Neuroplasticity, Imagery, and Motor Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, British Columbia V1V1V7, Canada.
Brain Behavior Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T1Z3, Canada.
Neurosci Lett. 2022 Jun 11;781:136659. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136659. Epub 2022 Apr 25.
When bookending skilled motor practice, changes in resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI; used to characterise synchronized patterns of activity when the brain is at rest) reflect functional reorganization that supports motor memory consolidation and learning. Despite its use in practice in numerous domains, the neural mechanisms underlying motor memory consolidation and learning that result from motor imagery practice (MIP) relative to physical practice are not well understood. The current study examined how rs-fMRI is modulated by skilled motor practice that results through either MIP or physical practice. Two groups of participants engaged in five days of MIP or physical practice of a dart throwing task. Performance and rs-fMRI were captured before and after training. Relative to physical practice, where focal changes in rs-fMRI within a cerebellar-cortical network were observed, MIP stimulated widespread changes in rs-fMRI within a frontoparietal network encompassing bilateral regions. Findings indicate functional reorganization that supports motor memory consolidation and learning is not equivalent across practice modalities. Ultimately, this work provides new information regarding the unique neural underpinnings MIP relies on to drive motor memory consolidation and learning.
在熟练运动练习的两端，静息状态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI；用于描述大脑处于休息状态时的同步活动模式）的变化反映了支持运动记忆巩固和学习的功能重组。尽管它在许多领域的实践中得到了应用，但相对于物理实践，运动意象练习（MIP）导致的运动记忆巩固和学习的神经机制尚不清楚。本研究考察了 rs-fMRI 如何通过 MIP 或物理实践来调节熟练运动练习。两组参与者分别进行了五天的投掷飞镖任务的 MIP 或物理练习。在训练前后采集了表现和 rs-fMRI。与物理实践中观察到小脑-皮质网络内 rs-fMRI 的焦点变化相比，MIP 刺激了包含双侧区域的额顶网络内 rs-fMRI 的广泛变化。研究结果表明，支持运动记忆巩固和学习的功能重组在不同的实践模式下并不相同。最终，这项工作提供了关于 MIP 依赖的驱动运动记忆巩固和学习的独特神经基础的新信息。
