Early consolidation in human primary motor cortex

Wolf Muellbacher, Ulf Ziemann, Joerg Wissel, Nguyet Dang, Markus Kofler, Stefano Facchini, Babak Boroojerdi, Werner Poewe and Mark Hallett ()
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Wolf Muellbacher: National Institutes of Health
Ulf Ziemann: National Institutes of Health
Joerg Wissel: University Hospital of Innsbruck
Nguyet Dang: National Institutes of Health
Markus Kofler: University Hospital of Innsbruck
Stefano Facchini: National Institutes of Health
Babak Boroojerdi: National Institutes of Health
Werner Poewe: University Hospital of Innsbruck
Mark Hallett: National Institutes of Health

Nature, 2002, vol. 415, issue 6872, 640-644

Abstract: Abstract Behavioural studies indicate that a newly acquired motor skill is rapidly consolidated from an initially unstable state to a more stable state1, whereas neuroimaging studies demonstrate that the brain engages new regions for performance of the task as a result of this consolidation2. However, it is not known where a new skill is retained and processed before it is firmly consolidated. Some early aspects of motor skill acquisition involve the primary motor cortex (M1)3, but the nature of that involvement is unclear. We tested the possibility that the human M1 is essential to early motor consolidation. We monitored changes in elementary motor behaviour while subjects practised fast finger movements that rapidly improved in movement acceleration and muscle force generation. Here we show that low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of M1 but not other brain areas specifically disrupted the retention of the behavioural improvement, but did not affect basal motor behaviour, task performance, motor learning by subsequent practice, or recall of the newly acquired motor skill. These findings indicate that the human M1 is specifically engaged during the early stage of motor consolidation.

Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1038/nature712

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