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Related Concept Videos

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Intracortical Inhibition Within the Primary Motor Cortex Can Be Modulated by Changing the Focus of Attention
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Cognitive control affects motor learning through local variations in GABA within the primary motor cortex.

Shuki Maruyama1,2,3, Masaki Fukunaga1,2, Sho K Sugawara1,4

  • 1Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan.

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Motor learning involves cognitive control and changes in the primary motor cortex (M1). This study shows M1

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • The primary motor cortex (M1) is vital for motor learning, but its network interactions during this process are not fully understood.
  • The fronto-parietal execution network (FPN) is hypothesized to supply crucial learning information for cognitive control during practice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate network-level brain changes during sequential finger tapping learning under speed pressure.
  • To explore the relationship between M1's neurochemical environment and its functional connectivity with the FPN during motor learning.

Main Methods:

  • Combined magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) with task and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  • Assessed network activity and functional connectivity in participants learning a sequential finger tapping task.

Main Results:

  • Motor learning increased preparatory activity in fronto-parietal regions, overlapping the FPN and sensorimotor network (SMN).
  • Increased M1-FPN connectivity correlated with reduced GABA/glutamate ratio in M1, particularly in the parietal region.
  • Reduced GABA/glutamate ratio in M1 positively correlated with task performance improvements.

Conclusions:

  • Motor learning driven by cognitive control involves localized changes in M1's GABA/glutamate ratio.
  • These M1 neurochemical changes reflect remote connectivity with the FPN, indicating network-level motor sequence learning formation.