Motor Learning and Sensory Plasticity

我研究的长期目标是了解人类运动和感觉系统的神经可塑性。在这种背景下，运动系统的可塑性研究在很大程度上是与感觉可塑性研究分开发展的，就好像学习孤立地影响着这些系统中的每一个。在每种情况下，都有大量文献记录了发育中和成年神经系统的可塑性。但越来越多的证据表明，可塑性的影响从运动系统扩展到感觉系统。因此，例如，我们最近表明，运动学习的影响不仅限于大脑的运动区域，而且影响更广泛，延伸到非运动区域，特别是皮层感觉系统。我们最近还发现，这些影响发生在相反的方向，重要的是，躯体感觉训练促进运动学习，并导致持久的变化，不仅对大脑的感觉区，而且对皮质运动区。因此，我们的工作提出了一种研究神经可塑性的方法，在这种方法中，感觉或运动系统的改变不是孤立发生的，而是每一个都有影响，这些影响会扩散到大脑的功能相关区域。

The long-term objective of my research is to understand neuroplasticity in human motor and sensory systems. In this context, it is striking that research on plasticity in motor systems has for the most part developed separately from work on sensory plasticity, as if learning affected each of these systems in isolation. In each case there is a large literature documenting plasticity in the developing and adult nervous systems. But increasingly there is evidence that the effects of plasticity spread from motor to sensory systems. Thus for example, we have recently shown that the effects of motor learning are not limited to motor areas of the brain but rather, the influence is more extensive, extending into non-motor areas and notably into cortical sensory systems. We have also recently found that these effects occur in the opposite direction, and importantly that somatosensory training facilitates motor learning and results in persistent changes not only to sensory areas of the brain but also to cortical motor areas. Thus our work suggests an approach to neuroplasticity in which modifications to sensory or motor systems do not occur in isolation, but rather each has effects that spread into functionally related areas of the brain.