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Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice
Published on: March 4, 2014
Off-line consolidation of motor sequence learning results in greater integration within a cortico-striatal functional
Karen Debas1, Julie Carrier2, Marc Barakat1
1Functional Neuroimaging Unit, Centre de recherche de l'institut gériatrique de l'université de Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Québec, Canada.
Abstract:
The consolidation of motor sequence learning is known to depend on sleep. Work in our laboratory and others have shown that the striatum is associated with this off-line consolidation process. In this study, we aimed to quantify the sleep-dependent dynamic changes occurring at the network level using a measure of functional integration. We directly compared changes in connectivity before and after sleep or the simple passage of daytime. As predicted, the results revealed greater integration within the cortico-striatal network after sleep, but not an equivalent daytime period. Importantly, a similar pattern of results was also observed using a data-driven approach; the increase in integration being specific to a cortico-striatal network, but not to other known functional networks. These findings reveal, for the first time, a new signature of motor sequence consolidation: a greater between-regions interaction within the cortico-striatal system.
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