and anticipate conflict was surprisingly preserved in the older adults. Nevertheless, some control processes are likely to evolve with age because the behavioral gain observed in the MIB context was associated with an attenuated suppression of MEPs at the time of the imperative signal (i.e., before conflict is actually detected) in older individuals, suggesting altered motor inhibition, compared to young individuals. In addition, the behavioral analysis suggests that young and older adults rely on different strategies to cope with conflict, including a change in speed-accuracy tradeoff.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain Brussels, Belgium
| | - Charlotte Petitjean
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain Brussels, Belgium
| | - Stephan P Swinnen
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Group Biomedical Sciences, KU Leuven Leuven, Belgium
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