Oscillations and Inhibition: Towards an understanding of the neurophysiology of motor learning
Charlotte Stagg (University of Oxford)
How we learn new motor skills, such as learning to play the piano or play tennis, is a question of fundamental importance to everyday life. It also has direct relevance to how we might re-learn to move our hands after a brain injury such as a stroke. However, motor plasticity occurs across multiple spatial and temporal scales; from the synapse to the network and from effects lasting seconds to those lasting months or even years.
Here, I will discuss recent studies from my group studying the physiological basis of motor plasticity in vivo, in particular how changes across a wide range of spatial scales may interact to support functional improvements. To this end we combine advanced neuroimaging, including MR Imaging, MR Spectroscopy and Magnetoencephalography, with non-invasive brain stimulation.
Taken together, these studies provide convergent evidence that changes in local and network-level inhibitory processing is a key component of motor learning. I will also highlight how inter-individual differences may prove important for predicting response to potential interventions post-stroke.
Charlotte Stagg (University of Oxford)
How we learn new motor skills, such as learning to play the piano or play tennis, is a question of fundamental importance to everyday life. It also has direct relevance to how we might re-learn to move our hands after a brain injury such as a stroke. However, motor plasticity occurs across multiple spatial and temporal scales; from the synapse to the network and from effects lasting seconds to those lasting months or even years.
Here, I will discuss recent studies from my group studying the physiological basis of motor plasticity in vivo, in particular how changes across a wide range of spatial scales may interact to support functional improvements. To this end we combine advanced neuroimaging, including MR Imaging, MR Spectroscopy and Magnetoencephalography, with non-invasive brain stimulation.
Taken together, these studies provide convergent evidence that changes in local and network-level inhibitory processing is a key component of motor learning. I will also highlight how inter-individual differences may prove important for predicting response to potential interventions post-stroke.