Estimated Gray Matter Volume Rapidly Changes after a Short Motor Task

Skill learning induces changes in estimates of gray matter volume (GMV) in the human brain, commonly detectable with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Rapid changes in GMV estimates while executing tasks may however confound between- and within-subject differences. Fluctuations in arterial blood flow are proposed to underlie this apparent task-related tissue plasticity. To test this hypothesis, we acquired multiple repetitions of structural T-1-weighted and functional blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) MRI measurements from 51 subjects performing a finger-tapping task (FTT; a 2 min) repeatedly for 30-60 min. Estimated GMV was decreased in motor regions during FTT compared with rest. Motor-related BOLD signal changes did not overlap nor correlate with GMV changes. Nearly simultaneous BOLD signals cannot fully explain task-induced changes in T-1-weighted images. These sensitive and behavior-related GMV changes pose serious questions to reproducibility across studies, and morphological investigations during skill learning can also open new avenues on how to study rapid brain plasticity.

Automated summary

Skill learning induces changes in estimates of gray matter volume in the human brain, which are related to fluctuations in arterial blood flow but cannot be fully explained by simultaneous BOLD signals. These sensitive and behavior-related changes pose new questions for studying brain plasticity.