Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Somatosensory targeted memory reactivation modulates oscillatory brain activity but not motor memory consolidation

Obviously not meant  to be understood by any survivor. Useless. But I guess that was the point since this testing was done on healthy adults.

Somatosensory targeted memory reactivation modulates oscillatory brain activity but not motor memory consolidation

Highlights

Somatosensory targeted memory reactivation (TMR) does not improve motor memory consolidation.

Somatosensory TMR during post-learning sleep and wakefulness modulates oscillatory brain activity.

TMR-related modulations in oscillatory brain activity do not relate to offline changes in performance.

Abstract

Previous research has shown that targeted memory reactivation (TMR) protocols using acoustic or olfactory stimuli can boost motor memory consolidation. While somatosensory information is crucial for motor control and learning, the effects of somatosensory TMR on motor memory consolidation remain elusive. Here, healthy young adults (n = 28) were trained on a sequential serial reaction time task and received, during the offline consolidation period that followed, sequential electrical stimulation of the fingers involved in the task. This somatosensory TMR procedure was applied during either a 90-minute diurnal sleep (NAP) or wake (NONAP) interval that was monitored with electroencephalography. Consolidation was assessed with a retest following the NAP/NONAP episode. Behavioral results revealed no effect of TMR on motor performance in either of the groups. At the brain level, somatosensory stimulation elicited changes in oscillatory activity in both groups. Specifically, TMR induced an increase in power in the mu band in the NONAP group and in the beta band in both the NAP and NONAP groups. Additionally, TMR elicited an increase in sigma power and a decrease in delta oscillations in the NAP group. None of these TMR-induced modulations of oscillatory activity, however, were correlated with measures of motor memory consolidation. The present results collectively suggest that while somatosensory TMR modulates oscillatory brain activity during post-learning sleep and wakefulness, it does not influence motor performance in an immediate retest.

Abbreviations

ANOVA
analysis of variance
EEG
Electroencephalography
EMG
electromyography
EOG
electrooculography
MSL
motor sequence learning
PSG
polysomnography
NREM
non-Rapid-Eye-Movement
RSRT
random serial reaction time
RT
reaction time
SSRT
sequential serial reaction time
TMR
targeted memory reactivation
 

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