ArticleCerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)2024
Gray matter volume of functionally relevant primary motor cortex is causally related to learning a hand motor task.
Article in Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Hippocampal Volume Mediates the Association Between Serum Ferritin and Cognition in Non-Dialysis End-Stage Renal Disease Patients.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Anterior Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus Microstructure Correlates With Bimanual Visuomotor Performance in Healthy Younger but Not Older Adults.The European journal of neuroscience · 2026Article
- Investigating the Correlation Between Gray Matter Volume Changes and Cognitive Function Among Alzheimer's Disease Patients: An MRI-Based Analysis.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2025Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
Variability in brain structure is associated with the capacity for behavioral change. However, a causal link between specific brain areas and behavioral change (such as motor learning) has not been demonstrated. We hypothesized that greater gray matter volume of a primary motor cortex (M1) area active during a hand motor learning task is positively correlated with subsequent learning of the task, and that the disruption of this area blocks learning of the task. Healthy participants underwent structural MRI before learning a skilled hand motor task. Next, participants performed this learning task during fMRI to determine M1 areas functionally active during this task. This functional ROI was anatomically constrained with M1 boundaries to create a group-level "Active-M1" ROI used to measure gray matter volume in each participant. Greater gray matter volume in the left hemisphere Active-M1 ROI was related to greater motor learning in the corresponding right hand. When M1 hand area was disrupted with repetitive transcranial stimulation (rTMS), learning of the motor task was blocked, confirming its causal link to motor learning. Our combined imaging and rTMS approach revealed greater cortical volume in a task-relevant M1 area is causally related to learning of a hand motor task in healthy humans.
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