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

Authors :
Maruyama, Shuki
Fukunaga, Masaki
Sugawara, Sho K.
Hamano, Yuki H.
Yamamoto, Tetsuya
Sadato, Norihiro
Source :
Scientific Reports; 9/17/2021, Vol. 11 Issue 1, p1-14, 14p
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

The 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20452322
Volume :
11
Issue :
1
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Scientific Reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
152503436
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97974-1