PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Berencsi, Andrea AU - Gombos, Ferenc AU - Gerván, Patrícia AU - Tróznai, Zsófia AU - Utczás, Katinka AU - Oláh, Gyöngyi AU - Kovács, Ilona TI - Dissociating experience-dependent and maturational changes in fine motor function during adolescence AID - 10.1101/2021.11.19.469287 DP - 2021 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2021.11.19.469287 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/22/2021.11.19.469287.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/22/2021.11.19.469287.full AB - Adolescence is a sensitive period in motor development but little is known about how long-term learning dependent processes shape hand function in tasks of different complexity. We mapped two fundamental aspects of hand function: simple repetitive and complex sequential finger movements, as a function of the length of musical instrumental training. We controlled maturational factors such as chronological and biological age of adolescent female participants (11 to 15 years of age, n=114). We demonstrated that experience improves performance as a function of task complexity, the more complex task being more susceptible for experience driven performance changes. Overall, these results suggest that fine motor skills involving cognitive control and relying on long-range functional brain networks are substantially shaped by experience. On the other hand, performance in a simple repetitive task that explains fine motor speed is primarily shaped by white matter development driven by maturational factors.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.