Boroshok Austin L, Park Anne T, Fotiadis Panagiotis, Velasquez Gerardo H, Tooley Ursula A, Simon Katrina R, Forde Jasmine C P, Delgado Reyes Lourdes M, Tisdall M Dylan, Bassett Dani S, Cooper Emily A, Mackey Allyson P
Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
NPJ Sci Learn. 2022 Jun 23;7(1):14. doi: 10.1038/s41539-022-00130-1.
Neuroplasticity, defined as the brain's potential to change in response to its environment, has been extensively studied at the cellular and molecular levels. Work in animal models suggests that stimulation to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) enhances plasticity, and that myelination constrains plasticity. Little is known, however, about whether proxy measures of these properties in the human brain are associated with learning. Here, we investigated the plasticity of the frontoparietal system by asking whether VTA resting-state functional connectivity and myelin map values (T1w/T2w ratios) predicted learning after short-term training on the adaptive n-back (n = 46, ages 18-25). We found that stronger baseline connectivity between VTA and lateral prefrontal cortex predicted greater improvements in accuracy. Lower myelin map values predicted improvements in response times, but not accuracy. Our findings suggest that proxy markers of neural plasticity can predict learning in humans.
神经可塑性被定义为大脑响应其环境而发生变化的潜力，已在细胞和分子水平上得到广泛研究。动物模型研究表明，对腹侧被盖区（VTA）的刺激可增强可塑性，而髓鞘形成则会限制可塑性。然而，对于这些特性在人类大脑中的替代指标是否与学习相关，我们却知之甚少。在此，我们通过询问VTA静息态功能连接性和髓鞘图谱值（T1w/T2w比率）是否能预测在适应性n-back任务（n = 46，年龄18 - 25岁）短期训练后的学习情况，来研究额顶叶系统的可塑性。我们发现，VTA与外侧前额叶皮层之间更强的基线连接性预示着准确性有更大的提高。较低的髓鞘图谱值预示着反应时间的改善，但不是准确性的改善。我们的研究结果表明，神经可塑性的替代指标可以预测人类的学习情况。
