Functional network activity during errorless and trial-and-error color-name association learning

In cognitive rehabilitation, errorless (EL) and trial-and-error (T&E) learning are well-known methods, but their neural mechanisms are not well known. In this study, we investigated functional magnetic resonance imaging data for healthy adults during EL and T&E learning.

Participants memorized color-name associations in both methods using Japanese traditional colors which were unfamiliar to study participants. A functional network analysis was conducted by applying graph theory. We focused on two major cognitive networks: the default mode network (DMN) and the fronto-parietal network (FPN). Also, we used "within-network connectivity" and "between-network connectivity" graph metrics. The former represents the functional connectivity strength of a subnetwork, namely the within-DMN connectivity and within-FPN connectivity, while the latter represents the number of links between the DMN and FPN.

The within-DMN connectivity in T&E learning was significantly higher than in EL learning. The difference between the memory scores of EL and T&E learning weakly correlated with the between-network connectivity differences between both learning tasks.

Our results suggest that within-DMN connectivity is important in T&E learning and that the learning benefit differences between EL and T&E approaches potentially relate to the functional integration strength between the DMN and FPN.