Motor learning requires myelination to reduce asynchrony and spontaneity in neural activity.

ABSTRACT: Myelination increases the conduction velocity in long-range axons and is prerequisite for many brain functions. Impaired myelin regulation or impairment of myelin itself is frequently associated with deficits in learning and cognition in neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, it has not been revealed what perturbation of neural activity induced by myelin impairment causes learning deficits. Here, we measured neural activity in the motor cortex during motor learning in transgenic mice with a subtle impairment of their myelin. This deficit in myelin impaired motor learning, and was accompanied by a decrease in the amplitude of movement-related activity and an increase in the frequency of spontaneous activity. Thalamocortical axons showed variability in axonal conduction with a larg

SUBMITTER: Kato D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6899965 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature