News Finding: The harder-to-learn patterns were different from any of the pre-existing patterns, whereas the easier-to-learn patterns were combinations of pre-existing brain patterns.
Paper Finding: Some behaviours are easier to learn than others 1-4 .
News Context: The results showed that the subjects learned to generate some neural activity patterns more easily than others, since they only sometimes achieved accurate cursor movements. The harder-to-learn patterns were different from any of the pre-existing patterns, whereas the easier-to-learn patterns were combinations of pre-existing brain patterns. Because the existing brain patterns likely reflect how the neurons are interconnected, the results suggest that the connectivity among neurons shapes learning.
Paper Context: These findings offer a network-level explanation for the observation that we are more readily able to learn new skills when they are related to the skills that we already possess 4 . Some behaviours are easier to learn than others 1-4 . A BCI offers advantages for studying learning because we can observe all of the neurons that directly control an action, and we can fully specify the mapping from neural activity to action.