Motor skill learning induces brain network plasticity: A diffusion-tensor imaging study

Abstract

Motor skills and the acquisition of brain plasticity are important topics in current research. The development of non-invasive white matter imaging technology, such as diffusion-tensor imaging and the introduction of graph theory make it possible to study the effects of learning skills on the connection patterns of brain networks. However, few studies have characterized the brain network topological features of motor skill learning, especially open skill. Given the need to interact with environmental changes in real time, we hypothesized that the brain network of high-level open-skilled athletes had higher transmission efficiency and stronger interaction in attention, visual and sensorimotor networks. We selected 21 high-level basketball players and 25 ordinary individuals as control subjects, collected their DTI data, built a network of brain structures, and used graph theory to analyze and compare the network properties of the two groups at global and regional levels. In addition, we conducted a correlation analysis on the training years of high-level athletes and brain network nodal parameters on the regional level to assess the relationship between brain network topological characteristics and skills learning. We found that on the global-level, the brain network of high-level basketball players had a shorter path length, small-worldness, and higher global efficiency. On the regional level, the brain nodes of the high-level athletes had nodal parameters that were significantly higher than those of control groups, and were mainly distributed in the visual network, the default mode network, and the attention network. The changes in brain node parameters were significantly related to the number of training years.

Altered Brain Functional Connectivity Density in Fast-Ball Sports Athletes With Early Stage of Motor Training

“…Such results demonstrated reduced connections between these brain regions and the remaining brain voxels in the SA group. The findings were consistent with the previous research, regardless of skilled groups, such as racing-car drivers (Bernardi et al, 2013), table tennis players (Guo et al, 2017), basketball players (Pi et al, 2019), golfers (Milton et al, 2007), and musicians (Haslinger et al, 2004;Meister et al, 2005). The possible explanation could be that athletes' brain might exhibit an improved neural efficiency in the brain regions associated with attentional-motor modulation and executive control along with a reduced "resource consumption" (Rypma and Prabhakaran, 2009;Bernardi et al, 2013;Guo et al, 2017;Sommer et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2019).…”

Effects of mirror training on motor performance in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Neuroimaging studies of people performing finger movements revealed that long-term training could activate finger representation in the sensorimotor cortex 39. Diffusion tensor imaging studies also suggested that high-level, broad-skilled athletes with a long history of skill learning showed higher nodal parameters in their visual and attention networks than ordinary individuals, leading to quicker and more effective processing of visual information 40. Thus, future research might investigate whether a longer duration of MTr can achieve improvements in motor function that are sustained for a longer time, and whether the neurophysiological changes during and after training may differ from those achieved by short-term training.…”

Frequency-Specific Changes in the Fractional Amplitude of the Low-Frequency Fluctuations in the Default Mode Network in Medication-Free Patients With Bipolar II Depression: A Longitudinal Functional MRI Study

“…However, in the present study, we did not find a significant correlation between increased slow 5 fALFF in the left IPL and left LTC and a decrease in HDRS. The possible causes of these results were that the functions of these brain regions were mainly involved in cognition, auditory, and language function: the IPL is mainly related to cognitive functions, including memory retrieval and bottom-up attention ( 81 ); the MTG mainly takes part in motor skill learning ( 82 ) and short-term verbal memory ( 83 ); and the STG is generally considered a part of the high-order auditory cortex ( 84 ).…”