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Comment
. 2025 Aug 15;23(8):e3003310.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003310. eCollection 2025 Aug.

Key role of the default mode network in transfer of motor learning from previous experience

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Comment

Key role of the default mode network in transfer of motor learning from previous experience

Hiroshi Imamizu et al. PLoS Biol. .

Abstract

The ability to apply skills gained in one context to different situations enables efficient learning, even from limited data. A new study in PLOS Biology suggests that the default mode network, a core brain network, plays a key role in this ability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Intermanual transfer and the default mode network.
In a study by Rezaei and colleagues [1], participants initially learned a sensorimotor task with their right hand (the initial learning phase). When they later performed the same task with their left hand (the transfer phase), they made fewer errors at first. Rezaei and colleagues found that brain connectivity patterns, especially those linked to the part of the default mode network (the red region), were notably similar during the early stages of the initial learning (green shaded area) and transfer (orange shaded region) phases. The brain image shows the medial surface of the left hemisphere.

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References

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