Dynamic Brain Correlates of Dexterity and Motor Skill Acquisition Traced with Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging

What happens in the human brain when we learn new motor skills? Human neuroimaging should play a key role in answering this question. However, despite hundreds of published studies, we have learned disappointingly little about the neuronal processes underlying learning. In this symposium we will try to point out the pitfalls in the study of motor learning, and to identify the most promising lines of recent research. We believe that there are 3 future challenges that will be the key to novel discoveries in motor learning. First, it will be necessary to tightly integrate anatomical, functional and neuro-chemical imaging methods to understand the underlying neuronal changes. Secondly, we believe it is time to develop linking theories that tell us which neuronal changes to expect with learning and how these changes should become manifest in the measured signals. Finally, to test such theories, we need to progress from a simple description of signal changes to an approach, in which we are able to predict future behavioral performance from current neuronal measures. We will show how white and gray matter structures change under the influence of expertise, how learning can be influenced through transcranial stimulation, and how difference in the responsiveness of certain neurotransmitter systems can predict inter-individual differences in learning. For functional MRI, we will investigate how learning changes neuronal representation and network connectivity. Our discussant, John W. Krakauer will then challenge the speakers to identify the main theoretical questions for future research.