Cited by 1,401Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation StudiesMotor Control and AdaptationMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Noninvasive cortical stimulation enhances motor skill acquisition over multiple days through an effect on consolidation

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Reis, Janine, Schambra, Heidi M., Cohen, Leonardo G., Buch, Ethan R., Fritsch, Brita, Zarahn, Eric, Celnik, Pablo A., Krakauer, John W.·2009·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Motor skills can take weeks to months to acquire and can diminish over time in the absence of continued practice. Thus, strategies that enhance skill acquisition or retention are of great scientific and practical interest. Here we investigated the effect of noninvasive cortical stimulation on the extended time course of learning a novel and challenging motor skill task. A skill measure was chosen to reflect shifts in the task's speed–accuracy tradeoff function (SAF), which prevented us from falsely interpreting variations in position along an unchanged SAF as a change in skill. Subjects practiced over 5 consecutive days while receiving transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1). Using the skill measure, we assessed the impact of anodal (relative to sham) tDCS on both within-day (online) and between-day (offline) effects and on the rate of forgetting during a 3-month follow-up (long-term retention). There was greater total (online plus offline) skill acquisition with anodal tDCS compared to sham, which was mediated through a selective enhancement of offline effects. Anodal tDCS did not change the rate of forgetting relative to sham across the 3-month follow-up period, and consequently the skill measure remained greater with anodal tDCS at 3 months. This prolonged enhancement may hold promise for the rehabilitation of brain injury. Furthermore, these findings support the existence of a consolidation mechanism, susceptible to anodal tDCS, which contributes to offline effects but not to online effects or long-term retention.

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  • Transcranial direct current stimulation at low currents (e.g., <2 mA) applied over the scalp induced changes in brain excitability for an extended duration to result in synaptic and nonsynaptic functional changes.

    “Research showed that transcranial direct current stimulation at low currents (e.g., <2 mA) applied over the scalp induced changes in brain excitability for an extended duration to result in synaptic and nonsynaptic functional changes.121,122”

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Authors
Reis, J., Schambra, H. M., Cohen, L. G., Buch, E. R., Fritsch, B., Zarahn, E., Celnik, P. A., & Krakauer, J. W.
Affiliations
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2009-02-03
Volume
106
Issue
5
Pages
1590-1595
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2129707336
Cited by
1,401
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 57 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 65 · 2021: 85 · 2020: 93 · 2019: 104 · 2018: 87 · 2017: 108 · 2016: 134 · 2015: 112 · 2014: 116 · 2013: 89 · 2012: 65
FWCI
33.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • American Heart Association
  • Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
  • National Institutes of Health (7r01ns052804-05)
  • U.S. Public Health Service (R01 052804)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS-052804)
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD053793, K12HD001097)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
transcranial direct current stimulation, motor skill learning, memory consolidation, forgetting, primary motor cortex, speed-accuracy trade-off, skill retention, anodal tDCS, brain injury rehabilitation, motor learning
MeSH terms
Humans, Motor Cortex, Psychomotor Performance, Task Performance and Analysis

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