Abstract
Practicing movements results in improvement in performance and in plasticity of the motor cortex. To identify the underlying mechanisms, we studied use-dependent plasticity in human subjects premedicated with drugs that influence synaptic plasticity. Use-dependent plasticity was reduced substantially by dextromethorphan (an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor blocker) and by lorazepam [a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptor-positive allosteric modulator]. These results identify N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation and GABAergic inhibition as mechanisms operating in use-dependent plasticity in intact human motor cortex and point to similarities in the mechanisms underlying this form of plasticity and long-term potentiation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3661-3665 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 97 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 28 2000 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General