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Neural correlates of encoding and expression in implicit sequence learning

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Abstract

In the domain of motor learning it has been difficult to separate the neural substrate of encoding from that of change in performance. Consequently, it has not been clear whether motor effector areas participate in learning or merely modulate changes in performance. Here, using a variant of the serial reaction time task that dissociated these two factors, we report that encoding during procedural motor learning does engage cortical motor areas and can be characterized by distinct early and late encoding phases. The highest correlation between activation and subsequent changes in motor performance was seen in the motor cortex during early encoding, and in the basal ganglia during the late encoding phase. Our results show that rapid encoding during procedural motor learning involves several distinct processes, and is represented primarily within motor system structures.

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Acknowledgements

Supported by NIH grants NS40106, MH065598, and RR08079, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the American Legion Chair in Brain Sciences.

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Author notes

  1. R. D. Seidler

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan Division of Kinesiology, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain Sciences Center (11B), VAMC, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA

    R. D. Seidler & J. Ashe

  2. Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    R. D. Seidler, K. Ugurbil & J. Ashe

  3. Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    J. Ashe

  4. Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    K. Ugurbil

  5. Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    A. Purushotham & K. Ugurbil

  6. Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, USA

    S-G. Kim

  7. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    D. Willingham

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  1. R. D. Seidler
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  2. A. Purushotham
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  3. S-G. Kim
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Correspondence to J. Ashe.

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Seidler, R.D., Purushotham, A., Kim, SG. et al. Neural correlates of encoding and expression in implicit sequence learning. Exp Brain Res 165, 114–124 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-2284-z

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