title: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the primary motor cortex disrupts early boost but not delayed gains in performance in motor sequence learning.
abstract: In humans the consolidation of recently learned motor skills is a multi-step process. We previously showed that performance on the finger-tapping task (FTT; i.e. a sequential motor skill) temporarily improves early on, 5-30 min after practice has ended, but not 4 h later. In the absence of any further practice to the task, this early boost in performance was predictive of the performance levels eventually achieved 48 h later, suggesting its functional relevance for long-term memory consolidation [Hotermans, Peigneux, Maertens de Noordhout, Moonen, and Maquet (2006) Early boost and slow consolidation in motor skill learning. Learn. Mem., 13, 580-583]. Here, we focused on the role of the primary motor cortex (M1) in consolidation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied immediately before testing at 30 min, 4 or 24 h after practice of the FTT. Immediately after learning, rTMS over M1 depressed the early boost in performance, but did not affect the delayed improvement observed 48 h later. Four and 24 h after practice, rTMS did not disrupt performance anymore. These results suggest that M1 supports performance during the early post-training phase of motor skill consolidation, but is no longer mandatory in the subsequent, delayed stages of consolidation.
authors.affiliation: Cyclotron Research Centre, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hotermans
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peigneux
authors.forename: Alain Maertens
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Noordhout
authors.forename: Gustave
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moonen
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maquet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation