Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements

Brain dopamine is critical for normal motor control, as evidenced by its importance in Parkinson Disease and related disorders. Current hypotheses are that dopamine influences motor control by ‘invigorating’ movements and regulating motor learning. Most evidence for these aspects of dopamine functio...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexandra Bova, Matt Gaidica, Amy Hurst, Yoshiko Iwai, Julia Hunter, Daniel K Leventhal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2020-11-01
Series:eLife
Subjects:
Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/61591
_version_ 1811252889253838848
author Alexandra Bova
Matt Gaidica
Amy Hurst
Yoshiko Iwai
Julia Hunter
Daniel K Leventhal
author_facet Alexandra Bova
Matt Gaidica
Amy Hurst
Yoshiko Iwai
Julia Hunter
Daniel K Leventhal
author_sort Alexandra Bova
collection DOAJ
description Brain dopamine is critical for normal motor control, as evidenced by its importance in Parkinson Disease and related disorders. Current hypotheses are that dopamine influences motor control by ‘invigorating’ movements and regulating motor learning. Most evidence for these aspects of dopamine function comes from simple tasks (e.g. lever pressing). Therefore, the influence of dopamine on motor skills requiring multi-joint coordination is unknown. To determine the effects of precisely timed dopamine manipulations on the performance of a complex, finely coordinated dexterous skill, we optogenetically stimulated or inhibited midbrain dopamine neurons as rats performed a skilled reaching task. We found that reach kinematics and coordination between gross and fine movements progressively changed with repeated manipulations. However, once established, rats transitioned abruptly between aberrant and baseline reach kinematics in a dopamine-dependent manner. These results suggest that precisely timed dopamine signals have immediate and long-term influences on motor skill performance, distinct from simply ‘invigorating’ movement.
first_indexed 2024-04-12T16:42:20Z
format Article
id doaj.art-63645294306d449c9a6c4cdd7a154957
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2050-084X
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-12T16:42:20Z
publishDate 2020-11-01
publisher eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
record_format Article
series eLife
spelling doaj.art-63645294306d449c9a6c4cdd7a1549572022-12-22T03:24:44ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2020-11-01910.7554/eLife.61591Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movementsAlexandra Bova0Matt Gaidica1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0191-1899Amy Hurst2Yoshiko Iwai3Julia Hunter4Daniel K Leventhal5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8174-5933Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United StatesNeuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States; Parkinson Disease Foundation Research Center of Excellence, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States; Department of Neurology, VA Ann Arbor Health System, Ann Arbor, United StatesBrain dopamine is critical for normal motor control, as evidenced by its importance in Parkinson Disease and related disorders. Current hypotheses are that dopamine influences motor control by ‘invigorating’ movements and regulating motor learning. Most evidence for these aspects of dopamine function comes from simple tasks (e.g. lever pressing). Therefore, the influence of dopamine on motor skills requiring multi-joint coordination is unknown. To determine the effects of precisely timed dopamine manipulations on the performance of a complex, finely coordinated dexterous skill, we optogenetically stimulated or inhibited midbrain dopamine neurons as rats performed a skilled reaching task. We found that reach kinematics and coordination between gross and fine movements progressively changed with repeated manipulations. However, once established, rats transitioned abruptly between aberrant and baseline reach kinematics in a dopamine-dependent manner. These results suggest that precisely timed dopamine signals have immediate and long-term influences on motor skill performance, distinct from simply ‘invigorating’ movement.https://elifesciences.org/articles/61591dopaminedexterous skillmotion trackingskilled reachingkinematics
spellingShingle Alexandra Bova
Matt Gaidica
Amy Hurst
Yoshiko Iwai
Julia Hunter
Daniel K Leventhal
Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements
eLife
dopamine
dexterous skill
motion tracking
skilled reaching
kinematics
title Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements
title_full Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements
title_fullStr Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements
title_full_unstemmed Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements
title_short Precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements
title_sort precisely timed dopamine signals establish distinct kinematic representations of skilled movements
topic dopamine
dexterous skill
motion tracking
skilled reaching
kinematics
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/61591
work_keys_str_mv AT alexandrabova preciselytimeddopaminesignalsestablishdistinctkinematicrepresentationsofskilledmovements
AT mattgaidica preciselytimeddopaminesignalsestablishdistinctkinematicrepresentationsofskilledmovements
AT amyhurst preciselytimeddopaminesignalsestablishdistinctkinematicrepresentationsofskilledmovements
AT yoshikoiwai preciselytimeddopaminesignalsestablishdistinctkinematicrepresentationsofskilledmovements
AT juliahunter preciselytimeddopaminesignalsestablishdistinctkinematicrepresentationsofskilledmovements
AT danielkleventhal preciselytimeddopaminesignalsestablishdistinctkinematicrepresentationsofskilledmovements