The influence of motor expertise on the brain activity of motor task performance: A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

Abstract

Previous research has investigated the influence of long-term motor training on the brain activity of motor processes, but the findings are inconsistent. To clarify how acquiring motor expertise induces cortical reorganization during motor task performance, the current study conducted a quantitative meta-analysis on 26 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that investigate motor task performance in people with long-term motor training experience (e.g., athletes, musicians, and dancers) and control participants. Meta-analysis of the brain activation in motor experts and novices showed similar effects in the bilateral frontal and parietal regions. The meta-analysis on the contrast between motor experts and novices indicated that experts showed stronger effects in the left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) than did novices in motor execution and prediction tasks. In motor observation tasks, experts showed stronger effects in the left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 9) and left precentral gyrus (BA 6) than novices. On the contrary, novices had stronger effects in the right motor areas and basal ganglia as compared with motor experts. These results indicate that motor experts have effect increases in brain areas involved in action planning and action comprehension, and suggest that intensive motor training might elaborate the motor representation related to the task performance.

Critical Motor Involvement in Prediction of Human and Non-biological Motion Trajectories

“…The importance of the integrity of sensorimotor regions in left parietal and dorsal frontal cortex for motion prediction is consistent with previously observed neuroimaging activations in these regions in neurologically intact individuals engaged in prediction tasks (Balser et al, 2014; Cross et al, 2013; Schubotz & von Cramon, 2002; Stadler et al, 2011; van Elk, 2014; Wiener et al, 2010; Yang, 2014). Although bilateral activations are commonly reported, meta-analyses indicate that left hemisphere activations are most reliable (Wiener et al, 2010; Yang, 2014).…”

“…Although bilateral activations are commonly reported, meta-analyses indicate that left hemisphere activations are most reliable (Wiener et al, 2010; Yang, 2014). Van Elk (2014), for example, found activations in left PM and IPL when participants observed an actor holding a tool (e.g., a wine opener), a target (wine bottle), and a distractor object (soda bottle) and were asked to predict the direction in which the tool would be moved.…”

Learning, remembering, and predicting how to use tools: Distributed neurocognitive mechanisms: Comment on Osiurak and Badets (2016).

“…These predicted sensory consequences are compared-- with actual sensory input as movement unfolds, and any discrepancy between the two is used for online correction and refinement of the predictive model (Wolpert, Ghahramani, & Jordan, 1995). This system is well suited to action imitation (Buxbaum, Shapiro, & Coslett, 2014) (even for unfamiliar actions), prediction of the time course of actions (Yang, 2015), and the coordination of joint actions (Kokal, Gazzola, & Keysers, 2009). …”

Anodal tDCS to Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Facilitates Performance for Novice Jazz Improvisers but Hinders Experts

“…), and enhanced connectivity among prefrontal, premotor, motor, and default mode regions (Limb and Braun, 2008; Pinho et al, 2014, 2016). These activation and deactivation patterns are thought to represent a shift from top-down control to more automatic, bottom-up, implicit processing, which facilitates creative performance (Yang, 2015), not only for expert improvisers, but also in other creative domains and tasks (Jung et al, 2013; Chrysikou et al, 2014). …”