title: Neuronal Substrates Underlying Performance Variability in Well-Trained Skillful Motor Task in Humans.
abstract: Motor performance fluctuates trial by trial even in a well-trained motor skill. Here we show neural substrates underlying such behavioral fluctuation in humans. We first scanned brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while healthy participants repeatedly performed a 10 s skillful sequential finger-tapping task. Before starting the experiment, the participants had completed intensive training. We evaluated task performance per trial (number of correct sequences in 10 s) and depicted brain regions where the activity changes in association with the fluctuation of the task performance across trials. We found that the activity in a broader range of frontoparietocerebellar network, including the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate and anterior insular cortices, and left cerebellar hemisphere, was negatively correlated with the task performance. We further showed in another transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) experiment that task performance deteriorated, when we applied anodal tDCS to the right DLPFC. These results indicate that fluctuation of brain activity in the nonmotor frontoparietocerebellar network may underlie trial-by-trial performance variability even in a well-trained motor skill, and its neuromodulation with tDCS may affect the task performance.
authors: Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), 1-4 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors: Nobuaki
authors: 0000-0002-6995-4182
authors: N
authors: Mizuguchi
authors: Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), 1-4 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan.
authors: Shintaro
authors: 0000-0002-6255-1815
authors: S
authors: Uehara
authors: Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), 1-4 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors: Satoshi
authors: 0000-0002-2532-2167
authors: S
authors: Hirose
authors: School of Health and Sport Sciences, Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, 1-1 Asashirodai, Kumatori-cho, Sennan-gun, Osaka 590-0496, Japan.
authors: Shinji
authors: 0000-0002-3020-4958
authors: S
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), 1-4 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Graduate School of Medicine and Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 2-15 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors: Eiichi
authors: 0000-0002-9509-813X
authors: E
authors: Naito
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult