Coherence and phase locking of intracerebral activation during visuo- and audio-motor learning of continuous tracking movements

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess changes in EEG coherence and phase locking between fronto-parietal areas, including the frontal and parietal motor areas, during early audio-and visuo-motor learning of continuous tracking movements. Subjects learned to turn a steering-wheel according to a given trajectory in order to minimise the discrepancy between a changing foreground stimulus (controllable by the subjects) and a constant background stimulus (uncontrollable) for both the auditory and the visual modality. In the auditory condition, we uncovered a learning-related increase in inter-hemispheric phase locking between inferior parietal regions, suggesting that coupling between areas involved in audiomotor integration is augmented during early learning stages. Intrahemispheric phase locking between motor and superior parietal areas increased in the left hemisphere as learning progressed, indicative of integrative processes of spatial information and movement execution. Further tests show a significant correlation of intra-hemispheric phase locking between the motor and the parietal area bilaterally and movement performance in the visual condition. These results suggest that the motor-parietal network is operative in the auditory and in the visual condition. This study confirms that a complex fronto-parietal network subserves learning of a new movement that requires sensorimotor transformation and demonstrates the importance of interregional coupling as a neural correlate for successful acquisition and implementation of externally guided behaviour.

EEG oscillatory activity associated to monetary gain and loss signals in a learning task: Effects of attentional impulsivity and learning ability

“…4a). These findings support the view that the cooperation of far distant brain regions might be the neural mechanism by which associative learning is implemented (Blum et al, 2007;Kranczioch et al, 2008) and suggest that this mechanism plays a leading role in distinguish learning ability.…”

Evidence of Neuromuscular Adaptation According to Motor Sequential Learning in the Serial Reaction Time Task

“…It has previously been established that motor sequential learning is accomplished by acquisition of explicit and implicit knowledge in multiple brain areas, including the cortical and subcortical structures 2,[17][18][19] . Also, according to prior studies conducted using coherence a nalys is with electroencephalography (EEG) and EMG [20][21][22] , m o t o r s k i l l t r a i n i n g i n d u c e d c h a n g e s i n corticomuscular coherence, reflecting sensorimotor integration processing between the cortex and muscle as part of the motor learning process. In a tanscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) experiment by Krutky and Perreault 17) , changes in TMS-evoked muscle activity and joint movement were taken as evidence of short-term corticomotor plasticity after repetitive practice of a simple movement by the upper limb.…”

Large-scale functional brain networks in human non-rapid eye movement sleep: insights from combined electroencephalographic/functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

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