The Role of GABA in Human Motor Learning

Overview

Journal Curr Biol

Publisher Cell Press

Specialty Biology

Date 2011 Mar 8

PMID 21376596

Citations 275

Authors

Charlotte J Stagg

Velicia Bachtiar

Heidi Johansen-Berg

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

GABA modification plays an important role in motor cortical plasticity. We therefore hypothesized that interindividual variation in the responsiveness of the GABA system to modification influences learning capacity in healthy adults. We assessed GABA responsiveness by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), an intervention known to decrease GABA. The magnitude of M1 GABA decrease induced by anodal tDCS correlated positively with both the degree of motor learning and the degree of fMRI signal change within the left M1 during learning. This study therefore suggests that the responsiveness of the GABAergic system to modification may be relevant to short-term motor learning behavior and learning-related brain activity.

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