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      Task-Specific Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Motor Learning

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          Abstract

          Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a relatively new non-invasive brain stimulation technique that modulates neural processes. When applied to the human primary motor cortex (M1), tDCS has beneficial effects on motor skill learning and consolidation in healthy controls and in patients. However, it remains unclear whether tDCS improves motor learning in a general manner or whether these effects depend on which motor task is acquired. Here we compare whether the effect of tDCS differs when the same individual acquires (1) a Sequential Finger Tapping Task (SEQTAP) and (2) a Visual Isometric Pinch Force Task (FORCE). Both tasks have been shown to be sensitive to tDCS applied over M1, however, the underlying processes mediating learning and memory formation might benefit differently from anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (anodal-tDCS). Thirty healthy subjects were randomly assigned to an anodal-tDCS group or sham-group. Using a double-blind, sham-controlled cross-over design, tDCS was applied over M1 while subjects acquired each of the motor tasks over three consecutive days, with the order being randomized across subjects. We found that anodal-tDCS affected each task differently: the SEQTAP task benefited from anodal-tDCS during learning, whereas the FORCE task showed improvements only at retention. These findings suggest that anodal-tDCS applied over M1 appears to have a task-dependent effect on learning and memory formation.

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          Most cited references37

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          Effects of non-invasive cortical stimulation on skilled motor function in chronic stroke.

          Stroke is a leading cause of adult motor disability. Despite recent progress, recovery of motor function after stroke is usually incomplete. This double blind, Sham-controlled, crossover study was designed to test the hypothesis that non-invasive stimulation of the motor cortex could improve motor function in the paretic hand of patients with chronic stroke. Hand function was measured using the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTT), a widely used, well validated test for functional motor assessment that reflects activities of daily living. JTT measured in the paretic hand improved significantly with non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), but not with Sham, an effect that outlasted the stimulation period, was present in every single patient tested and that correlated with an increment in motor cortical excitability within the affected hemisphere, expressed as increased recruitment curves (RC) and reduced short-interval intracortical inhibition. These results document a beneficial effect of non-invasive cortical stimulation on a set of hand functions that mimic activities of daily living in the paretic hand of patients with chronic stroke, and suggest that this interventional strategy in combination with customary rehabilitative treatments may play an adjuvant role in neurorehabilitation.
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            Functional MRI evidence for adult motor cortex plasticity during motor skill learning.

            Performance of complex motor tasks, such as rapid sequences of finger movements, can be improved in terms of speed and accuracy over several weeks by daily practice sessions. This improvement does not generalize to a matched sequence of identical component movements, nor to the contralateral hand. Here we report a study of the neural changes underlying this learning using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of local blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signals evoked in primary motor cortex (M1). Before training, a comparable extent of M1 was activated by both sequences. However, two ordering effects were observed: repeating a sequence within a brief time window initially resulted in a smaller area of activation (habituation), but later in larger area of activation (enhancement), suggesting a switch in M1 processing mode within the first session (fast learning). By week 4 of training, concurrent with asymptotic performance, the extent of cortex activated by the practised sequence enlarged compared with the unpractised sequence, irrespective of order (slow learning). These changes persisted for several months. The results suggest a slowly evolving, long-term, experience-dependent reorganization of the adult M1, which may underlie the acquisition and retention of the motor skill.
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              HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION. CODE OF ETHICS OF THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. DECLARATION OF HELSINKI.

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Front Hum Neurosci
                Front Hum Neurosci
                Front. Hum. Neurosci.
                Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                1662-5161
                01 July 2013
                2013
                : 7
                : 333
                Affiliations
                [1] 1KU Leuven, Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, Research Center for Movement Control and Neuroplasticity , Heverlee, Belgium
                [2] 2PHL University College, Rehabilitation Research Institute, REVAL , UHasselt, Belgium
                [3] 3Neural Control of Movement Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology , ETH Zurich, Switzerland
                Author notes

                Edited by: Janine Reis, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Germany

                Reviewed by: Marian Berryhill, University of Nevada, Reno, USA; Patrick Ragert, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences Leipzig, Germany

                *Correspondence: Nicole Wenderoth, Neural Control of Movement Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland e-mail: nicole.wenderoth@ 123456hest.ethz.ch

                Cinthia Maria Saucedo Marquez and Xue Zhang have contributed equally to this work.

                Article
                10.3389/fnhum.2013.00333
                3696911
                23847505
                38567438-b7b4-4c67-9f7e-d08ba91b2348
                Copyright © 2013 Saucedo Marquez, Zhang, Swinnen, Meesen and Wenderoth.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc.

                History
                : 17 February 2013
                : 14 June 2013
                Page count
                Figures: 4, Tables: 2, Equations: 2, References: 54, Pages: 12, Words: 9207
                Categories
                Neuroscience
                Original Research

                Neurosciences
                neuromodulation,tdcs,corticospinal excitability,primary motor cortex,motor learning,consolidation

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