A estimulação do córtex motor primário na aprendizagem de uma habilidade motora complexa

• Ano de defesa: 2018
• Autor(a) principal: Juliana Otoni Parma
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Brasil; EEFFTO - ESCOLA DE EDUCAÇÃO FISICA, FISIOTERAPIA E TERAPIA OCUPACIONAL; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências do Esporte; UFMG
• Palavras-chave em Português: Parâmetros.; Aprendizagem motora; Habilidades complexas; ETCC.
• Link de acesso: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/30596

The learning of new motor skills happens by two distinct processes, these being the acquisition and improvement of generalized motor programs, and the improvement in the selection of movement parameters. As the primary motor cortex (M1) has been related to specific elements, as force and direction, it is possible to assume that the M1 is more associated to the learning of the movement parameters. Transcranial direct current stimulation is a manner to investigate the relation between cerebral areas and its given behavioral function, as it alters the excitability of the area of interest and potentiates mechanisms of neuroplasticity. Although it was already indicated by a former study that the stimulation of the M1 leads to a better learning of the parameters of a simple movement specifically, it is not possible to conclude that the stimulation enhances this process even in complex motor skills. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of M1 stimulation in the learning of a complex motor skill. Fourty-eight right-handed subjects (24 women) participated in this study and were counterbalanced by sex in two groups. One of the groups received bihemisferic M1 tDCS, while the other received sham stimulation. Both groups had the same amunt of practice of the golf putting, that being 10 trials on the pre-test, 50 trials in both days of the acquisition phase after 20 minutes of real or sham tDCS, aside from 10 trials on the post-test and 10 trials on the transfer test. The results showed that the stimulation enhanced learning, as the stimulated group had a better decrement of global error. This effect was more evident considering the initial performance of the subjects, as the stimulation was better for the ones who began worse. No effect of the stimulation was found for the learning of the generalized motor program, while tDCS lead to a better learning of the parameters by individuals with worse inicial performance. This improvement was specific to the practiced parameter, not when the selection of new parameters was needed. Therefore, the conclusion of the present study is that the stimulation of the M1 potentiates the learning of complex motor skills, as it enhances the learning of the parametrization, especially for individuals with worse initial performances.