title: Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over premotor cortex facilitates observational learning of a motor sequence.
abstract: Motor skills, including complex movement sequences, can be acquired by observing a model without physical practice of the skill, a phenomenon known as observational learning. Observational learning of motor skills engages the same memory substrate as physical practice, and is thought to be mediated by the action observation network, a bilateral fronto-parietal circuit with mirror-like properties. We examined the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over premotor cortex, a key node of the action observation network, on observational learning of a serial response time task. Results showed that anodal tDCS during observation of the to-be-learned sequence facilitated reaction times in the subsequent behavioral test. The study provides evidence that increasing excitability of the action observation network during observation can facilitate later motor skill acquisition.
authors: School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Mailbag M304, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, 6009, WA, USA.
authors: Stephanie
authors: S
authors: Wade
authors: School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Mailbag M304, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, 6009, WA, USA.
authors: Geoff
authors: G
authors: Hammond
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D019370:Observation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: action observation network; motor memory; plasticity; serial reaction time; tDCS