Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Practice and difficulty evoke anatomically and pharmacologically dissociable brain activation dynamics.

Ed Bullmore1, John Suckling, Fernando Zelaya

  • 1University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ. etb23@cam.ac.uk

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|January 1, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Molecular, cellular and network mapping of brain structural deviations in patients with Post-COVID19 syndrome.

Brain, behavior, & immunity - health·2026
Same author

Associations Between Physical Activity and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in the All of Us Research Program.

The American journal of gastroenterology·2026
Same author

Understanding the long-term neurological effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Nature reviews. Neurology·2026
Same author

Removal of Massive Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device-Related Thrombus With Complete Embolic Protection: Step-by-Step Technique.

JACC. Case reports·2026
Same author

Publisher Correction: Zinc-oligoether carboxylate salts as electrolyte additives for aqueous Zn metal batteries.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Quality Improvement Methods for Improving Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Rates at a Large Academic Medical Center and Affiliate Medical Group.

American journal of medical quality : the official journal of the American College of Medical Quality·2026

Brain activity adapts to task difficulty and practice. Functional MRI revealed distinct brain systems for difficulty (fronto-striatal) and practice (posterior), with drugs differentially affecting these networks.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Brain activation patterns dynamically adjust based on task demands, such as increasing difficulty and learning through practice.
  • Understanding these adaptive brain mechanisms is crucial for cognitive neuroscience and the development of targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To map brain systems involved in object-location learning and investigate how these systems adapt to task difficulty and practice.
  • To examine the pharmacological modulation of these adaptive brain responses by various drugs in healthy elderly volunteers.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to monitor brain activity in 24 healthy elderly participants.
  • Participants performed an object-location learning task under placebo and active drug conditions (scopolamine, sulpiride, methylphenidate, diazepam).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis focused on distinguishing brain systems responsive to task difficulty versus practice and assessing drug effects.

    • Main Results:

    • A fronto-striatal system was identified as adaptive to task difficulty, while a posterior system showed adaptation to practice.
    • Scopolamine, sulpiride, and methylphenidate attenuated the fronto-striatal response to increased cognitive load.
    • Diazepam enhanced practice effects, whereas methylphenidate and sulpiride modulated responses within a spatial attention network.

    Conclusions:

    • Task difficulty and practice elicit anatomically and pharmacologically distinct brain activation dynamics.
    • These dissociable effects suggest mediation by different neurotransmitter systems, offering insights into cognitive aging and drug action.