Cortical control of motor sequences

Ashe, James; Lungu, Ovidiu; Basford, Alexandra; Lu, Xiaofeng

doi:10.1016/j.conb.2006.03.008

Cited by 162 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Although our results do not support a direct role of M1 in sequence-specific transfer, we cannot exclude this possibility entirely because M1 may contribute to some forms of sequential movements (Gerloff et al, 1998b;Hikosaka et al, 1999;Bapi et al, 2000;Ashe et al, 2006). Furthermore, neurons in the motor cortex seem to encode general movements and sequential aspects of actions concurrently (Ben-Shaul et al, 2004).…”

Section: Functional Considerationscontrasting

confidence: 43%

“…Furthermore, neurons in the motor cortex seem to encode general movements and sequential aspects of actions concurrently (Ben-Shaul et al, 2004). Accordingly, different components of a motor sequence might be channeled into separate but interacting systems, which may reflect differences in the strength and distribution of callosal connections (Rouiller et al, 1994) or the functional role of specific areas (Ashe et al, 2006).…”

Section: Functional Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neurophysiological Mechanisms Involved in Transfer of Procedural Knowledge

Pérez¹,

Wise²,

Willingham³

et al. 2007

J. Neurosci.

135

140

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Learning to perform a motor task with one hand results in performance improvements in the other hand, a process called intermanual transfer. To gain information on its neural mechanisms, we studied this phenomenon using the serial reaction-time task (SRTT). Sixteen, right-handed volunteers trained a 12-item sequence of key presses repeated without the subjects' knowledge. Blocks with no repeating sequence, called random blocks, were interspersed with sequence-training blocks. Response times improved in random and training blocks in both hands. The former result reflects nonspecific improvement in performance, and the latter represents a sequence-specific improvement. To evaluate changes in the primary motor cortex (M1), we tested resting motor thresholds (RMT), recruitments curves to transcranial magnetic stimulation (RC), short intracortical inhibition (SICI), and interhemispheric inhibition (IHI) from the dominant left (learning) to the nondominant right (transfer) hemisphere, before and after SRTT training. Training resulted in (1) increased RC and decreased SICI but no changes in RMT in the learning hemisphere, (2) decreased SICI and no changes in RC or RMT in the transfer hemisphere, and (3) decreased IHI. The amount in IHI after training correlated with nonspecific performance improvements in the transfer hand but not with sequence-specific performance improvements. Our results indicate that modulation of interhemispheric inhibition between the M1 areas may, as a result of the learning that has occurred in one hemisphere after practice with one hand, contribute to faster, more skilled performance of the opposite hand.

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Section: Functional Considerationscontrasting

confidence: 43%

Section: Functional Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurophysiological Mechanisms Involved in Transfer of Procedural Knowledge

Pérez¹,

Wise²,

Willingham³

et al. 2007

J. Neurosci.

135

140

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, reviews of the literature have established that EEG alpha power distinguishes experts and novices as well as accurate and inaccurate motor performance in various sport-related skills, such as gun shooting and golf putting (Cooke, 2013;Hatfield et al,2004). With the aim of investigating the impact of declarative information processing on preparation for action, other studies have examined the functional connectivity between the left temporal area of the brain, responsible for verbal-analytic and language processing, and the frontal pre-motor area, responsible for motor planning (Ashe, Lungu, Basford & Lu, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lower left temporal-frontal connectivity characterizes expert and accurate performance: High-alpha T7-Fz connectivity as a marker of conscious processing during movement.

Gallicchio

Cooke

Ring

2016

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology

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The Theory of Reinvestment argues that conscious processing can impair motor performance. The present study tested the utility of left temporal-frontal cortical connectivity as a neurophysiological marker of movement specific conscious processing. Expert and novice golfers completed putts while temporal-frontal connectivity was computed using high alpha Inter Site Phase Clustering (ISPC) and then analyzed as a function of experience (experts versus novices), performance (holed versus missed putts), and pressure (low versus high). Existing evidence shows that left temporal to frontal connectivity is related to dispositional conscious processing and is sensitive to the amount of declarative knowledge acquired during learning. We found that T7-Fz ISPC, but not T8-Fz ISPC, was lower in experts than novices, and lower when putts were holed than missed. Accordingly, our findings provide additional evidence that communication between verbal/language and motor areas of the brain during preparation for action and its execution is associated with poor motor performance. Our findings validate high-alpha left temporal-frontal connectivity as a neurophysiological correlate of movement specific conscious processing. Key wordsconscious processing; Inter Site Phase Clustering (ISPC); motor control; Reinvestment Theory; temporal-frontal connectivity 3 Classic theories of motor learning (e.g., Fitts & Posner, 1967) suggest that early in the learning process novices control movements deliberately and consciously, whereas following extensive practice they can learn to control movements automatically with reduced conscious awareness (i.e., they can evolve into experts). Thus, learning represents a transition from deliberate and explicit to automatic and implicit control of movement. This notion has been supported by research using electroencephalography (EEG) to assess cortical activity during movement tasks (for reviews see Cooke, 2013;Hatfield et al., 2004;Requin, Brener, & Ring, 1991). For instance, EEG research has indicated that experts display greater cortical efficiency (e.g., Babiloni et al., 2010), while also being more sensitive to errors (e.g., Cooke et al., 2015) when planning and executing movements.Grounded on classic theories of motor learning and control, the Theory of Reinvestment (Masters, 1992;Masters & Maxwell, 2008) proposes that automated motor processes can be disrupted when task-relevant declarative knowledge is used to consciously control movements. Specifically, reinvestment of declarative knowledge de-chunks automatic motor programs into separate components that require conscious control, causing a regression on the skill acquisition continuum to an earlier, more primitive and less effective stage of movement control (MacMahon & Masters, 1999). Importantly, the theory argues that contingencies such as movement errors, or increases in pressure, can create the conditions for reinvestment to occur (Lam, Masters, & Maxwell, 2010).For instance, pressure -defined as "the presence of situational incentive...

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“…The intentional control of a motor sequence requires a wired neuronal activation network [39,40], and the histogram shifts in the positive direction during the task period because of its activation. Our proposed method shows that statistically significant differences in histograms derived from NIRS data describe the dynamical changes in brain activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative and qualitative discrimination of task periods from non-task periods by recurrence plots

Sugai

Adachi

2016

NOLTA

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Recurrence plots are useful tools for visualizing the inner structure of a time series, and they have been applied to physiological data to examine brain activity. However, these studies have focused on qualitative analysis of the data. In this study, we used unthresholded recurrence plots of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data to detect the difference in brain activity between task periods and non-task periods. Histograms derived from the recurrence plots showed a statistical difference between the periods. Throughout the pre-task period, task period, and post-task period, the histogram kept its shape statistically and shifted horizontally according to the period. Therefore, the changes in dynamical systems describing brain activity were observed as changes in histograms derived from NIRS data.

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Cortical control of motor sequences

Cited by 162 publications

References 60 publications

Neurophysiological Mechanisms Involved in Transfer of Procedural Knowledge

Neurophysiological Mechanisms Involved in Transfer of Procedural Knowledge

Lower left temporal-frontal connectivity characterizes expert and accurate performance: High-alpha T7-Fz connectivity as a marker of conscious processing during movement.

Quantitative and qualitative discrimination of task periods from non-task periods by recurrence plots

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