Biological research
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Biological research · Jan 2008
Long lasting structural changes in primary motor cortex after motor skill learning: a behavioural and stereological study.
Many motor skills, once acquired, are stored over a long time period, probably sustained by permanent neuronal changes. Thus, in this paper we have investigated with quantitative stereology the generation and persistence of neuronal density changes in primary motor cortex (MI) following motor skill learning (skilled reaching task). Rats were trained a lateralised reaching task during an "early" (22-31 days old) or "late" (362-371 days old) postnatal period. ⋯ It is concluded that learning a skilled reaching task implies long lasting structural changes in restricted cortical regions of the motor cortex. The generation and persistence of these changes probably reflect a plastic reorganization for storing and retrieving motor skills. The plastic changes were also observed in the older rats, suggesting that motor cortex maintains its plastic capacity throughout the lifespan.