Szücs-Bencze Laura, Vékony Teodóra, Pesthy Orsolya, Kocsis Krisztián, Kincses Zsigmond Tamás, Szabó Nikoletta, Nemeth Dezso
Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Semmelweis utca 6, 6725 Szeged, Hungary.
Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, INSERM, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 95 Boulevard Pinel, 69500 Bron, France.
Cereb Cortex. 2025 Feb 5;35(2). doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf005.
Extracting spatial or temporal patterns across experiences is essential for skill acquisition and predictive processes. The prefrontal cortex plays a central role in regulating competitive cognitive systems, with a particular influence on executive functions, often opposing statistical learning. This regulatory function may account for observed improvements in the acquisition and consolidation of statistical regularities following inhibition of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex via repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. However, whether access to previously acquired statistical knowledge can similarly benefit from dorsolateral prefrontal cortex inhibition remains unclear. This preregistered study investigated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex's role in retrieving pre-existing statistical knowledge of temporal regularities. Healthy human participants engaged in an implicit probabilistic sequence learning task followed by a 24-h consolidation period. Before retesting, they received either 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or sham stimulation over the left, right, or bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 10 min. We observed that retrieval of statistical regularities was enhanced in the Bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex group compared to the Sham group. Our findings suggest that dorsolateral prefrontal cortex inhibition may facilitate access to statistical knowledge, particularly when interhemispheric compensatory mechanisms are limited. These insights advance our understanding of the dynamic neural background of statistical learning and may inform strategies for cognitive enhancement.
提取跨经验的空间或时间模式对于技能习得和预测过程至关重要。前额叶皮层在调节竞争性认知系统中起着核心作用,对执行功能有特别影响,通常与统计学习相悖。这种调节功能可能解释了通过重复经颅磁刺激抑制背外侧前额叶皮层后,在统计规律的习得和巩固方面观察到的改善。然而,获取先前获得的统计知识是否同样能从背外侧前额叶皮层抑制中受益仍不清楚。这项预先注册的研究调查了背外侧前额叶皮层在检索先前存在的时间规律统计知识中的作用。健康的人类参与者进行了一项隐性概率序列学习任务,随后是24小时的巩固期。在重新测试前,他们在左侧、右侧或双侧背外侧前额叶皮层接受1赫兹重复经颅磁刺激或伪刺激,持续10分钟。我们观察到,与伪刺激组相比,双侧背外侧前额叶皮层组的统计规律检索得到增强。我们的研究结果表明,背外侧前额叶皮层抑制可能有助于获取统计知识,特别是在半球间补偿机制有限时。这些见解推进了我们对统计学习动态神经背景的理解,并可能为认知增强策略提供信息。