Functional Neuroimaging of Expert Motor Skills

Functional neuroimaging of expert motor skills investigates how high-level training in domains such as sport, music or dance shapes the dynamics and connectivity of brain networks during movement execution, planning and at rest. Techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography reveal that expert performance is supported by refined neural pathways linking sensorimotor, attentional and executive regions. Studies indicate that long-term practice leads to greater efficiency in task‐related activation, often reflected as reduced extraneous cortical recruitment, and to enhanced synchronisation within large‐scale networks such as the default mode and frontoparietal systems. Diffusion‐tensor imaging further demonstrates that structural connectivity adaptations accompany functional changes, with alterations in white matter tracts underlying skilled motor control. Collectively, these findings highlight the neuroplastic capacity of the adult brain, illustrating how sustained sensorimotor training produces both functional and structural signatures of expertise. The global significance of this work spans rehabilitation, where insights into network reorganisation inform interventions for motor disorders, and performance enhancement, offering objective markers of skill acquisition and mastery.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies employing combined EEG and MRI approaches have compared novice learners with expert performers to assess how skill acquisition alters intrinsic brain networks. One cross‐sectional investigation of older adults undertaking a new motor training programme revealed modulations in source connectivity within the anterior default mode network, suggesting that learning a complex motor skill can reshape resting‐state communication among attention‐related hubs. These network changes were frequency‐specific and point to adaptive mechanisms by which the ageing brain may harness novel sensorimotor challenges to maintain functional integration and cognitive resilience.

Functional Neuroimaging of Expert Motor Skills publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in functional neuroimaging of expert motor skills across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): A non‐invasive technique that measures blood oxygen level–dependent signal changes linked to neural activity.

Resting‐state functional connectivity (rsFC): Statistical dependencies in spontaneous brain activity reflecting communication among distinct regions when no task is performed.

Default mode network (DMN): A set of midline and lateral brain regions more active during rest and implicated in self‐referential and attentional processes.

Diffusion‐tensor imaging (DTI): An MRI method that maps the orientation and integrity of white matter tracts by measuring water diffusion.

Amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuations (ALFF): A metric of spontaneous neural oscillation strength within a low‐frequency band in resting‐state fMRI.

Neural efficiency: The principle that experts often show reduced or more focused brain activation during task performance relative to novices.

References

1. Source connectivity patterns in the default mode network differ between elderly golf-novices and non-golfers. Scientific Reports (2023).
2. Static and dynamic resting-state brain activity patterns of table tennis players in 7-Tesla MRI. Frontiers in Neuroscience (2023).
3. Occupational Neuroplasticity in the Human Brain: A Critical Review and Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2020).
4. Motor skill learning induces brain network plasticity: A diffusion-tensor imaging study. PLOS ONE (2019).