Learning fine motor coordination changes the brain

When we train the reaching for and grasping of objects, we also train our brain. In other words, this action brings about changes in the connections of a certain neuronal population in the red nucleus, a region of the midbrain. Researchers have discovered this group of nerve cells in the red nucleus. They have also shown how fine motor tasks promote plastic reorganization of this brain region. 

Simply grasping a coffee cup needs fine motor coordination with the highest precision. This required performance of the brain is an ability that can also be learned and trained. Prof. Kelly Tan’s research group at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, has investigated the red nucleus, a region of the midbrain that controls fine motor movement, and identified a new population of nerve cells which changes when fine motor coordination is trained. The more that grasping is practiced, the more the connections between the neurons of this group of nerve cells are strengthened.

The red nucleus, a little investigated region of the brain
Grasping is a skill that can be trained and improved, even in adults. For muscles to perform a movement correctly, brain commands must be transmitted through the spinal cord. The red nucleus, which, over the years, has received little attention in brain research, plays an important role in fine motor coordination. Here the brain learns new fine motor skills for grasping and stores what it has learned.

Our fine motor skills such as grasping are steered by the red nucleus, a region of the midbrain. 

The image is credited to University of Basel, Biozentrum.

Prof. Kelly Tan’s team has now investigated the red nucleus in more detail in the mouse model and analyzed its structure and neuronal composition. “We have found that this brain region is very heterogeneous and consists of different neuron populations,” says the first author of the study.

Improved fine motor skills through plastic changes in the brain
The research team has characterized one of these neuron populations and demonstrated that learning new grasping movements strengthens the connections between the individual neurons. “When learning new fine motor skills, the coordination of this specific movement is optimized and stored in the brain as a code,” explains Tan. “Thus, we have been able to also demonstrate neuroplasticity in the red nucleus.”

In a further step, the team now wants to investigate the stability of these strengthened nerve cell connections in the red nucleus and find out to what extent they regress when the learned fine motor movements are not practiced. The findings could also provide new insights into the understanding of Parkinson’s disease, in which affected individuals suffer from motor disorders. The team hopes to find out whether the neuronal connections in the red nucleus have also changed in these patients and to what extent fine motor training can restrengthen the neuronal network.


Excitatory rubral cells encode the acquisition of novel complex motor tasks
The red nucleus (RN) is required for limb control, specifically fine motor coordination. There is some evidence for a role of the RN in reaching and grasping, mainly from lesion studies, but results so far have been inconsistent. In addition, the role of RN neurons in such learned motor functions at the level of synaptic transmission has been largely neglected. Here, we show that Vglut2-expressing RN neurons undergo plastic events and encode the optimization of fine movements. RN light-ablation severely impairs reaching and grasping functions while sparing general locomotion. We identify a neuronal population co-expressing Vglut2, PV and C1QL2, which specifically undergoes training-dependent plasticity. Selective chemo-genetic inhibition of these neurons perturbs reaching and grasping skills. Our study highlights the role of the Vglut2-positive rubral population in complex fine motor tasks, with its related plasticity representing an important starting point for the investigation of mechanistic substrates of fine motor coordination training.

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How baby stroke survivors' brains adapt

A study of children who had strokes as babies has found they adapted to use a different part of their brain for language.

Imaging revealed language was based in the exact mirror opposite region to the normal left side area. 
Some researchers hope their work will help the rehabilitation of adult stroke patients. 
An expert said the brain had an "incredible ability" to make up for what was lost in a stroke.
It's estimated that one in 4,000 babies are affected shortly before, during or after birth by a stroke.
The plasticity of babies' developing brains makes them better able to recover from a stroke than adults. 

The research,  looked at 12 perinatal stroke survivors aged 12-25.The case studies had few indicators that they had experienced a stroke - one had a limp and many had learned to make their left hands dominant because of the stroke damaging the right hand's function - but all had developed good language skills. 

However they found that, because their brains were developing when they had the strokes, they were able to adapt. 




"We believe there are very important constraints to where functions can be relocated. There are very specific regions that take over when part of the brain is injured, depending on the particular function. 

Strokes in babies

• A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off.
• There are over 400 childhood strokes a year in the UK - around a quarter of these are in children under a year old.
• Babies are vulnerable due to stress on the brain during childbirth and the change in blood circulation from the mother to baby.
• Stroke in babies during pregnancy to 28 days after birth are known as pre- and perinatal ischemic stroke.
• They are usually caused by clots breaking off from the placenta and lodging in the child's brain, or because of a blood-clotting disorder that the mother or baby may have.
• Strokes in the first few weeks of life are often missed and only picked up on when a child doesn't seem to be developing as expected, or is displaying a weakness down one side.
• Some children, especially newborn infants, may not show any symptoms. In babies up to 28 days old, seizures are a common symptom of stroke.

This was a small study, said a researcher, but  he added: "We do know that the brain can have an incredible ability to reorganise undamaged cells after a stroke, and make up for what has been lost.
"In many cases, with the right support, stroke survivors of any age are able to walk, talk and live independently again. 

"But there is much more research that needs to be done to help us fully understand how the brain can recover after a stroke."
 

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Musical training may change your brain !

Intense musical training triggers new processes within the brain which can impact creativity, cognition and learning, new research has found.

The studies show that extensive musical training affects the structure and function of different brain regions, how those regions communicate during the creation of music, and how the brain interprets and integrates sensory information.

The findings, presented at Neuroscience 2013,  suggest potential new roles for musical training including fostering plasticity in the brain, an alternative tool in education, and treating a range of learning disabilities.

According to one study, long-term high level musical training has a broader impact than previously thought.

Researchers found that musicians have an enhanced ability to integrate sensory information from hearing, touch, and sight.

Another study found that the age at which musical training begins affects brain anatomy as an adult; beginning training before the age of seven has the greatest impact.

In a third study, researchers found that brain circuits involved in musical improvisation are shaped by systematic training, leading to less reliance on working memory and more extensive connectivity within the brain.

Some of the brain changes that occur with musical training reflect the automation of task and the acquisition of highly specific sensorimotor and cognitive skills required for various aspects of musical expertise.

"Playing a musical instrument is a multi sensory and motor experience that creates emotions and motions from finger tapping to dancing and engages pleasure and reward systems in the brain. It has the potential to change brain function and structure when done over a long period of time," said  an expert on music, neuroimaging and brain plasticity.

"As today's findings show, intense musical training generates new processes within the brain, at different stages of life, and with a range of impacts on creativity, cognition, and learning," he said.

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Why some people remain lean and others obese

Researchers have said that becoming obese or remaining lean can depend on the dynamics of the mitochondria, the body's energy-producing "battery."

Mitochondria are vital cellular organelles that generate and maintain proper energy levels in complex organisms. Using animal models, the  research team studied mitochondria in different populations of brain cells known to be involved in the regulation of appetite.

The team found that during the transition from a fasting to an over-fed state, mitochondria in neurons that promote hunger show dynamic changes that are the opposite of those found in neurons that control feelings of fullness.

Lead author  said that they have found that mitochondrion need to have ongoing dynamic plasticity in order to support neurons, which are necessary for appetite and for the maintenance of life.

He asserted that if these dynamic events - during which the mitochondria fuse to become more effective in generating energy - are disrupted, mitochondria become static, appetite-stimulating neurons become less active, and animals do not develop obesity when exposed to high-fat, high-calorie diets.

The co-lead author said these same cellular events have different consequences in neurons that promote feelings of fullness. 

The study showed that similar molecular drivers control mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum interactions and related stress. If the cellular events are disrupted in these mitochondria, animals become morbidly obese.

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