Author(s): WANG, K.P., YU, C.L., SCHACK, T., HUNG. T.M. , Institution: BIELEFELD UNIVERSITY, Country: GERMANY, Abstract-ID: 421

INTRODUCTION:
The neural adaptation in the frontoparietal circuit plays a crucial role in acquiring visuomotor skills. However, the dynamic neural connectivity in the circuit underlying the acquisition of visuomotor skills remains unclear.
METHODS:
To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the association between motor acquisition of visuomotor skills and neural connectivity, we used electroencephalographic coherence that can capture highly dynamic neural connectivity in the circuit in a longitudinal design. In addition, we recruited 60 male novices who were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG). Furthermore, we analyzed the connectivity by using 8-13 Hz imaginary inter-site phase coherence in the frontoparietal networks (Fz- P3 and Fz-P4) during a golf putting task (visuomotor task). To gain a deeper understanding of the dynamic nature of learning trajectories, we compared data at three time points: baseline (T1), 50% improvement from baseline (T2; the fast stage of motor skill learning), and 100% improvement from baseline (T3; the slow stage of motor skill learning).
RESULTS:
We mainly observed that EG showed a progressively improved golf putting performance from Time 1 to Time 2 and Time 3. Furthermore, we observed an increase in the connectivity of the right frontoparietal circuit from T2 to T3.
CONCLUSION:
We suggest that the cortico-cortical communication in the frontal- left parietal circuits in the slow stage of motor skill learning lead to the acquisition of motor skills. In addition, our findings partially support Hikosaka et al.s model and provide additional insight into the specific role of these circuits in visuomotor learning.