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| Research article summary (published 4 May 2009): |
Acquisition of a simple motor skill: task-dependent adaptation plus long-term change in the human soleus H-reflex.
Full Abstract
Activity-dependent plasticity occurs throughout the CNS. However, investigations of skill acquisition usually focus on cortex. To expand the focus, we analyzed in humans the development of operantly conditioned H-reflex change, a simple motor skill that develops gradually and involves plasticity in both the brain and the spinal cord. Each person completed 6 baseline and 24 conditioning sessions over 10 weeks. In each conditioning session, the soleus H-reflex was measured while the subject was or was not asked to increase (HRup subjects) or decrease (HRdown subjects) it. When the subject was asked to change H-reflex size, immediate visual feedback indicated whether a size criterion had been satisfied. Over the 24 conditioning sessions, H-reflex size gradually increased in six of eight HRup subjects and decreased in eight of nine HRdown subjects, resulting in final sizes of 140 +/- 12 and 69 +/- 6% of baseline size, respectively. The final H-reflex change was the sum of within-session (i.e., task-dependent) adaptation and across-session (i.e., long-term) change. Task-dependent adaptation appeared within four to six sessions and persisted thereafter, averaging +13% in HRup subjects and -15% in HRdown subjects. In contrast, long-term change began after 10 sessions and increased gradually thereafter, reaching +27% in HRup subjects and -16% in HRdown subjects. Thus, the acquisition of H-reflex conditioning consists of two phenomena, task-dependent adaptation and long-term change, that together constitute the new motor skill. In combination with previous data, this new finding further elucidates the interaction of plasticity in brain and spinal cord that underlies the acquisition and maintenance of motor skills.
Author information
Author/s: Thompson, Aiko K (AK); Chen, Xiang Yang (XY); Wolpaw, Jonathan R (JR);
Affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York 12201-0509, USA. athompso(-atsign-)wadsworth.org
Grants: HD36020 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS) ; NS22189 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS) ; R01 HD036020-08 (Agency:NICHD NIH HHS) ; R01 NS022189-20 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (J Neurosci), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2009-May; vol 29 (issue 18) : pp 5784-92
Dates: Created 2009/05/07; Completed 2009/05/28; Revised 2009/11/09;
PMID: 19420246, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/10/2009, IMS Date: 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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