After-training emotional interference may modulate sequence awareness in a serial reaction time task

How Music Moves Us: Music-induced Emotion Influences Motor Learning

Music is an important tool for the induction and regulation of emotion. Although learning a sequential motor behaviour is essential to normal motor function, to our knowledge, the role of music-induced emotion on motor learning has not been explored. Our experiment aimed to determine whether listening to different emotional music could influence motor sequence learning. We focused on two sub-components of motor sequence learning: the acquisition of the order of the elements in the sequence (the "what"), and the ability to carry out the sequence, combining the elements in a single, skilled action (the "how"). Twenty subjects performed a motor sequence-learning task with a digitizing tablet in three different experimental sessions. In each session they executed the task while listening to three different musical pieces, eliciting fearful, pleasant, and neutral mood. Eight targets were presented in a pre-set order and subjects were asked to learn the sequence while moving. Music-induced pleasure had an impact on movement kinematics with onset time and peak velocity decreasing and movement time increasing more with respect to neutral music session. Declarative learning, verbal recall of the sequence order, was improved under emotional manipulation, but only for fear-condition. Results suggest that music-induced emotion can influence both sub-components of motor learning in a different way. Music-induced pleasure may have improved motor components of sequence learning by means of increased striatal dopamine availability whereas music-induced fear may facilitate the recruitment of attentional circuits, thus acting on declarative knowledge of the sequence order.

Psychosocial Modulators of Motor Learning in Parkinson's Disease

Using the remarkable overlap between brain circuits affected in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and those underlying motor sequence learning, we may improve the effectiveness of motor rehabilitation interventions by identifying motor learning facilitators in PD. For instance, additional sensory stimulation and task cueing enhanced motor learning in people with PD, whereas exercising using musical rhythms or console computer games improved gait and balance, and reduced some motor symptoms, in addition to increasing task enjoyment. Yet, despite these advances, important knowledge gaps remain. Most studies investigating motor learning in PD used laboratory-specific tasks and equipment, with little resemblance to real life situations. Thus, it is unknown whether similar results could be achieved in more ecological setups and whether individual’s task engagement could further improve motor learning capacity. Moreover, the role of social interaction in motor skill learning process has not yet been investigated in PD and the role of mind-set and self-regulatory mechanisms have been sporadically examined. Here, we review evidence suggesting that these psychosocial factors may be important modulators of motor learning in PD. We propose their incorporation in future research, given that it could lead to development of improved non-pharmacological interventions aimed to preserve or restore motor function in PD.

Enhancing Hebbian Learning to Control Brain Oscillatory Activity

Sensorimotor rhythms (SMR, 8-15 Hz) are brain oscillations associated with successful motor performance, imagery, and imitation. Voluntary modulation of SMR can be used to control brain-machine interfaces (BMI) in the absence of any physical movements. The mechanisms underlying acquisition of such skill are unknown. Here, we provide evidence for a causal link between function of the primary motor cortex (M1), active during motor skill learning and retention, and successful acquisition of abstract skills such as control over SMR. Thirty healthy participants were trained on 5 consecutive days to control SMR oscillations. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of 3 groups that received either 20 min of anodal, cathodal, or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over M1. Learning SMR control across training days was superior in the anodal tDCS group relative to the other 2. Cathodal tDCS blocked the beneficial effects of training, as evidenced with sham tDCS. One month later, the newly acquired skill remained superior in the anodal tDCS group. Thus, application of weak electric currents of opposite polarities over M1 differentially modulates learning SMR control, pointing to this primary cortical region as a common substrate for acquisition of physical motor skills and learning to control brain oscillatory activity.