The Use of Transcranial Direct Current Simulation to Facilitate Neuroplasticity During Motor Skill Learning

Abstract

The ability of the human brain to successfully learn and perform a motor task is a fundamental part of life. Motor skill learning allows us to be able to perform everyday tasks such as writing, typing, and playing sports. Recently, progress in our understanding of how motor skill learning occurs has elucidated the underlying neural mechanisms involved in the acquisition, consolidation, and retention of motor skills. Advancements in our understanding of these mechanisms have allowed us to employ techniques such as non-invasive brain stimulation to enhance and modulate these neural mechanisms to manipulate motor skill learning. In doing so, we can potentially enhance our ability to learn new motor tasks, specifically in healthy populations. For individuals who are required to have high rates of motor learning such as athletes, pilots, musicians, and surgeons, enhancements in motor skill learning are vital. Traditionally, motor skill learning is acquired by extensive practice or repetition of a motor skill over extended periods of time to achieve peak performance. However, what if these skills could be obtained not by long, extensive periods of practice, but rather, by short reactivations of these motor skill memories? Furthermore, what if these short reactivations could be enhanced by non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)? If short reactivations of a motor task can cause the same or similar effects to that of extensive bouts of practice, then the possibility that this could serve as a new form of motor training for individuals who require extensive motor skill learning seems possible. This could potentially allow individuals to spend less time practicing, while still obtaining the same gains in performance. To explore this concept, the following review will extensively elaborate on the underlying neural mechanisms of motor learning, tDCS, and the effects this combination of motor learning and tDCS have on motor performance and neuroplasticity.