Motor Plasticity

(former group - now in collaboration with the Leipzig University)

Motivation

In contrast to the long-held view that brain plasticity is restricted to critical periods during ontogenesis, it is now well established that the adult human brain preserves its capacity for functional and structural changes throughout life. Although early experimental studies were mainly performed in animals, technical developments in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enabled the non-invasive observation of functional as well as structural reorganization in the living human brain. The finding that brain plasticity occurs in response to environmental changes such as experience or learning opens novel perspectives for neurorehabilitation strategies. However, a better characterization of the underlying neural mechanisms of brain plasticity is an important prerequisite in order to facilitate skills, prevent disease or restore brain function.

Ideas/Goals:

The fundamental goal of our research group is to better characterize the neural mechanisms subserving motor skill learning by means of functional and structural imaging (MRI, EEG) as well as non-invasive brain stimulation (TMS, tDCS, tACS). Subsequently, this knowledge will be used to develop adjuvant strategies to modulate brain plasticity (via novel learning paradigms or non-invasive brain stimulation alone or in combination) and thereby influence behavior. Our research combines studies of basic and clinical science across populations of young normal adults (including experts in a specific skill such as musicians and athletes), older adults and neurological patient populations. Using a translational research approach (bench to bedside), we hope to identify novel strategies to improve motor skill learning, prevent the age-related decline in motor function and to promote neurorehabilitation.

Methods

Various uni- and bimanual motor tasks (serial reaction time tasks (SRTT), sequential pinch force tasks (SPFT), balance task, fine-motor skill learning paradigms)
Non-invasive brain stimulation protocols: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), as well as various forms of repetitive TMS (rTMS) protocols such as PAS (paired-associative stimulation), TBS (theta-burst stimulation), double as well as triple pulse rTMS
Non-invasive brain imaging: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), structural MRI (sMRI), resting state fMRI (rsfMRI), evoked potentials (EPS)

Current Research Projects

Motor learning and associated cortical plasticity in the adult and aging brain
Augmenting mirror visual feedback via concurrent tDCS application
Modulating complex whole body motor skill learning by tDCS
Structural brain changes within a functional network of motor sequence learning
Motor skill learning in chronic stroke and Parkinson’s disease
The relationship between interhemispheric inhibition and the corpus callosum: A comparison between musicians and non-musicians
Intracortical and interhemispheric effects of non-invasive brain stimulation
Optimizing non-invasive brain stimulation protocols in terms of efficacy and after-effects
Motor skill learning and associated functional/ structural plasticity in musicians and athletes

Cooperation

National

Dr. Katharina von Kriegstein (MPI Leipzig), Prof. Robert Turner (MPI Leipzig), Prof. Eckart Altenmüller (IMMM, Hannover), Prof. Angela Friederici (MPI Leipzig), Prof. Joseph Classen (Neurology, University of Leipzig), Prof. Jürgen Krug (Sport Science, University of Leipzig), Dr. Thomas Dolk (University of Potsdam)

International

Dr. Leonardo G. Cohen (NINDS/NIH)

Publications of Group (since 2010)

Kaminski E, Maudrich T, Bassler P, Ordnung M, Villringer A, Ragert P (2022). tDCS over the primary motor cortex contralateral to the trained hand enhances cross-limb transfer in older adults. Front Aging Neurosci 14: 935781. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.935781.

Kaminski E, Engelhardt M, Hoff M, Steele C, Villringer A, Ragert P (2021). Author Correction: TDCS effects on pointing task learning in young and old adults. Sci Rep 11: 9871. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88987-x.

Kenville R, Maudrich T, Maudrich D, Villringer A, Ragert P (2020). Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation improves maximum isometric force production during isometric Barbell squats. Brain Sci 10. doi:10.3390/brainsci10040235.

Gundlach C, Muller MM, Hoff M, Ragert P, Nierhaus T, Villringer A, Sehm B (2020). Reduction of somatosensory functional connectivity by transcranial alternating current stimulation at endogenous mu-frequency. NeuroImage 221: 117175. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117175.

Maudrich T, Kenville R, Maudrich D, Villringer A, Ragert P, Nikulin VV (2020). Voluntary inhibition of physiological mirror activity: An EEG-EMG study. eNeuro 7. doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0326-20.2020.

Kenville R, Maudrich T, Vidaurre C, Maudrich D, Villringer A, Nikulin VV, Ragert P (2020). Corticomuscular interactions during different movement periods in a multi-joint compound movement. Sci Rep 10: 5021. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-61909-z.

Kenville R, Maudrich T, Vidaurre C, Maudrich D, Villringer A, Ragert P, Nikulin VV (2020). Intermuscular coherence between homologous muscles during dynamic and static movement periods of bipedal squatting. J Neurophysiol 124: 1045-1055. doi:10.1152/jn.00231.2020.

Predel C, Kaminski E, Hoff M, Carius D, Villringer A, Ragert P (2020). Motor skill learning-induced functional plasticity in the primary somatosensory cortex: A comparison between young and older adults. Front Aging Neurosci 12: 596438. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2020.596438.

Lehmann N, Tolentino-Castro JW, Kaminski E, Ragert P, Villringer A, Taubert M (2019). Interindividual differences in gray and white matter properties are associated with early complex motor skill acquisition. Hum Brain Mapp 40: 4316-4330. doi:10.1002/hbm.24704.

Maudrich T, Kenville R, Nikulin VV, Maudrich D, Villringer A, Ragert P (2019). Inverse relationship between amplitude and latency of physiological mirror activity during repetitive isometric contractions. Neuroscience 406: 300-313. doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.03.029.

Mizuguchi N, Maudrich T, Kenville R, Carius D, Maudrich D, Villringer A, Ragert P (2019). Structural connectivity prior to whole-body sensorimotor skill learning associates with changes in resting state functional connectivity. NeuroImage 197: 191-199. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.062.

Maudrich T, Kenville R, Lepsien J, Villringer A, Ragert P (2018). Structural neural correlates of physiological mirror activity during isometric contractions of non-dominant hand muscles. Sci Rep 8: 9178. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27471-5.

Kaminski E, Hoff M, Rjosk V, Steele CJ, Gundlach C, Sehm B, Villringer A, Ragert P (2017). Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not facilitate dynamic balance task learning in healthy old adults. Front Hum Neurosci 11: 16. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00016.

Maudrich T, Kenville R, Lepsien J, Villringer A, Ragert P, Steele CJ (2017). Mirror electromyografic activity in the upper and lower extremity: A comparison between endurance athletes and non-athletes. Front Hum Neurosci 11: 485. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00485.

Ordnung M, Hoff M, Kaminski E, Villringer A, Ragert P (2017). No overt effects of a 6-week exergame training on sensorimotor and cognitive function in older adults. A preliminary investigation. Front Hum Neurosci 11: 160. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00160.

Rjosk V, Lepsien J, Kaminski E, Hoff M, Sehm B, Steele CJ, Villringer A, Ragert P (2017). Neural correlates of mirror visual feedback-induced performance improvements: A resting-state fMRI study. Front Hum Neurosci 11: 54. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00054.

Tardif CL, Steele CJ, Lampe L, Bazin PL, Ragert P, Villringer A, Gauthier CJ (2017). Investigation of the confounding effects of vasculature and metabolism on computational anatomy studies. NeuroImage 149: 233-243. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.01.025.

Taubert M, Stein T, Kreutzberg T, Stockinger C, Hecker L, Focke A, Ragert P, Villringer A, Pleger B (2016). Remote effects of non-invasive cerebellar stimulation on error processing in motor re-learning. Brain Stimul 9: 692-699. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2016.04.007.

Rjosk V, Kaminski E, Hoff M, Gundlach C, Villringer A, Sehm B, Ragert P (2016). Transcranial alternating current stimulation at beta frequency: lack of immediate effects on excitation and interhemispheric inhibition of the human motor cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 10:560. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00560.

Sehm B, Steele CJ, Villringer A, Ragert P (2016). Mirror motor activity during right-hand contractions and its relation to white matter in the posterior midbody of the corpus callosum. Cereb Cortex 26: 4347-4355. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhv217.

Kaminski E, Steele CJ, Hoff M, Gundlach C, Rjosk V, Sehm B, Villringer A, Ragert P (2016). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over primary motor cortex leg area promotes dynamic balance task performance. Clin Neurophysiol 127: 2455-2462. doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2016.03.018.

Hoff M, Kaminski E, Rjosk V, Sehm B, Steele CJ, Villringer A, Ragert P (2015). Augmenting mirror visual feedback-induced performance improvements in older adults. Eur J Neurosci 41: 1475-1483. doi:10.1111/ejn.12899.

Hoff M, Trapp S, Kaminski E, Sehm B, Steele CJ, Villringer A, Ragert P (2015). Switching between hands in a serial reaction time task: a comparison between young and old adults. Front Aging Neurosci 7: 176. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2015.00176.

Rjosk V, Kaminski E, Hoff M, Sehm B, Steele CJ, Villringer A, Ragert P (2015). Mirror visual feedback-induced performance improvement and the influence of hand dominance. Front Hum Neurosci 9: 702. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00702.

Taubert M, Wenzel U, Draganski B, Kiebel SJ, Ragert P, Krug J, Villringer A (2015). Investigating neuroanatomical features in top athletes at the single subject level. PLoS One 10: e0129508. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0129508.

von Rein E, Hoff M, Kaminski E, Sehm B, Steele CJ, Villringer A, Ragert P (2015). Improving motor performance without training: the effect of combining mirror visual feedback with transcranial direct current stimulation. J Neurophysiol 113: 2383-2389. doi:10.1152/jn.00832.2014.

Vollmann H, Ragert P, Conde V, Villringer A, Classen J, Witte OW, Steele CJ (2014). Instrument specific use-dependent plasticity shapes the anatomical properties of the corpus callosum: a comparison between musicians and non-musicians. Front Behav Neurosci 8: 245. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00245.

Wenzel U, Taubert M, Ragert P, Krug J, Villringer A (2014). Functional and structural correlates of motor speed in the cerebellar anterior lobe. PLoS One 9: e96871. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096871.

Vollmann H, Conde V, Sewerin S, Taubert M, Sehm B, Witte OW, Villringer A, Ragert P (2013). Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over supplementary motor area (SMA) but not pre-SMA promotes short-term visuomotor learning. Brain Stimul 6(2): 101-107. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2012.03.018.

Sehm B, Hoff M, Gundlach C, Taubert M, Conde V, Villringer A, Ragert P (2013). A novel ring electrode setup fort he recording of somatosensory evoked potentials during transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). J Neurosci Methods 212(2): 234-236. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2012.10.006.

Friederici AD, Mueller JL, Sehm B, Ragert P (2013). Language learning without control: The role of the PFC. J Cog Neurosci 25(5): 814-821. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_00350.

Conde V, Vollmann H, Taubert M, Sehm B, Cohen LG, Villringer A, Ragert P (2013). Reversed timing-dependent associative plasticity in the human brain through interhemispheric interactions. J Neurophysiol 109(9): 2260-2271. doi: 10.1152/jn.01004.2012.

Sehm B, Kipping J, Schäfer A, Villringer A, Ragert P (2013). A comparison between uni- and bilateral tDCS effects on functional connectivity of the human motor cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 7: 183. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00183.

Sehm B, Taubert M, Conde V, Weise D, Classen J, Dukart J, Draganski B, Villringer A, Ragert P (2013). Structural brain plasticity in Parkinson‘s disease induced by balance training. Neurobiology of Aging 35(1): 232-239. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.06.021.

Sehm B, Schnitzler T, Obleser J, Groba A, Ragert P, Villringer A, Obrig H (2013). Facilitation of inferior frontal cortex by transcranial direct current stimulation induces perceptual learning of severely degraded speech. J Neurosci 33(40): 15868-15878. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5466-12.2013.

Kaminski E, Hoff M, Sehm B, Taubert M, Conde V, Steele SJ, Villringer A, Ragert P (2013). Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) during complex whole body motor skill learning. Neurosci Lett 552: 76-80. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2013.07.034.

Sehm B, Ragert P (2013). Why non-invasive brain stimulation should not be used in military and security services. Front Hum Neurosci 7: 553. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00553.

Riedel P, Kabisch S, Ragert P, von Kriegstein K (2012). Contact dermatitis after transcranial direct current stimulation. Brain Stimul 5(3): 432-434. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2011.09.001.

Gryga M, Taubert M, Dukart J, Vollmann H, Conde V, Sehm B, Villringer A, Ragert P (2012). Bidirectional gray matter changes after complex motor skill learning. Front Syst Neurosci 6: 37. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2012.00037.

Trapp S, Lepsien J, Sehm B, Villringer A, Ragert P (2012). Changes of hand switching costs during bimanual sequential learning. PLoS One 7(9): e45857. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045857.

Sehm B, Schaefer A, Kipping J, Margulies D, Conde V, Taubert M, Villringer A, Ragert P (2012). Dynamic modulation of intrinsic functional connectivity by transcranial direct current stimulation. J Neurophysiol 108(12): 3253-3263. doi: 10.1152/jn.00606.2012.

Conde V, Altenmüller E, Villringer A, Ragert P (2012). Task-irrelevant auditory feedback facilitates motor performance in musicians. Front Psychol 3: 146. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00146.

Conde V, Vollmann H, Sehm B, Taubert M, Villringer A, Ragert P (2012). Cortical thickness in primary sensorimotor cortex influences the effectiveness of paired associative stimulation. NeuroImage 60(2): 864-870. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.052.

Willimzig C, Ragert P, Dinse HR (2012). Cortical topography of intracortical inhibition influences the speed of decision making. PNAS 109(8): 3107-3112. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1114250109.

Dolk T, Liepelt R, Prinz W, Villringer A, Ragert P (2012). Morphometric gray matter differences of the medial frontal cortex influence the social Simon effect. NeuroImage 61(4): 1249-1254. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.061.

Ragert P, Nierhaus T, Cohen LG, Villringer A (2011). Interhemispheric interactions between the human primary somatosensory cortices. PLoS One 6(2): e16150. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016150.

Taubert M, Lohmann G, Margulies DS, Villringer A, Ragert P (2011). Long-term effects of motor training on resting-state networks and underlying brain structure. NeuroImage 57(4): 1492-1498.

Sewerin S, Taubert M, Vollmann H, Conde V, Villringer A, Ragert P (2011). Enhancing the effect of repetitive I-wave paired-pulse TMS (iTMS) by adjusting fort he individual I-wave periodicity. BMC Neurosci 12(1): 45. doi: 10.1186/1471-2202-12-45.

Taubert M, Draganski B, Anwander A, Horstmann A, Müller K, Villringer A, Ragert P. (2010). Dynamic properties of human brain structure: learning-related changes in cortical areas and associated fibre connections. J Neurosci 30(35): 11670-11677. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2567-10.2010.