Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
Neuroimage. 2011 Aug 15;57(4):1492-8. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.078. Epub 2011 Jun 7.
Acquired motor skills are coded in fronto-parietal brain networks, but how these networks evolve through motor training is unclear. On the one hand, increased functional connectivity has been shown immediately after a training session; on the other hand, training-induced structural changes are visible only after several weeks. Based on known associations between functional and structural network development during human ontogeny, we hypothesised that learning a challenging motor task leads to long-lasting changes in functional resting-state networks and the corresponding cortical and sub-cortical brain structures. Using longitudinal functional and structural MRI at multiple time points, we demonstrate increased fronto-parietal network connectivity one week after two brief motor training sessions in a dynamic balancing task, although subjects were engaged in their regular daily activities during the week. Repeated training sessions over six consecutive weeks progressively modulate these changes in accordance with individual performance improvements. Multimodal correlation analyses showed an association between structural grey matter alterations and functional connectivity changes in prefrontal and supplementary-motor areas. These coincident changes were most prominent in the first three weeks of training. In contrast, changes in fronto-parietal functional connectivity and the underlying white matter fibre structure developed gradually during the six weeks. Our results demonstrate a tight correlation between training-induced functional and structural brain plasticity on the systems level and suggest a functional relevance of intrinsic brain activity for morphological adaptation in the human brain.
获得性运动技能是在额顶脑网络中编码的，但这些网络如何通过运动训练而演变尚不清楚。一方面，训练后即刻显示出功能连接性增加；另一方面，仅在数周后才可见到训练引起的结构变化。基于人类个体发育过程中功能和结构网络发育之间的已知关联，我们假设学习具有挑战性的运动任务会导致功能静息态网络以及相应的皮质和皮质下脑结构的持久变化。通过在多个时间点进行纵向功能和结构 MRI，我们证明了在动态平衡任务中进行两次短暂的运动训练后一周，额顶网络连接性增加，尽管在一周内受试者仍在进行日常活动。经过六次连续的训练，重复的训练课程会根据个体表现的提高逐渐调节这些变化。多模态相关分析显示，前额叶和补充运动区的结构灰质改变与功能连接变化之间存在关联。这些一致的变化在前三个训练周最为明显。相比之下，在六周的时间里，额顶叶功能连接和潜在的白质纤维结构的变化逐渐发展。我们的研究结果表明，在系统水平上，训练引起的大脑功能和结构可塑性之间存在紧密的相关性，并表明内在大脑活动对人类大脑形态适应具有功能相关性。
