Functional Evidence for Memory Stabilization in Sensorimotor Adaptation: A 24-h Resting-State fMRI Study

• Autores: Della Maggiore, Valeria Monica; Villalta, Jorge Ignacio; Kovacevic, Natasa; McIntosh, Anthony Randal
• Año de publicación: 2017
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Consolidation; Functional Connectivity; Motor Learning; Resting-State Fmri; Sensorimotor Adaptation
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Adaptation learning is crucial to maintain precise motor control in face of environmental perturbations. Although much progress has been made in understanding the psychophysics and neurophysiology of sensorimotor adaptation (SA), the time course of memory consolidation remains elusive. The lack of a reproducible gradient of memory resistance using protocols of retrograde interference has even led to the proposal that memories produced through SA do not consolidate. Here, we pursued an alternative approach using resting-state fMRI to track changes in functional connectivity (FC) induced by learning. Given that consolidation leads to long-term memory, we hypothesized that a change in FC that predicted long-term memory but not short-term memory would provide indirect evidence for memory stabilization. Six scans were acquired before, 15 min, 1, 3, 5.5, and 24 h after training on a center-out task under veridical or distorted visual feedback. The experimental group showed an increment in FC of a network including motor, premotor, posterior parietal cortex, cerebellum, and putamen that peaked at 5.5 h. Crucially, the strengthening of this network correlated positively with long-term retention but negatively with short-term retention. Our work provides evidence, suggesting that adaptation memories stabilize within a 6-h window, and points to different mechanisms subserving short- and long-term memory.
Fil: Della Maggiore, Valeria Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; Argentina
Fil: Villalta, Jorge Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; Argentina
Fil: Kovacevic, Natasa. University of Toronto; Canadá
Fil: McIntosh, Anthony Randal. University of Toronto; Canadá