Double dissociation of visuomotor interaction mediated by visual feedback during continuous de novo motor learning

While the sensorimotor cortices are central neural substrates for motor control and learning, how the interaction between their subregions with visual cortices contributes to acquiring de novo visuomotor skills is poorly understood. We design a continuous visuomotor task in fMRI where participants control a cursor using their fingers while learning an arbitrary finger-to-cursor mapping. To investigate visuomotor interaction in the de novo motor task, we manipulate visual feedback of a cursor such that they learn to control using fingers under two alternating conditions: online cursor feedback is available or unavailable except when a target is reached. As a result, we find double dissociation of fMRI activity in subregions of the sensorimotor and visual cortices. Specifically, motor and late visual cortices are more active with online cursor feedback, and somatosensory and early visual cortices are more active without online cursor feedback. We also find a significant reduction in functional connectivity between somatosensory cortices and early visual cortices, which is highly correlated with performance improvement. These findings support the distinct interaction between subregions of sensorimotor cortices and visual cortices, while the connectivity analysis highlights the critical role of somatosensory cortices during de novo motor learning. Examination of how visual feedback mediates visuomotor interaction reveals insights into motor learning processes, highlighting distinct roles of sensory and motor areas, as well as early and late visual areas.