Article
Neurosciences
Magdalena Gippert, Saskia Leupold, Tobias Heed, Ian Spencer Howard, Arno Villringer, Vadim V. Nikulin, Bernhard Sehm
Summary: Many daily movements involve multiple limbs and require the motor system to control different body parts in quick succession. Previous research on motor adaptation has focused on single limb movements or simultaneous movements of multiple limbs, but it is unclear whether multilimb sequences can support motor adaptation in a similar way. In this study, we found that only active participation in a bimanual sequential task supports pronounced adaptation, suggesting that active segments in bimanual motion sequences are linked across limbs. Additionally, prior perceptual feedback of the opposite arm contributes to force field-specific motor adaptation.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Lex J. Gomez, James C. Dooley, Greta Sokoloff, Mark S. Blumberg
Summary: The study suggests that the primary motor cortex (M1) can receive sensory input directly from the thalamus independent of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) at early developmental stages. The processing of self-generated and other-generated movements varies between S1 and M1 before they establish the interactive relationship typical of adult functionality.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexis D. J. Makin, John Tyson-Carr, Yiovanna Derpsch, Giulia Rampone, Marco Bertamini
Summary: The Sustained Posterior Negativity (SPN) is an Event Related Potential (ERP) component generated by regular visual patterns, such as symmetry. Research suggests that symmetry becomes more salient with rapid updates. SPN priming, where SPN amplitude increases with sequential presentation of symmetry patterns, was observed in experiments. The findings suggest that different symmetries may be coded independently at different retinal locations, but there is some overlap between symmetries presented at the same retinal location.
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Maria C. Dadarlat, Ryan A. Canfield, Amy L. Orsborn
Summary: Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) aim to treat sensorimotor neurological disorders by creating artificial motor and/or sensory pathways. The brain must learn to gain dexterous control of these new relationships between sensory input and motor output. This review highlights the role of learning in BMIs to restore movement and sensation, and discusses how BMI design may influence neural plasticity and performance.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Tadas Surkys
Summary: The study demonstrates that an audial time duration illusion can be constructed by applying the principles of the centroid hypothesis. The perception of two sequential time intervals is distorted by distracting white noise sounds near each signal, similar to the Muller-Lyer-type illusion in visual perception. This suggests that neural mechanisms for estimating time duration may utilize coarser sampling, even if signals and distracters are distinguishable.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Harriet Dempsey-Jones, Susann Steudte-Schmiedgen, Michael Browning, Tamar R. Makin, Marcella L. Woud, Catherine J. Harmer, Juergen Margraf, Andrea Reinecke
Summary: This study found that administration of a partial N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist can modulate perceptual learning, with no immediate improvement but significant gains over time. The two groups showed equivalent tactile perception levels at the final testing, indicating that N-methyl-D-aspartate effects altered the timing but not the overall amount of tactile learning.
JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Marisol Espinoza-Monroy, Victor de Lafuente
Summary: Participants judge the regularity of sensory stimuli by accumulating timing-error signals and making a decision when evidence reaches a threshold. They perform better when evaluating the regularity of auditory pulses compared to visual or tactile stimuli.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tomohiko Takei, Stephen G. Lomber, Douglas J. Cook, Stephen H. Scott
Summary: The research revealed that temporary cooling of PMd and A5 impaired the accuracy and speed of corrective responses, with simulations based on OFC models demonstrating the underlying mechanisms. Additionally, simultaneous deactivation of two cortical regions led to additive impairments, while reducing the amount of cooling to PMd resulted in decreased response speed.
Article
Neurosciences
Jessica Emily Antono, Roman Vakhrushev, Arezoo Pooresmaeili
Summary: This study demonstrates that reward value can continue to modulate perception even after reward delivery is halted, but stronger goal-driven control elicited by PC reward cues results in a more efficient balance between accuracy and speed of perceptual choices.
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Sebastian M. Frank, Alexandra Otto, Gregor Volberg, Peter U. Tse, Takeo Watanabe, Mark W. Greenlee
Summary: This study demonstrates that tactile learning can transfer to untrained body parts that are coactivated with the trained body part. The researchers found that the transfer of tactile learning was greater from the trained foot to the untrained hand compared to the other way around. The results suggest that the neural mechanisms underlying tactile learning involve somatotopic representation in the primary somatosensory cortex.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Ozhan Ozen, Karin A. Buetler, Laura Marchal-Crespo
Summary: Haptic rendering of virtual environments enhances motor learning and skill transfer, while arm weight support reduces fatigue but hampers learning.
JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Jennifer Ernst, Thomas Weiss, Nadine Wanke, Jens Frahm, Gunther Felmerer, Dario Farina, Arndt F. Schilling, Meike A. Wilke
Summary: This study combines functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and tactile psychophysics to investigate the sensory recovery in a patient with brachial plexus injury (BPI). The results show signs of both nerve regrowth and cortical reorganization.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Nikhil G. Prabhu, Marc Himmelbach
Summary: The superior colliculus (SC) plays a major role in orienting movements and attention allocation. Previous studies mainly focused on animal models and lacked validation in humans. Using BOLD fMRI imaging, this study found that the SC is active not only during visually guided reaching movements, but also during tactile guided reaching movements. This suggests a general involvement of the human SC in upper limb reaching movements.
Article
Biology
Jeremy D. Wong, Tyler Cluff, Arthur D. Kuo
Summary: The smoothness of human reaching movements is found to be economical, as jerkier motions lead to higher metabolic energy expenditure. The mechanism proposed involves an underappreciated cost proportional to the rate of muscle force production. This physiologically measurable energy cost may explain both smoothness and duration, helping to resolve motor redundancy in reaching movements.
Article
Neurosciences
Louis-Solal Giboin, Tom Reunis, Markus Gruber
Summary: The study found that action video game players had higher performance scores, stronger SICI, and higher MEP amplitudes. There were differences in the relation between reaction time and corticospinal excitability between players and controls, but no differences were found in motor map topography and IO curves. Action video game players demonstrated an increased efficiency in motor cortical inhibitory and excitatory neural networks.