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.

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.

Contribution of the Premotor Cortex to Consolidation of Motor Sequence Learning in Humans During Sleep

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 2603-2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Nitsche ◽  
Michaela Jakoubkova ◽  
Nivethida Thirugnanasambandam ◽  
Leonie Schmalfuss ◽  
Sandra Hullemann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Motor Memory ◽  
Motor Sequence

Motor learning and memory consolidation require the contribution of different cortices. For motor sequence learning, the primary motor cortex is involved primarily in its acquisition. Premotor areas might be important for consolidation. In accordance, modulation of cortical excitability via transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) during learning affects performance when applied to the primary motor cortex, but not premotor cortex. We aimed to explore whether premotor tDCS influences task performance during motor memory consolidation. The impact of excitability-enhancing, -diminishing, or placebo premotor tDCS during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep on recall in the serial reaction time task (SRTT) was explored in healthy humans. The motor task was learned in the evening. Recall was performed immediately after tDCS or the following morning. In two separate control experiments, excitability-enhancing premotor tDCS was performed 4 h after task learning during daytime or immediately before conduction of a simple reaction time task. Excitability-enhancing tDCS performed during REM sleep increased recall of the learned movement sequences, when tested immediately after stimulation. REM density was enhanced by excitability-increasing tDCS and reduced by inhibitory tDCS, but did not correlate with task performance. In the control experiments, tDCS did not improve performance. We conclude that the premotor cortex is involved in motor memory consolidation during REM sleep.

scholarly journals Association of COMT val158met and DRD2 G>T genetic polymorphisms with individual differences in motor learning and performance in female young adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Noohi ◽  
Nate B. Boyden ◽  
Youngbin Kwak ◽  
Jennifer Humfleet ◽  
David T. Burke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Genetic Polymorphisms ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Striatal Dopamine ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Comt Val158met ◽  
Adaptation Task

Individuals learn new skills at different rates. Given the involvement of corticostriatal pathways in some types of learning, variations in dopaminergic transmission may contribute to these individual differences. Genetic polymorphisms of the catechol- O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme and dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) genes partially determine cortical and striatal dopamine availability, respectively. Individuals who are homozygous for the COMT methionine ( met) allele show reduced cortical COMT enzymatic activity, resulting in increased dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex as opposed to individuals who are carriers of the valine ( val) allele. DRD2 G-allele homozygotes benefit from a higher striatal dopamine level compared with T-allele carriers. We hypothesized that individuals who are homozygous for COMT met and DRD2 G alleles would show higher rates of motor learning. Seventy-two young healthy females (20 ± 1.9 yr) performed a sensorimotor adaptation task and a motor sequence learning task. A nonparametric mixed model ANOVA revealed that the COMT val-val group demonstrated poorer performance in the sequence learning task compared with the met-met group and showed a learning deficit in the visuomotor adaptation task compared with both met-met and val-met groups. The DRD2 TT group showed poorer performance in the sequence learning task compared with the GT group, but there was no difference between DRD2 genotype groups in adaptation rate. Although these results did not entirely come out as one might predict based on the known contribution of corticostriatal pathways to motor sequence learning, they support the role of genetic polymorphisms of COMT val158met (rs4680) and DRD2 G>T (rs 1076560) in explaining individual differences in motor performance and motor learning, dependent on task type.

scholarly journals Multidimensional Motor Sequence Learning Is Impaired in Older But Not Younger or Middle-Aged Adults

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara A Boyd ◽  
Eric D Vidoni ◽  
Catherine F Siengsukon
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Adult Group ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Retention Testing ◽  
Interference Tests ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

Background and Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify which characteristics of a multidimensional sequence containing motor, spatial, and temporal elements would be most salient for motor sequence learning and whether age might differentially affect this learning. Subjects Younger (n=11, mean age=26.0 years), middle-aged (n=13, mean age=50.7 years), and older (n=11, mean age=77.5 years) adults who were neurologically intact participated in the study. Methods Participants practiced a sequencing task with repeated motor, spatial, and temporal dimensions for 2 days; on a separate third day, participants completed retention and interference tests designed to assess sequence learning and which elements of the sequence were learned. The mean median response time for each block of responses was used to assess motor sequence learning. Results Younger and middle-aged adults demonstrated sequence-specific motor learning at retention testing via faster response times for repeated sequences than random sequences; both of these groups showed interference for the motor dimension. In contrast, older adults demonstrated nonspecific learning (ie, similar improvements in response time for both random and repeated sequences). These findings were shown by a lack of difference between random and repeated sequence performance in the older adult group both at retention testing and during interference tests. Conclusion and Discussion Our data suggest that, when younger and middle-aged adults practice sequences containing multiple dimensions of movement, the motor element is most important for motor learning. The absence of sequence-specific change demonstrated by an older adult group that was healthy suggests an age-related impairment in motor learning that may have profound implications for rehabilitation.

Stress Modulates the Balance between Hippocampal and Motor Networks during Motor Memory Processing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Dolfen ◽  
B R King ◽  
L Schwabe ◽  
M A Gann ◽  
M P Veldman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Motor Memory ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Memory Processing ◽  
Sleep Episode ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The functional interaction between hippocampo- and striato-cortical regions during motor sequence learning is essential to trigger optimal memory consolidation. Based on previous evidence from other memory domains that stress alters the balance between these systems, we investigated whether exposure to stress prior to motor learning modulates motor memory processes. Seventy-two healthy young individuals were exposed to a stressful or nonstressful control intervention prior to training on a motor sequence learning task in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Consolidation was assessed with an MRI retest after a sleep episode. Behavioral results indicate that stress prior to learning did not influence motor performance. At the neural level, stress induced both a larger recruitment of sensorimotor regions and a greater disengagement of hippocampo-cortical networks during training. Brain-behavior regression analyses showed that while this stress-induced shift from (hippocampo-)fronto-parietal to motor networks was beneficial for initial performance, it was detrimental for consolidation. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that stress modulates the neural networks recruited during motor memory processing and therefore effectively unify concepts and mechanisms from diverse memory fields. Critically, our findings suggest that intersubject variability in brain responses to stress determines the impact of stress on motor learning and subsequent consolidation.

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.

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