Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
Brain Res. 2022 Sep 1;1790:147993. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147993. Epub 2022 Jun 26.
Motor skill learning can cause structural and functional changes in the primary motor cortex (M1) leading to cortical plasticity that can be associated with the performance change during the motor skill that is practiced. Similarly, anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) has been shown to facilitate and enhance plasticity in M1, causing even greater motor skill improvement. By using a fine motor task (O'Connor Tweezer Dexterity Task) in combination with a-tDCS we theorized that a-tDCS could increase the speed of skill acquisition. Forty subjects were recruited and randomized into either a-tDCS or SHAM groups. Subjects completed a single session performing the O'Connor Tweezer Dexterity Task with their non-dominant hand while receiving either a-tDCS stimulation or SHAM stimulation of the hand region of M1. The time it took to place 50- pins was assessed before and after 20 min of practice with a-tDCS or SHAM. We found that both groups had similar pre-test performance (P = 0.94) and they both had a similar amount of practice pins placed (P = 0.69). However, the a-tDCS group had a greater improvement than the SHAM group (p = 0.028) for overall learning from pretest to posttest. These results suggest that a-tDCS improved the rate of motor learning and fine motor task performance. These results are in line with previous research and demonstrate that a-tDCS applied to M1 can increase manual precision and steadiness needed for delicate tasks and could have implications in the advancement of surgical training as well as in athletic, military, and other occupational settings.
运动技能学习可引起初级运动皮层（M1）的结构和功能改变，导致皮质可塑性，这与练习运动技能时的表现变化相关。同样，阳极经颅直流电刺激（a-tDCS）已被证明可促进和增强 M1 的可塑性，从而使运动技能得到更大的改善。通过使用精细运动任务（O'Connor Tweezer Dexterity Task）与 a-tDCS 相结合，我们推测 a-tDCS 可以提高技能习得的速度。我们招募了 40 名受试者，并将其随机分为 a-tDCS 或 SHAM 组。受试者在非优势手完成单次 O'Connor Tweezer Dexterity Task 任务，同时接受 M1 手部区域的 a-tDCS 刺激或 SHAM 刺激。在接受 a-tDCS 或 SHAM 刺激 20 分钟后，评估放置 50 个别针所需的时间。我们发现两组的预测试表现相似（P=0.94），并且他们的练习别针数量相似（P=0.69）。然而，与 SHAM 组相比，a-tDCS 组的整体学习表现有较大的改善（p=0.028），即从预测试到后测试。这些结果表明，a-tDCS 改善了运动学习和精细运动任务表现的速度。这些结果与之前的研究一致，并表明应用于 M1 的 a-tDCS 可以提高精细任务所需的手动精度和稳定性，这可能对手术培训的进步以及运动、军事和其他职业环境具有重要意义。
