SummaryFunctionally related brain networks are engaged even in the absence of an overt behavior. The role of this resting state activity, evident as low-frequency fluctuations of BOLD (see [1] for review, [2–4]) or electrical [5, 6] signals, is unclear. Two major proposals are that resting state activity supports introspective thought or supports responses to future events [7]. An alternative perspective is that the resting brain actively and selectively processes previous experiences [8]. Here we show that motor learning can modulate subsequent activity within resting networks. BOLD signal was recorded during rest periods before and after an 11 min visuomotor training session. Motor learning but not motor performance modulated a fronto-parietal resting state network (RSN). Along with the fronto-parietal network, a cerebellar network not previously reported as an RSN was also specifically altered by learning. Both of these networks are engaged during learning of similar visuomotor tasks [9–22]. Thus, we provide the first description of the modulation of specific RSNs by prior learning—but not by prior performance—revealing a novel connection between the neuroplastic mechanisms of learning and resting state activity. Our approach may provide a powerful tool for exploration of the systems involved in memory consolidation.

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Acquiring a new skill requires learning multiple aspects of a task simultaneously. For example, learning a piano sonata requires learning the musical notes and being able to implement this goal by learning the appropriate sequence of finger movements. After practice, skill continues to develop off-line during a period of consolidation. Here we show that different aspects of a procedural memory are processed separately during consolidation: Only the movement sequence is enhanced over the day; whereas only the goal is enhanced over a night of sleep. This double dissociation suggests that distinct systems, enhancing different aspects of a procedural memory, support improvements during consolidation. Consolidation is not a single process; instead, there are multiple routes to off-line learning, and the engagement of these distinct mechanisms is determined by when consolidation takes place. movement control ͉ procedural learning ͉ consolidation ͉ sleep C lassically, a distinction has been made between how a movement is performed and the spatial target or goal of the movement (1). For example, a pianist makes a series of finger movements to fulfill the goal of playing notes in a sonata. Enhanced knowledge of either the finger movements or the goal of these movements can produce an increase in skill (2-4). During practice, distinct mechanisms may be engaged to support the simultaneous acquisition of both components (5-7). Skill can also develop off-line, between practice sessions, during consolidation (8, 9). Skill enhancement during consolidation, like practice, may involve the simultaneous enhancement of both the goal and the movement. Alternatively, the principles operating during consolidation may differ from those during practice: Skill components may be enhanced separately. This result would imply that the mechanisms engaged simultaneously during practice are engaged separately during consolidation.It is possible to distinguish between the goal and the movement components of skill in a procedural sequence learning task (2). In the present experiment, participants acquired skill in the serial reaction time task (SRTT). In this task, a visual cue can appear at any one of four positions arranged horizontally on a computer screen (10). Each screen position corresponds to a button on a response box. A trial begins when a cue appears. The participant presses the appropriate response button, ending the trial, and after a short fixed delay, another cue is presented. Unbeknownst to the participant, the visual cues follow a specific spatial pattern that is learned as both a sequence of finger movements and as a sequence of response buttons to push, or goals (2-4). After training with one hand, these two skill components can be distinguished by probing skill with the untrained hand (Fig. 1). By switching hands, the same finger is no longer associated with the same response. So, although the same sequence of response buttons is required, this goal is achieved by using a different set of finger movements. Thus the goal remain...