No evidence for an effect of M1 cTBS on schema-mediated motor sequence learning.

Authors

Serena Reverberi, Koen Cuypers, Bradley Ross King, Genevieve Albouy

Published in

Journal of neurophysiology. Sep 17, 2026. Epub Sep 17, 2026.

Abstract

The availability of a pre-existing cognitive-motor schema accelerates the learning of novel motor information. The encoding of a novel schema-compatible, compared to -incompatible, motor sequence was recently shown to be supported by the left primary motor cortex (M1). However, causal evidence for the role of M1 in schema-mediated motor learning is currently lacking. In the current study, we aimed to address this knowledge gap by transiently disrupting M1 using inhibitory continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS). Forty-eight young healthy participants learned a bimanual motor sequence task (cognitive-motor schema). Twenty-four hours later, they learned a novel sequence whose ordinal schematic structure was compatible with that learned on the previous day. To provide causal evidence for a role of M1 on such schema-mediated motor learning, we applied either cTBS or sham stimulation to the left M1 immediately prior to encoding the schema-compatible novel sequence. Electromyography results showed no evidence for an effect of left M1 cTBS on corticospinal excitability as measured with motor-evoked potentials. Similarly, behavioral results indicated no significant effect of cTBS on subsequent schema-mediated motor sequence learning. Altogether, the present data do not provide evidence for a causal role of the left M1 in schema-mediated motor sequence learning.

PMID:
42764019
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Sep 2026.

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