The dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learning
The ability to learn new motor skills is supported by plasticity in the structural and functional organisation of the primary motor cortex in the human brain.<br/> Changes inhibitory signalling by gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) are thought to be crucial in inducing motor cortex plasticity.<...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Wiley
2018
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| _version_ | 1797091831114104832 |
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| author | Kolasinski, J Hinson, EL Zand, AP Rizov, A Emir, UE Stagg, CJ |
| author_facet | Kolasinski, J Hinson, EL Zand, AP Rizov, A Emir, UE Stagg, CJ |
| author_sort | Kolasinski, J |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | The ability to learn new motor skills is supported by plasticity in the structural and functional organisation of the primary motor cortex in the human brain.<br/> Changes inhibitory signalling by gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) are thought to be crucial in inducing motor cortex plasticity.<br/> This study used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to quantify the concentration of GABA in human motor cortex during a period of motor learning, as well as during a period of movement, and a period at rest.<br/> We report evidence for a reduction in the MRS‐measured concentration of GABA specific to learning. Further, the GABA concentration early in the learning task was strongly correlated with the magnitude of subsequent learning: higher GABA concentrations were associated with poorer learning.<br/> The results provide an initial insight into the neurochemical correlates of cortical plasticity associated with motor learning, specifically relevant in therapeutic efforts to induce cortical plasticity during stroke recovery.<br/> The ability to learn novel motor skills is a central part of our daily lives and can provide a model for rehabilitation after a stroke. However, there are still fundamental gaps in our understanding of the physiological mechanisms that underpin human motor plasticity. The acquisition of new motor skills is dependent on changes in local circuitry within the primary motor cortex (M1). This reorganisation has been hypothesised to be facilitated by a decrease in local inhibition via modulation of the neurotransmitter GABA, but this link has not been conclusively demonstrated in humans. Here, we used 7T MR Spectroscopy to investigate the dynamics of GABA concentrations in human M1 during the learning of an explicit, serial reaction time task. We observed a significant reduction in GABA concentration during motor learning that was not seen in an equivalent motor task lacking a learnable sequence, nor during a passive resting task of the same duration. No change in glutamate was observed in any group. Furthermore, M1 GABA measured early in task performance was strongly correlated with the degree of subsequent learning, such that greater inhibition was associated with poorer subsequent learning. This result suggests that higher levels of cortical inhibition may present a barrier that must be surmounted in order achieve an increase in M1 excitability, and hence encoding of a new motor skill. These results provide strong support for the mechanistic role of GABAergic inhibition in motor plasticity, raising questions regarding the link between population variability in motor learning and GABA metabolism in the brain. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:38:01Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:bcf10d14-3673-40b0-93ae-df84775ff45a |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T03:38:01Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:bcf10d14-3673-40b0-93ae-df84775ff45a2022-03-27T05:28:11ZThe dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learningJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:bcf10d14-3673-40b0-93ae-df84775ff45aSymplectic Elements at OxfordWiley2018Kolasinski, JHinson, ELZand, APRizov, AEmir, UEStagg, CJThe ability to learn new motor skills is supported by plasticity in the structural and functional organisation of the primary motor cortex in the human brain.<br/> Changes inhibitory signalling by gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) are thought to be crucial in inducing motor cortex plasticity.<br/> This study used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to quantify the concentration of GABA in human motor cortex during a period of motor learning, as well as during a period of movement, and a period at rest.<br/> We report evidence for a reduction in the MRS‐measured concentration of GABA specific to learning. Further, the GABA concentration early in the learning task was strongly correlated with the magnitude of subsequent learning: higher GABA concentrations were associated with poorer learning.<br/> The results provide an initial insight into the neurochemical correlates of cortical plasticity associated with motor learning, specifically relevant in therapeutic efforts to induce cortical plasticity during stroke recovery.<br/> The ability to learn novel motor skills is a central part of our daily lives and can provide a model for rehabilitation after a stroke. However, there are still fundamental gaps in our understanding of the physiological mechanisms that underpin human motor plasticity. The acquisition of new motor skills is dependent on changes in local circuitry within the primary motor cortex (M1). This reorganisation has been hypothesised to be facilitated by a decrease in local inhibition via modulation of the neurotransmitter GABA, but this link has not been conclusively demonstrated in humans. Here, we used 7T MR Spectroscopy to investigate the dynamics of GABA concentrations in human M1 during the learning of an explicit, serial reaction time task. We observed a significant reduction in GABA concentration during motor learning that was not seen in an equivalent motor task lacking a learnable sequence, nor during a passive resting task of the same duration. No change in glutamate was observed in any group. Furthermore, M1 GABA measured early in task performance was strongly correlated with the degree of subsequent learning, such that greater inhibition was associated with poorer subsequent learning. This result suggests that higher levels of cortical inhibition may present a barrier that must be surmounted in order achieve an increase in M1 excitability, and hence encoding of a new motor skill. These results provide strong support for the mechanistic role of GABAergic inhibition in motor plasticity, raising questions regarding the link between population variability in motor learning and GABA metabolism in the brain. |
| spellingShingle | Kolasinski, J Hinson, EL Zand, AP Rizov, A Emir, UE Stagg, CJ The dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learning |
| title | The dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learning |
| title_full | The dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learning |
| title_fullStr | The dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learning |
| title_full_unstemmed | The dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learning |
| title_short | The dynamics of cortical GABA in human motor learning |
| title_sort | dynamics of cortical gaba in human motor learning |
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