Department for Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Joshua Dupont-Hadwen
Department for Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Edward Kane
Department for Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Carys Evans
Department for Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Liam Barrett
Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Amba Frese
Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Irena Tetkovic
Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Department for Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Charlotte J Stagg
Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Skill learning is a fundamental adaptive process, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. Some learning paradigms, particularly in the memory domain, are closely associated with gamma activity that is amplitude modulated by the phase of underlying theta activity, but whether such nested activity patterns also underpin skill learning is unknown. Here, we addressed this question by using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) over sensorimotor cortex to modulate theta–gamma activity during motor skill acquisition, as an exemplar of a non-hippocampal-dependent task. We demonstrated, and then replicated, a significant improvement in skill acquisition with theta–gamma tACS, which outlasted the stimulation by an hour. Our results suggest that theta–gamma activity may be a common mechanism for learning across the brain and provides a putative novel intervention for optimizing functional improvements in response to training or therapy.
