Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (16)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tracy, J.
Right arrow Articles by DelVecchio, N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tracy, J.
Right arrow Articles by DelVecchio, N.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 13, No. 9, 904-910, September 2003
© 2003 Oxford University Press

Regional Brain Activation Associated with Different Performance Patterns during Learning of a Complex Motor Skill

Joseph Tracy1,2, Adam Flanders2, Saussan Madi1, Joseph Laskas1, Eve Stoddard3, Ayis Pyrros1, Peter Natale2 and Nicole DelVecchio3

1 Departments of Neurology and , 2 Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University/Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA 19107 and , 3 Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University, PA, USA

In understanding the brain’s response to extensive practice and development of high-level, expert skill, a key question is whether the same brain structures remain involved throughout the different stages of learning and a form of adaptation occurs, or a new functional circuit is formed with some structures dropping off and others joining. After training subjects on a set of complex motor tasks (tying knots), we utilized fMRI to observe that in subjects who learned the task well new regional activity emerged in posterior medial structures, i.e. the posterior cingulate gyrus. Activation associated with weak learning of the knots involved areas that mediate visual spatial computations. Brain activity associated with no substantive learning indicated involvement of areas dedicated to the declarative aspects learning such as the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex. The new activation for the pattern of strong learning has alternate interpretations involving either retrieval during episodic memory or a shift toward non-executive cognitive control of the task. While these interpretations are not resolved, the study makes clear that single time-point images of motor skill can be misleading because the brain structures that implement action can change following practice.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 NEJMHome page
R. Aggarwal and A. Darzi
Technical-Skills Training in the 21st Century
N. Engl. J. Med., December 21, 2006; 355(25): 2695 - 2696.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol.Home page
A. Lawal, M. Kern, A. Sanjeevi, C. Hofmann, and R. Shaker
Cingulate cortex: a closer look at its gut-related functional topography
Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, October 1, 2005; 289(4): G722 - G730.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
V. Puttemans, N. Wenderoth, and S. P. Swinnen
Changes in Brain Activation during the Acquisition of a Multifrequency Bimanual Coordination Task: From the Cognitive Stage to Advanced Levels of Automaticity
J. Neurosci., April 27, 2005; 25(17): 4270 - 4278.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
V. Della-Maggiore and A. R. McIntosh
Time Course of Changes in Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity Associated With Long-Term Adaptation to a Rotational Transformation
J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2005; 93(4): 2254 - 2262.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.