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Cited by 244Reading and Literacy DevelopmentMotor Control and AdaptationNeurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

Characterizing the neural mechanisms of skill learning and repetition priming

Poldrack, Russell A., Gabrieli, John D. E.·2001·Brain
DOI 10.1093/brain/124.1.67
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Abstract

The changes in brain activity related to skill learning and repetition priming in a mirror-reading task were examined using functional MRI. Subjects exhibited significant learning across five training sessions and this learning generalized significantly to different spatial transformations (inverted-mirror reversed text and normal letters spelled backwards). Mirror reading, compared with reading normal text, was associated with extensive activation in occipital, temporal, parietal and frontal regions. Learning to read mirror-reversed (MR) text was associated with increased activation in left inferior temporal, striatal, left inferior prefrontal and right cerebellar regions and with decreased activity in the left hippocampus and left cerebellum. Short-term repetition priming was associated with reduced activity in many of the regions active during mirror reading and extensive item-specific practice (long-term repetition priming) resulted in a virtual elimination of activity in those regions. Short- and long-term repetition priming thus appeared to rely upon common neural mechanisms. Nearly all of the regions exhibiting significant learning-related changes also exhibited increased repetition priming effects, suggesting common neural substrates for priming and skill learning in this task. Comparison of MR items with other spatially transformed typographies showed that the learning-related changes were general to all of the spatial transformations. The results confirm the importance of striatofrontal neural networks for the acquisition of skills, and suggest that skill learning and repetition priming may have common substrates within a particular task.

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  • Adaptive procedures, whereby training task difficulty is automatically increased across sessions, have been shown in neuroimaging studies to be necessary for sustaining neuronal changes.

    “This has been shown in neuroimaging studies to be necessary for sustaining neuronal changes.12,13”

    From Cognitive Training for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Meta-Analysis of Clinical and Neuropsychological Outcomes From Randomized Controlled Trials (2015) · cites this paper as [13]

  • Depending on the task, neuroimaging studies have reported a general decrease in cortical activity, increases in cortical activity, or a more complex redistribution where activity increases in some areas and decreases in others during practice.

    “Depending on the task, some studies have reported a general decrease in cortical activity [52–55], a few have reported increases [56–59], and some have reported a more complex redistribution where activity increases in some areas and decreases in others [60–62].”

    From Cortical and basal ganglia contributions to habit learning and automaticity (2010) · cites this paper as [61]

  • Kelly and Garavan noted that decreases are often observed in prefrontal and parietal areas associated with attentional control, increases have generally been seen in premotor and motor areas during motor tasks, and a redistribution is often found in tasks where different cognitive processes operate during early and late training.

    “Kelly and Garavan [51] noted that decreases are often observed in prefrontal and parietal areas associated with attentional control, increases have generally been seen in premotor and motor areas during motor tasks, and a redistribution is often found in tasks where different cognitive processes operate during early and late training [61, 63].”

    From Cortical and basal ganglia contributions to habit learning and automaticity (2010) · cites this paper as [61]

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Authors
Poldrack, R. A., & Gabrieli, J. D. E.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Poldrack, Russell A.
ORCID
Venue
Brain
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2001-01
Volume
124
Issue
1
Pages
67-82
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
DOI
10.1093/brain/124.1.67
OpenAlex
W2118109946
Cited by
244
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 17
FWCI
32.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01ag012995-07)
  • National Institute on Aging (AG 12995)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (P50NS26985, P50NS026985)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Keywords
skill acquisition, repetition priming, mirror reading, neural correlates, cerebellum, hippocampus, inferior temporal cortex, spatial transformation, reading acquisition, functional MRI
MeSH terms
Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Cerebellum, Corpus Striatum, Female, Frontal Lobe, Hippocampus, Humans, Learning, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Reaction Time, Reading, Temporal Lobe, Verbal Behavior, Prefrontal Cortex

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