Non-invasive stimulation of the human striatum disrupts reinforcement learning of motor skills

• DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.07.515477
• Publication Date: 2022-11-08T03:15:25Z
• Authors: Pierre Vassiliadis; Elena Beanato; Traian Popa; Fabienne Windel; Takuya Morishita; Esra Neufeld; Julie Duque; Gerard Derosiere; Maximilian J. Wessel; Friedhelm C. Hummel
• Keywords: Male; Adult; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Deep Brain Stimulation; 610; Gamma Oscillations; Article; Deep Brain-Stimulation; [SCCO]Cognitive science; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Reward; Double-Blind Method; Humans; Learning; Nucleus-Accumbens; Modulation; Connectivity; 600; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Corpus Striatum; Beta-Band Oscillations; Motor Skills; Initial-Stages; Ventral Striatum; Female; Networks; Reinforcement, Psychology

AbstractReinforcement feedback can improve motor learning, but the underlying brain mechanisms remain underexplored. Especially, the causal contribution of specific patterns of oscillatory activity within the human striatum is unknown. To address this question, we exploited an innovative, non-invasive deep brain stimulation technique called transcranial Temporal Interference Stimulation (tTIS) during reinforcement motor learning with concurrent neuroimaging, in a randomised, sham-controlled, double-blind study. Striatal tTIS applied at 80Hz, but not at 20Hz, abolished the benefits of reinforcement on motor learning. This effect was related to a selective modulation of neural activity within the striatum. Moreover, 80Hz, but not 20Hz tTIS increased the neuromodulatory influence of the striatum on frontal areas involved in reinforcement motor learning. These results show for the first time that tTIS can non-invasively and selectively modulate a striatal mechanism involved in reinforcement learning, opening new horizons for the study of causal relationships between deep brain structures and human behaviour.