Department of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2022 Apr;1510(1):68-78. doi: 10.1111/nyas.14731. Epub 2021 Dec 23.
Active exploration of novel spatial environments enhances memory for subsequently presented explicit, declarative information in humans. These effects have been attributed to novelty promoting dopamine release via mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways in the brain. As procedural motor learning has been linked to dopamine as well, we predict that novelty effects extend to this domain. To test this hypothesis, the present study examined whether spatial novelty exploration benefits subsequent sensorimotor adaptation. Participants explored either two different virtual environments (i.e., novelty condition; n = 210) or two identical environments (i.e., familiar condition; n = 253). They then performed a manual adaptation task in which they had to adapt joystick movements to a visual perturbation. We assessed the rate of adaptation following the introduction of this perturbation, and the rate of deadaptation following its removal. While results showed reliable adaptation patterns and similar adaptation rates across both conditions, individuals in the novelty condition showed slower deadaptation. This suggests that exposure to spatial novelty induced stronger sensorimotor representations during adaptation, potentially through novelty-induced dopaminergic effects in mesocortical and/or nigrostriatal pathways. Novelty exposure may be employed to promote motor learning on tasks that require precision movements in altered sensory contexts, for example, in astronauts moving in microgravity or patients with impaired motor processing.
人类积极探索新颖的空间环境会增强随后呈现的明确的、陈述性信息的记忆。这些效应归因于新颖性通过大脑中的中脑边缘多巴胺能途径促进多巴胺释放。由于程序性运动学习也与多巴胺有关，我们预测新颖性效应会扩展到这个领域。为了验证这一假设，本研究考察了空间新颖性探索是否有利于随后的感觉运动适应。参与者探索了两个不同的虚拟环境（即新颖性条件；n=210）或两个相同的环境（即熟悉性条件；n=253）。然后，他们进行了一个手动适应任务，在这个任务中，他们必须适应操纵杆运动以适应视觉干扰。我们评估了引入该干扰后的适应率，以及去除该干扰后的重新适应率。虽然结果显示两种条件下都有可靠的适应模式和相似的适应率，但新颖性条件下的个体表现出较慢的重新适应。这表明，在适应过程中，空间新颖性的暴露会诱导更强的感觉运动表现，这可能是通过中脑皮质和/或黑质纹状体途径中的新颖性诱导的多巴胺效应。在需要在改变的感觉环境中进行精确运动的任务中，例如在微重力环境下移动的宇航员或运动处理受损的患者，可以利用新颖性暴露来促进运动学习。
