The unique neuromodulation using water immersion

抄録

The acquisition and consolidation of motor skills are essential in our lives. Neural plasticity of the primary motor cortex (M1) is strongly involved in the consolidation of motor skills. Recent studies have shown that the M1 plasticity can be altered by prior neural activity, termed ‘Metaplasticity’. Consequently, if we can demonstrate effective interventions that enhance M1 plasticity, we might propose new methodologies to promote the consolidation of motor skills. Although a variety of interventions have been reported, our research group has focused on a unique intervention: water immersion (WI). Our research has shown several possibilities that WI can be a neuromodulation of increasing M1 plasticity by altering the activity of sensory-motor-related areas. Herein, we briefly summarised previous research on the consolidation of motor skills through motor learning and M1 plasticity and introduced unique neuromodulation using WI, which temporarily increased M1 plasticity, including previous and present studies in our research group.