Using MVPA to decipher neural correlates of visual sequence learning in the brain.

Using top-down memory-driven information to guide actions is the common method for successful and efficient completion of most everyday activities. Many previous studies have demonstrated a role of the frontal and parietal cortices in top-down processing with a number of studies revealing attentional modulations and maintenance of neuronal activity during delays in these areas. These areas have been extensively studied in regards to explicit visual working mechanisms, but its role for motor learning is currently unclear. We have implemented a novel and equivalent saccade and pursuit sequence-learning paradigm inside an fMRI scanner to investigate how early motor learning is implemented in the brain and more specifically within this fronto-parietal network. To achieve this we used a multivariate analysis approach (MVPA) to a priori regions of interest (prefrontal, frontal and parietal cortices) to evaluate how patterns of activation within these areas change with increasing repetition i.e. during visuomotor learning. The results revealed patterns of activity within these areas that reflect early motor learning that is analogous to the dorsal attentional network, indicating an overlap in function for the fronto-parietal network in attention, working memory and early motor learning. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015