Poster No:
1111
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Hong Li1, Sima Chalavi1, Amirhossein Rasooli1, Geraldine Rodríguez-Nieto1, Stephan Swinnen1
Institutions:
1KU Leuven, Leuven, Vlaams Brabant
First Author:
Hong Li
KU Leuven
Leuven, Vlaams Brabant
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu), as the primary inhibitory and excitatory neurometabolites in the human central nervous system, play pivotal roles in human learning [1, 2]. Numerous studies using animal models have shown that the administration of drugs that facilitate or hinder GABAergic transmission can modulate learning outcomes [3] and the formation of memories [4, 5]. These findings further highlight the critical role of the GABAergic system and the inhibitory-excitatory balance in learning. Considering that static resting-state neurometabolite levels, measured at a single time point, may not provide a comprehensive picture of the dynamics of inhibitory and excitatory processes and their role in behavioral performance [6], the repeated measurements of neurometabolites may provide complementary insight into the relationships between the modulation of neurometabolits and behavior. However, evidence on how neurometabolites are modulated to facilitate learning is scarce [7]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether feedback types and phases of learning affect the modulation of neurometabolites in specific sensory processing brain areas. Additionally, we aimed to investigate whether the modulation of neurometabolites is associated with behavioral progress.
Methods:
We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure the modulation of neurometabolites during a motor learning task under two different feedback conditions. Fifty healthy young participants were trained on a bimanual tracking task over five days (Day 1 – Day 5) while receiving either concurrent augmented visual feedback (CA-VFB group, N=25) or terminal intrinsic visual feedback (TA-VFB group, N=25) of their performance. Additionally, GABA+ (GABA + macromolecules) and Glx (Glu + glutamine) levels in two sensory-processing brain areas were determined: primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and medial temporal cortex (MT/V5). We used three time points for MRS measurement, i.e., before (baseline), during and after task training on Day 1 (initial learning phase) and Day 5 (late learning phase).
Results:
Behaviorally, the behavioral progress was more pronounced on the first training day than on the last training day and worse initial performance was associated with larger behavioral progress. From all samples, MT/V5 GABA+ levels increased from baseline to during the task and it reduced back to baseline following the end of behavioral task training on Day 1. S1 Glx levels were reduced from baseline to after the behavioral training on Day 1. Additionally, S1 GABA+ levels were reduced from baseline to during the task and remained at this level after the end of behavioral task training during the late learning phase (Day 5). Furthermore, we found that higher baseline GABA+ levels in either the S1 or MT/V5 area were associated with larger reduction of GABA+ levels along with behavioral training. However, the behavioral progress achieved under either feedback or feedback withdrawal conditions was not correlated with the modulation of neurometabolites during motor training.
Conclusions:
Our findings suggest that the modulation of neurometabolites in task-related brain areas constitutes one of the mechanisms driving motor learning. Furthermore, the modulatory capacity of the neurometabolites is linked to its baseline concentration.
Learning and Memory:
Skill Learning 1
Motor Behavior:
Motor Planning and Execution
Neuroanatomy, Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission:
Transmitter Systems
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
MR Spectroscopy 2
Physiology, Metabolism and Neurotransmission :
Cerebral Metabolism and Hemodynamics
Keywords:
GABA
Glutamate
Learning
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS)
Motor
Somatosensory
Vision
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Provide references using author date format
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