Abstract

The present study combines behavioural and neuroimaging techniques to investigate the learning of a motor sequence task within- and across-day. The goals of this study were to identify behavioural changes during learning, determine the patterns of activity associated with learning, and investigate the relationships between behaviour and brain activity over the course of learning. Participants were trained on a relatively complex motor sequencing task and a simple baseline task. They performed these tasks in an fMRI scanner while behavioural and functional data were collected. Behavioural performance increased within, but not across, day. The initial learning network included activity in CB cortex, posterior BG, PMC, PL, and preSMA/SMA. Within-day changes included increased activity in anterior BG, CB nucleus, and STS; with decreased activity in M1/S1, SMA, and planum temporale. Across-day increases were found in the left anterior BG, no decreases were found across-day. These results may be interpreted as a shift in activity from the visual to the spatial corticostriatal loop, and are discussed within the context of two current theories of motor sequence learning.