Research reveals new models of neural activity that emerge with long-term learning – ScienceDaily

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University recently published an article in PNAS it reveals what happens in the brain when learners go from novice to expert. They discovered that new models of neural activity emerge with long-term learning and have established a causal link between these patterns and new behavioral abilities.

The research was carried out within the framework of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, an interinstitutional research and teaching program that exploits Pitt's strengths in fundamental and clinical neuroscience and bioengineering, as well as those of the CMU in neuroscience. cognitive and computer science.

The project was jointly supervised by Aaron Batista, badociate professor of bioengineering at Pitt; Byron Yu, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at CMU; and Steven Chase, badociate professor of biomedical engineering and the Institute of Neuroscience at CMU. The work was led by Emily Oby, Pitt's bioengineering postdoctoral badistant.

"We used a brain-computer interface (BCI), which creates a direct link between the neural activity of our subject and the movement of a computer cursor," Oby said. "We recorded the activity of about 90 neuronal units in the region of the main motor cortex arm of the rhesus monkeys while they were performing a task that required them to move the slider for s'. align on the targets on the monitor. "

To determine whether monkeys would form new neural models as they were learning, the research group encouraged the animals to try out a new BCI skill, and then compared these records with pre-existing neural models.

"We first introduced to the monkey what we call an" intuitive mapping "of their cursor-based neural activity, which works with how their neurons naturally trigger and require no learning," said Oby. "We then induced the learning by introducing a skill in the form of a new mapping that forced the subject to learn what neural patterns he had to produce to move the cursor."

Like the acquisition of most skills, the group BCI task required several practice sessions and a little coaching.

"We discovered that after a week, our subject had learned to control the slider," Batista said. "This is striking because, by construction, we knew from the start that they did not have the neural activity patterns needed to perform this skill, because when we re-examined neural activity after learning, we found that new patterns appeared, and it was these new patterns that allowed the monkey to perform the task. "

These results suggest that the process allowing humans to master a new skill might also involve the generation of new models of neuronal activity.

"Although we are looking at this specific task in animals, we think it may be so that the brain is learning many new things," said Yu. "Think about learning the finger dexterity required to play a piece Before practicing, your brain may not yet be able to generate the appropriate patterns of activity to produce the desired finger movements. "

"We believe that extended practice creates a new synaptic connectivity leading directly to the development of new patterns of activity enabling new capabilities," Chase said. "We think this work applies to anyone who wants to learn, whether it's a paralyzed individual who is learning to use a brain-computer interface or a stroke survivor who wants to regain a function normal motor. If we can look directly at the brain during motor skills In learning, we think we can design neurofeedback strategies that facilitate the process leading to the formation of new models of neuronal activity. "

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