Early consolidation in human primary motor cortex

Behavioural studies indicate that a newly acquired motor skill is rapidly consolidated from an initially unstable state to a more stable state, whereas neuroimaging studies demonstrate that the brain engages new regions for performance of the task as a result of this consolidation. However, it is no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2002-02, Vol.415 (6872), p.640-644
Main Authors: Hallett, Mark, Muellbacher, Wolf, Ziemann, Ulf, Wissel, Joerg, Dang, Nguyet, Kofler, Markus, Facchini, Stefano, Boroojerdi, Babak, Poewe, Werner
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Brain Mapping
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hands
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Learning - physiology
letter
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Motor ability
Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration
Motor Cortex - physiology
Motor Skills - physiology
multidisciplinary
Neurology
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:Behavioural studies indicate that a newly acquired motor skill is rapidly consolidated from an initially unstable state to a more stable state, whereas neuroimaging studies demonstrate that the brain engages new regions for performance of the task as a result of this consolidation. However, it is not known where a new skill is retained and processed before it is firmly consolidated. Some early aspects of motor skill acquisition involve the primary motor cortex (M1), but the nature of that involvement is unclear. We tested the possibility that the human M1 is essential to early motor consolidation. We monitored changes in elementary motor behaviour while subjects practised fast finger movements that rapidly improved in movement acceleration and muscle force generation. Here we show that low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of M1 but not other brain areas specifically disrupted the retention of the behavioural improvement, but did not affect basal motor behaviour, task performance, motor learning by subsequent practice, or recall of the newly acquired motor skill. These findings indicate that the human M1 is specifically engaged during the early stage of motor consolidation.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/nature712