title: Taking the brakes off the learning curve.
abstract: Motor learning is characterized by patterns of cerebello-striato-cortical activations shifting in time, yet the early dynamic and function of these activations remains unclear. Five groups of subjects underwent either continuous or intermittent theta-burst stimulation of one cerebellar hemisphere, or no stimulation just before learning a new motor sequence during fMRI scanning. We identified three phases during initial learning: one rapid, one slow, and one quasi-asymptotic performance phase. These phases were not changed by left cerebellar stimulation. Right cerebellar inhibition, however, accelerated learning and enhanced brain activation in critical motor learning-related areas during the first phase, continuing with reduced brain activation but high-performance in late phase. Right cerebellar excitation did not affect the early learning process, but slowed learning significantly in late phase, along with increased brain activation. We conclude that the right cerebellum is a key factor coordinating other neuronal loops in the early acquisition of an explicit motor sequential skill. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1676-1691, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.|Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Freja
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gheysen
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Inserm U1146, CNRS UMR7371, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Biomédicale, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lasne
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Inserm U1146, CNRS UMR7371, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Biomédicale, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pélégrini-Issac
authors.affiliation: Functional Neuroimaging Unit, University of Montreal Geriatric Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Kinesiology Department, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Genevieve
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Albouy
authors.affiliation: Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière (ICM), UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S975, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meunier
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Inserm U1146, CNRS UMR7371, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Biomédicale, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Habib
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Benali
authors.affiliation: Functional Neuroimaging Unit, University of Montreal Geriatric Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doyon
authors.affiliation: Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière (ICM), UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S975, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Traian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Popa
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000187:drug effects; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D059032:Learning Curve; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D013826:Theta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: basal ganglia; cerebellum; explicit sequence learning; functional MRI; theta-burst stimulation