Schema and motor memory: A multimodal neuroimaging investigation

Every day we live new experiences, learn new information and form new memories. The speed with which we acquire new knowledge critically depends on what we already know: new information is rapidly learned when it is consistent with previously learned knowledge (i.e., an acquired schema). This is the essence of the “schema effect” of memory, which has been amply characterized for memories of facts or events (declarative memory) but scarcely studied in the domain of movement (i.e. motor memory).

In this project, I will use a multimodal approach that integrates information from multiple neuroimaging and neuromodulatory techniques (electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging, non-invasive brain stimulation) to comprehensively investigate the behavioral and neural correlates of the schema effect in motor memory.

Results of this research will reveal how the schema effect can be harnessed to achieve faster, better learning. Thus, it has great potential for applications in the educational domain as well as in clinical practice, for example to counteract aging-related deficits or facilitate recovery of motor function following brain disease or injury.

In sum, this research project uses an innovative, integrative approach to investigate schema-facilitated memory enhancement in the motor domain, with the aim of developing new methods for accelerating motor learning and consolidation processes.