scholarly journals Activity in the dorsomedial striatum decreases with improvement in motor coordination

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Cataldi ◽  
Clay Lacefield ◽  
Shashaank N ◽  
Gautam Kumar ◽  
David Sulzer
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Body Position ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Dorsolateral Striatum ◽  
Direct Pathway ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Dorsomedial Striatum

It is widely thought that during early stages of motor learning, the dorsomedial striatum facilitates the learning of goal-directed actions, and at later stages, the learned actions are transferred to the dorsolateral striatum, which enables motor actions to become a skill or habit. It is however unknown if these striatal regions are simultaneously active as expertise is acquired during practice. To address this question, we developed a treadmill task to track changes in mouse locomotor coordination during practice running at a range of speeds. We analyzed body position and paw movement to evaluate changes in motor coordination over practice using DeepLabCut and custom-built code. By simultaneous evaluation of motor coordination improvements and fiber photometry recordings of neuronal calcium activity during training, we found that direct pathway dorsomedial striatum neurons exhibited reduced activity as the mouse became proficient at running on the treadmill. In contrast, direct pathway activity in dorsolateral striatum was similar throughout training and did not correlate with increased skill proficiency. These results provide new tools to measure changes in fine motor skills during simultaneous recordings of brain activity, revealing fundamental features of the neural substrates of motor learning.

The Effects of Manipulating Task Difficulty and Feedback Frequency on Children’s Dart Throwing Accuracy and Consistency

2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110393
Author(s):  
Fatma Bahri ◽  
Yousri Elghoul ◽  
Liwa Masmoudi ◽  
Cain C. T. Clark ◽  
Jordan M. Glenn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Retention Testing ◽  
Dart Throwing ◽  
Frequency Changes

In the present study we investigated the effects of manipulating task difficulty (constant vs. progressive difficulty) and frequency of knowledge of results (KR) on the accuracy and consistency of children’s performance of a novel fine motor coordination task (dart throwing). We assigned 69 right-handed physical education (PE) students ( M age = 10.73, SD = 0.89 years) to progressive (PDG) or constant difficulty (CDG) groups. PDG and CDG were each split into three subgroups who received varying KR frequency (100%KR, 50%KR, and 33%KR), creating a total of six groups. We increased difficulty in the PDG by manipulating the distance to the target (2 m, 2.37 m, and 3.56 m), while distance to the target was constant for CDG throughout the experiment (2.37 m). We conducted performance assessments during familiarization (pre-test), acquisition (post-test), and retention (retention testing) learning phases under both normal condition (NC) and a time pressure condition (TPC). Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant effect of difficulty manipulation on skill learning under both NC and TPC. Further analyses revealed that skill learning was enhanced by progressive difficulty manipulation. However, learning was not affected by KR frequency changes. Progressive difficulty practice enhanced both accuracy and consistency, specifically at retention testing. These results suggest that motor learning in children may be enhanced by practicing with progressive increases in difficulty. PE teachers are encouraged to gradually introduce difficulty levels in motor learning tasks that require high accuracy.

Laterality, bimanual interference and short-term motor learning of fine motor movements in childhood and adolescence

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Hernáiz Driever ◽  
R Burghardt ◽  
A Bierbaum ◽  
S Hager ◽  
S Rückriegel
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Motor Movements ◽  
Bimanual Interference

Shared Neural Circuits for Visuospatial Working Memory and Arithmetic in Children and Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Anna A. Matejko ◽  
Daniel Ansari
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Visuospatial Working Memory ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Arithmetic Networks ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Superior Frontal Sulcus

Abstract Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) plays an important role in arithmetic problem solving, and the relationship between these two skills is thought to change over development. Even though neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that VSWM and arithmetic both recruit frontoparietal networks, inferences about common neural substrates have largely been made by comparisons across studies. Little work has examined how brain activation for VSWM and arithmetic converge within the same participants and whether there are age-related changes in the overlap of these neural networks. In this study, we examined how brain activity for VSWM and arithmetic overlap in 38 children and 26 adults. Although both children and adults recruited the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) for VSWM and arithmetic, children showed more focal activation within the right IPS, whereas adults recruited the bilateral IPS, superior frontal sulcus/middle frontal gyrus, and right insula. A comparison of the two groups revealed that adults recruited a more left-lateralized network of frontoparietal regions for VSWM and arithmetic compared with children. Together, these findings suggest possible neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the strong relationship between VSWM and arithmetic and provide evidence that the association between VSWM and arithmetic networks changes with age.

Error-related Persistence of Motor Activity in Resting-state Networks

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1883-1901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolò F. Bernardi ◽  
Floris T. Van Vugt ◽  
Ricardo Ruy Valle-Mena ◽  
Shahabeddin Vahdat ◽  
David J. Ostry
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Movement Training ◽  
Movement Error ◽  
Human Participants

The relationship between neural activation during movement training and the plastic changes that survive beyond movement execution is not well understood. Here we ask whether the changes in resting-state functional connectivity observed following motor learning overlap with the brain networks that track movement error during training. Human participants learned to trace an arched trajectory using a computer mouse in an MRI scanner. Motor performance was quantified on each trial as the maximum distance from the prescribed arc. During learning, two brain networks were observed, one showing increased activations for larger movement error, comprising the cerebellum, parietal, visual, somatosensory, and cortical motor areas, and the other being more activated for movements with lower error, comprising the ventral putamen and the OFC. After learning, changes in brain connectivity at rest were found predominantly in areas that had shown increased activation for larger error during task, specifically the cerebellum and its connections with motor, visual, and somatosensory cortex. The findings indicate that, although both errors and accurate movements are important during the active stage of motor learning, the changes in brain activity observed at rest primarily reflect networks that process errors. This suggests that error-related networks are represented in the initial stages of motor memory formation.

Neural Substrates of Motor Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Deog Young Kim ◽  
So Young Joo ◽  
Su Jin Yu
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Neural Substrates

Neural correlates of motion processing through echolocation, source hearing, and vision in blind echolocation experts and sighted echolocation novices

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Thaler ◽  
J. L. Milne ◽  
S. R. Arnott ◽  
D. Kish ◽  
M. A. Goodale
Keyword(s):  
Visual Motion ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Planum Temporale ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
Source Motion

We have shown in previous research (Thaler L, Arnott SR, Goodale MA. PLoS One 6: e20162, 2011) that motion processing through echolocation activates temporal-occipital cortex in blind echolocation experts. Here we investigated how neural substrates of echo-motion are related to neural substrates of auditory source-motion and visual-motion. Three blind echolocation experts and twelve sighted echolocation novices underwent functional MRI scanning while they listened to binaural recordings of moving or stationary echolocation or auditory source sounds located either in left or right space. Sighted participants' brain activity was also measured while they viewed moving or stationary visual stimuli. For each of the three modalities separately (echo, source, vision), we then identified motion-sensitive areas in temporal-occipital cortex and in the planum temporale. We then used a region of interest (ROI) analysis to investigate cross-modal responses, as well as laterality effects. In both sighted novices and blind experts, we found that temporal-occipital source-motion ROIs did not respond to echo-motion, and echo-motion ROIs did not respond to source-motion. This double-dissociation was absent in planum temporale ROIs. Furthermore, temporal-occipital echo-motion ROIs in blind, but not sighted, participants showed evidence for contralateral motion preference. Temporal-occipital source-motion ROIs did not show evidence for contralateral preference in either blind or sighted participants. Our data suggest a functional segregation of processing of auditory source-motion and echo-motion in human temporal-occipital cortex. Furthermore, the data suggest that the echo-motion response in blind experts may represent a reorganization rather than exaggeration of response observed in sighted novices. There is the possibility that this reorganization involves the recruitment of “visual” cortical areas.

scholarly journals Visuo-motor integration, vision perception and attention in mTBI patients. Preliminary findings

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250598
Author(s):  
Mariagrazia Benassi ◽  
Davide Frattini ◽  
Sara Garofalo ◽  
Roberto Bolzani ◽  
Tony Pansell
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Motor Ability ◽  
Critical Flicker Fusion ◽  
Visuomotor Coordination ◽  
Form Recognition ◽  
Flicker Fusion

Patients with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) often report difficulties in motor coordination and visuo-spatial attention. However, the consequences of mTBI on fine motor and visuo-motor coordination are still not well understood. We aimed to evaluate whether mTBI had a concomitant effect on fine motor ability and visuo-motor integration and whether this is related to visual perception and visuo-spatial attention impairments, including patients at different symptoms stage. Eleven mTBI patients (mean age 22.8 years) and ten healthy controls participated in the study. Visuo-motor integration of fine motor abilities and form recognition were measured with the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration test, motion perception was evaluated with motion coherence test, critical flicker fusion was measured with Pocket CFF tester. Visuo-spatial was assessed with the Ruff 2 & 7 Selection Attention Test. mTBI patients showed reduced visuo-motor integration, form recognition, and motor deficits as well as visuo-spatial attention impairment, while motion perception and critical flicker fusion were not impaired. These preliminary findings suggest that the temporary brain insults deriving from mTBI compromise fine motor skills, visuomotor integration, form recognition, and visuo-spatial attention. The impairment in visuo-motor coordination was associated with speed in visuo-attention and correlated with symptoms severity while motor ability was correlated with time since concussion. Given the strong correlation between visuomotor coordination and symptom severity, further investigation with a larger sample seems warranted. Since there appeared to be differences in motor skills with respect to symptom stage, further research is needed to investigate symptom profiles associated with visuomotor coordination and fine motor deficits in mTBI patients.

scholarly journals Neural Excursions from Low-Dimensional Manifold Structure Explain Intersubject Variation in Human Motor Learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corson N Areshenkoff ◽  
Daniel J Gale ◽  
Joe Y Nashed ◽  
Dominic Standage ◽  
John Randall Flanagan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Dimensional Subspace ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Dimensional Manifold ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Manifold Structure ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies ◽  
Low Dimensional

Humans vary greatly in their motor learning abilities, yet little is known about the neural mechanisms that underlie this variability. Recent neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies demonstrate that large-scale neural dynamics inhabit a low-dimensional subspace or manifold, and that learning is constrained by this intrinsic manifold architecture. Here we asked, using functional MRI, whether subject-level differences in neural excursion from manifold structure can explain differences in learning across participants. We had subjects perform a sensorimotor adaptation task in the MRI scanner on two consecutive days, allowing us to assess their learning performance across days, as well as continuously measure brain activity. We find that the overall neural excursion from manifold activity in both cognitive and sensorimotor brain networks is associated with differences in subjects' patterns of learning and relearning across days. These findings suggest that off-manifold activity provides an index of the relative engagement of different neural systems during learning, and that intersubject differences in patterns of learning and relearning across days are related to reconfiguration processes in cognitive and sensorimotor networks during learning.

scholarly journals Clinical-enabled aspects after Neurotoxoplasmosis in a patient with immunosuppression: a case report

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrielle Galanti ◽  
Verônia Corrêa César Rodrigues ◽  
Daniela Maria Ribeiro Vaz ◽  
Ana Paula Oliveira Borges
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Clinical Investigation ◽  
Functional Independence ◽  
Berg Balance Scale ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Right Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
The Right ◽  
Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Background: Neurotoxoplasmosis is an opportunistic infection caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma Gondii, frequent in patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome who become immunosuppressed by the presence of the disease. It can be presented by one or more brain abscesses, encephalitis or ventriculitis. Objectives: case report of a volunteer after neurological sequelae of neurotoxoplasmosis in order to highlight the relevant findings for a neurofunctional rehabilitation. Design and setting: This is an observational, cross-sectional case report type study conducted at the Clínica Escola de Fisioterapia of the University of Franca (UNIFRAN), with CEP approval (CAAE 83164918.2.0000.5495). Methods: Female patient, 53 years old. In the physiotherapy sector, neurological evaluation of the components was performed: sensitivity, movement, tone, reflexes, motor coordination, balance and gait. Balance and gait were assessed using the Berg Balance Scale, the Standing and Walking Test and the Dynamic Walking Index. Results: After clinical investigation, neurological toxoplasmosis infection was found in the right cerebral hemisphere. The physiotherapeutic evaluation showed the presence of left hemiparesis, the presence of spastic hypertonia, patellar and achilles hyperreflexia, the absence of fine motor skills and the presence of a reaping gait. The BSE result was 32 points, the TUG was 10.3 seconds and IMD was 20 points. Conclusion: The compromises found have an impact on the functionality of the volunteer. This study emphasizes the valorization of neurofunctional physiotherapeutic semiology for a treatment proposal that promotes greater functional independence.

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