scholarly journals A critical re-evaluation of fMRI signatures of motor sequence learning

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Berlot ◽  
Nicola J Popp ◽  
Jörn Diedrichsen
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Human Motor ◽  
Brain Changes

Despite numerous studies, there is little agreement about what brain changes accompany motor sequence learning, partly because of a general publication bias that favors novel results. We therefore decided to systematically reinvestigate proposed functional magnetic resonance imaging correlates of motor learning in a preregistered longitudinal study with four scanning sessions over 5 weeks of training. Activation decreased more for trained than untrained sequences in premotor and parietal areas, without any evidence of learning-related activation increases. Premotor and parietal regions also exhibited changes in the fine-grained, sequence-specific activation patterns early in learning, which stabilized later. No changes were observed in the primary motor cortex (M1). Overall, our study provides evidence that human motor sequence learning occurs outside of M1. Furthermore, it shows that we cannot expect to find activity increases as an indicator for learning, making subtle changes in activity patterns across weeks the most promising fMRI correlate of training-induced plasticity.

scholarly journals A critical re-evaluation of fMRI signatures of motor sequence learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Berlot ◽  
Nicola J. Popp ◽  
Jörn Diedrichsen
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Human Motor ◽  
Brain Changes

AbstractDespite numerous studies, there is little agreement about what brain changes accompany motor sequence learning, partly because of a general publication bias that favors novel results. We therefore decided to systematically reinvestigate proposed functional magnetic resonance imaging correlates of motor learning in a preregistered longitudinal study with four scanning sessions over 5 weeks of training. Activation decreased more for trained than untrained sequences in premotor and parietal areas, without any evidence of learning-related activation increases. Premotor and parietal regions also exhibited changes in the fine-grained, sequence-specific activation patterns early in learning, which stabilized later. No changes were observed in the primary motor cortex (M1). Overall, our study provides evidence that human motor sequence learning occurs outside of M1. Furthermore, it shows that we cannot expect to find activity increases as an indicator for learning, making subtle changes in activity patterns across weeks the most promising fMRI correlate of training-induced plasticity.

scholarly journals Motor sequence learning in the elderly: differential activity patterns as a function of hand modality

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 986-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Eudave ◽  
Maite Aznárez-Sanado ◽  
Elkin O. Luis ◽  
Martín Martínez ◽  
María A. Fernández-Seara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence

scholarly journals Persistence of Hippocampal and Striatal Multivoxel Patterns during Awake Rest after Motor Sequence Learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley R. King ◽  
Mareike A. Gann ◽  
Dante Mantini ◽  
Julien Doyon ◽  
Genevieve Albouy
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Task Practice

Memory consolidation is thought to be mediated by the offline reactivation of brain regions recruited during initial learning. Evidence for hippocampal reactivation in humans comes from studies showing that hippocampal response patterns elicited during learning can persist into subsequent rest intervals. Such investigations have largely been limited to declarative memory, which is surprising given the critical role of the hippocampus in motor memory processes. The primary goal of this study was therefore to investigate whether motor learning induces persistence of hippocampal patterns into subsequent rest. Based on their critical roles in motor learning and memory consolidation processes, we also assessed persistence in the striatum and primary motor cortex (M1). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were recorded during motor learning as well as pre- and post-learning resting periods from 55 young healthy adults (males and females). Patterns of brain responses were assessed with intra- and inter-regional multivoxel correlation structure (MVCS). Intra-regional multivoxel patterns during motor sequence learning within the hippocampus and the striatum - but not within M1 - were more similar to post-learning as compared to pre-learning resting epochs, indicating persistence of task-related patterns thought to reflect reactivation processes. Interestingly, the multivoxel pattern of hippocampal connectivity with the striatum (i.e., inter-regional MVCS) was strongly dissimilar between post-learning rest and task practice. Altogether, these results provide evidence for the persistence of learning-related response patterns within the hippocampus and striatum into rest following motor learning. They also suggest that striatal-hippocampal connectivity patterns elicited by task practice are reorganized in post-learning waking rest.

scholarly journals Discrepancy between repetition suppression and pattern analysis provides new insights into the role of M1 and parietal areas in sequence learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Berlot ◽  
Nicola J. Popp ◽  
Scott T. Grafton ◽  
Jörn Diedrichsen
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Single Experiment ◽  
Repetition Suppression ◽  
Sequence Production

AbstractHow does the brain change during skill learning? We previously conducted a longitudinal fMRI motor sequence learning study and, using multivariate techniques, found learning-related changes in premotor and parietal areas, but not in the primary motor cortex (M1) (1). However, a study using repetition suppression (RS) had previously suggested that M1 represents learned sequences. Here we replicate this discrepancy in a single experiment, allowing us to investigate the differences between RS and multivariate pattern analysis in detail. We found that the RS effect in M1 and parietal areas reflect fundamentally different processes. M1’s activity represents the starting finger of the sequence, an effect that vanishes with repetition. In contrast, activity patterns in parietal areas exhibit sequence dependency, which persists with repetition. These findings demonstrate that combining RS and pattern analysis can provide novel functional insights, here specifically into the relative contribution of cortical motor areas to sequence production.

scholarly journals Motor Sequence Learning across Multiple Sessions Is Not Facilitated by Targeting Consolidation with Posttraining tDCS in Patients with Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Harald Seelmann-Eggebert ◽  
Muriel Stoppe ◽  
Florian Then Bergh ◽  
Joseph Classen ◽  
Jost-Julian Rumpf
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Cross Sectional

Compared to relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), progressive MS is characterized by a lack of spontaneous recovery and a poor response to pharmaceutical immunomodulatory treatment. These patients may, therefore, particularly benefit from interventions that augment training-induced plasticity of the central nervous system. In this cross-sectional double-blind cross-over pilot study, effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on motor sequence learning were examined across four sessions on days 1, 3, 5, and 8 in 16 patients with progressive MS. Active or sham anodal tDCS of the primary motor cortex was applied immediately after each training session. Participants took part in two experiments separated by at least four weeks, which differed with respect to the type of posttraining tDCS (active or sham). While task performance across blocks of training and across sessions improved significantly in both the active and sham tDCS experiment, neither online nor offline motor learning was modulated by the type of tDCS. Accordingly, the primary endpoint (task performance on day 8) did not differ between stimulation conditions. In sum, patients with progressive MS are able to improve performance in an ecologically valid motor sequence learning task through training. However, even multisession posttraining tDCS fails to promote motor learning in progressive MS.

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