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Cortical changes during the learning of sequences of simultaneous finger presses

Garzon, Benjamin ; Helms, Gunther LU orcid ; Olsson, Hampus LU ; Brozzoli, Claudio ; Ullén, Fredrik ; Diedrichsen, Jörn and Lövdén, Martin (2023) In Imaging Neuroscience 1(1). p.1-26
Abstract
The cortical alterations underpinning the acquisition of motor skills remain debated. In this longitudinal study in younger adults, we acquired performance and neuroimaging (7 T MRI) measures weekly over the course of 6 weeks to investigate neural changes associated with learning sequences of simultaneous finger presses executed with the non-dominant hand. Both the intervention group (n = 33), which practiced the finger sequences at home, and the
control group (n = 30, no home practice) showed general performance improvements, but performance improved more and became more consistent for sequences that were intensively trained by the intervention group, relative to those that were not. Brain activity for trained sequences decreased... (More)
The cortical alterations underpinning the acquisition of motor skills remain debated. In this longitudinal study in younger adults, we acquired performance and neuroimaging (7 T MRI) measures weekly over the course of 6 weeks to investigate neural changes associated with learning sequences of simultaneous finger presses executed with the non-dominant hand. Both the intervention group (n = 33), which practiced the finger sequences at home, and the
control group (n = 30, no home practice) showed general performance improvements, but performance improved more and became more consistent for sequences that were intensively trained by the intervention group, relative to those that were not. Brain activity for trained sequences decreased compared with untrained sequences in the bilateral parietal and premotor cortices. No training-related changes in the primary sensorimotor areas were detected. The similarity of activation patterns between trained and untrained sequences decreased in secondary, but not primary, sensorimotor areas, while the similarity of the activation patterns between different trained sequences did not show reliable changes. Neither the variability of activation patterns across trials, nor the estimates of brain structure displayed practice-related changes that reached statistical significance. Overall, the main correlate of learning configural sequences was a reduction in brain activity in secondary motor areas. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
skill acquisition, motor learning, cortical changes, plasticity, activation patterns, motor sequence
in
Imaging Neuroscience
volume
1
issue
1
pages
1 - 26
publisher
MIT Press
ISSN
2837-6056
DOI
10.1162/imag_a_00016
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a56433f4-bcbe-4744-a17e-de4bdb5467ed
date added to LUP
2023-10-07 10:05:21
date last changed
2023-10-10 13:12:17
@article{a56433f4-bcbe-4744-a17e-de4bdb5467ed,
  abstract     = {{The cortical alterations underpinning the acquisition of motor skills remain debated. In this longitudinal study in younger adults, we acquired performance and neuroimaging (7 T MRI) measures weekly over the course of 6 weeks to investigate neural changes associated with learning sequences of simultaneous finger presses executed with the non-dominant hand. Both the intervention group (n = 33), which practiced the finger sequences at home, and the<br/>control group (n = 30, no home practice) showed general performance improvements, but performance improved more and became more consistent for sequences that were intensively trained by the intervention group, relative to those that were not. Brain activity for trained sequences decreased compared with untrained sequences in the bilateral parietal and premotor cortices. No training-related changes in the primary sensorimotor areas were detected. The similarity of activation patterns between trained and untrained sequences decreased in secondary, but not primary, sensorimotor areas, while the similarity of the activation patterns between different trained sequences did not show reliable changes. Neither the variability of activation patterns across trials, nor the estimates of brain structure displayed practice-related changes that reached statistical significance. Overall, the main correlate of learning configural sequences was a reduction in brain activity in secondary motor areas.}},
  author       = {{Garzon, Benjamin and Helms, Gunther and Olsson, Hampus and Brozzoli, Claudio and Ullén, Fredrik and Diedrichsen, Jörn and Lövdén, Martin}},
  issn         = {{2837-6056}},
  keywords     = {{skill acquisition; motor learning; cortical changes; plasticity; activation patterns; motor sequence}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{1--26}},
  publisher    = {{MIT Press}},
  series       = {{Imaging Neuroscience}},
  title        = {{Cortical changes during the learning of sequences of simultaneous finger presses}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/imag_a_00016}},
  doi          = {{10.1162/imag_a_00016}},
  volume       = {{1}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}