scholarly journals Focused-attention meditation increases cognitive control during motor sequence performance: Evidence from the N2 cortical evoked potential

2020 ◽  
Vol 384 ◽  
pp. 112536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell W. Chan ◽  
Phillip M. Alday ◽  
Lena Zou-Williams ◽  
Kurt Lushington ◽  
Matthias Schlesewsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Evoked Potential ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Sequence Performance

scholarly journals Focused-attention meditation increases cognitive control during motor sequence performance: Evidence from the N2 cortical evoked potential

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Weili Chan ◽  
Phillip M. Alday ◽  
Lena Zou ◽  
Kurt Lushington ◽  
Matthias Schlesewsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
The Other ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Central Regions

Previous work found that single-session focused attention meditation (FAM) enhanced motor sequence learning through increased cognitive control as a mechanistic action, although electrophysiological correlates of sequence learning performance following FAM were not investigated. We measured the persistent frontal N2 event-related potential (ERP) that is closely related to cognitive control processes and its ability to predict behavioural measures. Twenty-nine participants were randomised to one of three conditions reflecting the level of FAM experienced prior to a serial reaction time task (SRTT): 21 sessions of FAM (FAM21, N= 12), a single FAM session (FAM1, N= 9) or no preceding FAM control (Control, N= 8). Continuous 64-channel EEG were recorded during SRTT and N2 amplitudes for correct trials were extracted. Component amplitude, regions of interests, and behavioural outcomes were compared using mixed effects regression models between groups. FAM21 exhibited faster reaction time performances in majority of the learning blocks compared to FAM1 and Control. FAM21 also demonstrated a significantly more pronounced N2 over majority of anterior and central regions of interests during SRTT compared to the other groups. When N2 amplitudes were modelled against general learning performance, FAM21 showed the greatest rate of amplitude decline over anterior and central regions. The combined results suggest that FAM training provided greater cognitive control enhancement for improved sequence learning performance compared to the other groups. Importantly, FAM training facilitates dynamic modulation of cognitive control: lower levels of general learning performance was supported by greater levels of activation, whilst higher levels of general learning required less activation.

scholarly journals Single-session and training effects of focused-attention meditation on neurophysiological and behavioural correlates of cognitive control during motor sequence learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Weili Chan ◽  
Phillip M. Alday ◽  
Lena Zou ◽  
Kurt Lushington ◽  
Matthias Schlesewsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Single Session ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Central Regions ◽  
N200 Component ◽  
And Control

Recent theoretical models outline that motor sequence learning involves cognitive control processes that affects stimulus- or plan-based control, although clear contributions from the have not been delineated. Previously, we found that single-session focused attention meditation (FAM) enhanced stimulus-based control through increased top-down activation. In the present experiment, we aimed to understand if single-session FAM effects could be enhanced with short-term FAM training in behavioural reaction time, and neurophysiological indices in the form event-related potentials (ERP). We investigated the N200 component that is closely related to top-down activation, and the error-related negatively (ERN) component that is closely related to error processing for plan development. 29 participants were randomised to one of three conditions reflecting the level of FAM experienced prior to a serial reaction time task (SRTT): 21 sessions of FAM (FAM21, N= 12), a single FAM session (FAM1, N= 9) or no preceding FAM control (Control, N= 8). Continuous 64-channel EEG were recorded during SRTT whereby N200 amplitudes for correct trials, and ERN using mean difference in amplitudes for correct and error trials, were extracted. Component amplitudes, topography and behavioural outcomes were compared using linear mixed effects regression models between groups. Firstly, FAM21 exhibited faster reaction time performances in majority of the learning blocks compared to FAM1 and Control. FAM21 also demonstrated a significantly more pronounced N200 component over all anterior and the central regions during SRTT compared to FAM1 and Control. When N200 amplitudes were modelled against general learning performance, FAM21 also showed the greatest rate of decline over all anterior and the central regions during SRTT compared to FAM1 and Control. No robust differences in the ERN component were found that supported our predictions. The N200 is associated with top-down cognitive control processes, and hence may index stimulus-based learning effects; whilst the ERN is associated with error and updating of an internalised plan that may index plan-based learning effects. Firstly, our results show that after FAM training, top-down activation is increased for better block-on-block RT performances compared to the other groups. More importantly, FAM training facilitates more efficient and dynamic modulation of top-down activation such that at high levels of general learning performance, less top-down control is needed to maintain the performance.

scholarly journals Cognitive control affects motor learning through local variations in GABA within the primary motor cortex

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuki Maruyama ◽  
Masaki Fukunaga ◽  
Sho K. Sugawara ◽  
Yuki H. Hamano ◽  
Tetsuya Yamamoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Resonance Spectroscopy ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Sensorimotor Network ◽  
Preparatory Activity ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe primary motor cortex (M1) is crucial for motor learning; however, its interaction with other brain areas during motor learning remains unclear. We hypothesized that the fronto-parietal execution network (FPN) provides learning-related information critical for the flexible cognitive control that is required for practice. We assessed network-level changes during sequential finger tapping learning under speed pressure by combining magnetic resonance spectroscopy and task and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. There was a motor learning-related increase in preparatory activity in the fronto-parietal regions, including the right M1, overlapping the FPN and sensorimotor network (SMN). Learning-related increases in M1-seeded functional connectivity with the FPN, but not the SMN, were associated with decreased GABA/glutamate ratio in the M1, which were more prominent in the parietal than the frontal region. A decrease in the GABA/glutamate ratio in the right M1 was positively correlated with improvements in task performance (p = 0.042). Our findings indicate that motor learning driven by cognitive control is associated with local variations in the GABA/glutamate ratio in the M1 that reflects remote connectivity with the FPN, representing network-level motor sequence learning formations.

scholarly journals A single-session of mindfulness meditation expedites immediate motor memory consolidation to improve wakeful offline learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Brown ◽  
Alex Chatburn ◽  
David Wright ◽  
Maarten Immink
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Mindfulness Meditation ◽  
Sleep Time ◽  
Motor Memory ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Single Session ◽  
Offline Learning ◽  
Implicit Motor ◽  
Listening Task ◽  
Sequence Performance

Post-training meditation has been shown to promote wakeful motor memory stabilization in experienced meditators. We investigated the effect of single-session mindfulness meditation on wakeful and sleep-dependent forms of implicit motor memory consolidation in mediation naïve adults. Immediately after implicit sequence training, participants (N = 20, 8 females, Mage = 23.9 years ± 3.3) completed either a 10-minute focused attention meditation (N = 10), aiming to direct and sustain attention to breathing, or a control listening task. They were then exposed to interference through novel sequence training. Trained sequence performance was tested following a 5-hour wakeful period and again after a 15-hour period, which included sleep. Bayesian inference was applied to group comparison of mean reaction time (MRT) changes across training, interference, wakeful and post-sleep time points. Relative to control conditions, post-training meditation reduced novel sequence interference (BF10 = 6.61) and improved wakeful motor memory consolidation (BF10 = 8.34). No group differences in sleep consolidation were evident (BF10 = 0.38). These findings illustrate that post-training mindfulness meditation expedites wakeful offline learning of an implicit motor sequence in meditation naïve adults. Interleaving mindfulness meditation between acquisition of a target motor sequence and exposure to an interfering motor sequence reduced proactive and retroactive inference. Post-training mindfulness meditation did not enhance nor inhibit sleep-dependent offline learning of a target implicit motor sequence. Previous meditation training is not required to obtain wakeful consolidation gains from post-training mindfulness meditation.

Speech Motor Sequence Learning: Acquisition and Retention in Parkinson Disease and Normal Aging

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1477-1492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Whitfield ◽  
Alexander M. Goberman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Current Investigation ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Sequence Performance ◽  
Speed And Accuracy ◽  
Speech Motor

Purpose The aim of the current investigation was to examine speech motor sequence learning in neurologically healthy younger adults, neurologically healthy older adults, and individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) over a 2-day period. Method A sequential nonword repetition task was used to examine learning over 2 days. Participants practiced a sequence of 6 monosyllabic nonwords that was retested following nighttime sleep. The speed and accuracy of the nonword sequence were measured, and learning was inferred by examining performance within and between sessions. Results Though all groups exhibited comparable improvements of the nonword sequence performance during the initial session, between-session retention of the nonword sequence differed between groups. Younger adult controls exhibited offline gains, characterized by an increase in the speed and accuracy of nonword sequence performance across sessions, whereas older adults exhibited stable between-session performance. Individuals with PD exhibited offline losses, marked by an increase in sequence duration between sessions. Conclusions The current results demonstrate that both PD and normal aging affect retention of speech motor learning. Furthermore, these data suggest that basal ganglia dysfunction associated with PD may affect the later stages of speech motor learning. Findings from the current investigation are discussed in relation to studies examining consolidation of nonspeech motor learning.

scholarly journals Melodic Priming of Motor Sequence Performance: The Role of the Dorsal Premotor Cortex

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne A. Stephan ◽  
Rachel Brown ◽  
Carlotta Lega ◽  
Virginia Penhune
Keyword(s):  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Dorsal Premotor Cortex ◽  
Sequence Performance

Long-Term Effects of Concussions on Psychomotor Speed and Cognitive Control Processes During Motor Sequence Learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christelle Beaulieu ◽  
Alexandre Turcotte-Giroux ◽  
Frédérike Carrier-Toutant ◽  
Benoit Brisson ◽  
Pierre Jolicoeur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Amplitude Modulation ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Psychomotor Speed ◽  
Control Processes

Abstract. In asymptomatic multiple-concussion athletes, studies evidenced long-term impairments in psychomotor speed, motor sequence learning, and cognitive control processes, as indexed by the Error Negativity (Ne), also commonly referred to as the Error-related Negativity (ERN). In healthy controls, motor sequence learning during a Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is associated with an increase in Ne/ERN amplitude. The objective of this paper is to investigate whether concussion effects on cognitive control are associated with sequence learning changes in asymptomatic multi-concussion athletes. Thirty-seven athletes (18 nonconcussed; 19 concussed) completed a SRT task during which continuous electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded. Ne/ERN amplitude modulation from early to late learning blocks of the task was measured. Median reaction times (RTs) were computed to assess psychomotor speed and motor sequence learning. Psychomotor speed was significantly reduced in concussed athletes. Accentuated Ne/ERN amplitude from early to late learning blocks significantly correlated with motor sequence learning in nonconcussed athletes. In contrast, Ne/ERN amplitude was found to decrease significantly with task progression in concussed athletes who nonetheless achieved normal motor sequence learning. Multiple concussions detrimentally affect psychomotor speed. Unlike nonconcussed athletes, motor sequence learning in multi-concussion athletes was not associated with Ne/ERN amplitude modulation, indicating that cognitive control processes do not centrally contribute to learning of a motor sequence after repeated concussions.

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