scholarly journals Perceptual learning in sensorimotor adaptation

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (9) ◽  
pp. 2152-2162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Darainy ◽  
Shahabeddin Vahdat ◽  
David J. Ostry
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Passive Movement ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Tennis Serve ◽  
The Right

Motor learning often involves situations in which the somatosensory targets of movement are, at least initially, poorly defined, as for example, in learning to speak or learning the feel of a proper tennis serve. Under these conditions, motor skill acquisition presumably requires perceptual as well as motor learning. That is, it engages both the progressive shaping of sensory targets and associated changes in motor performance. In the present study, we test the idea that perceptual learning alters somatosensory function and in so doing produces changes to human motor performance and sensorimotor adaptation. Subjects in these experiments undergo perceptual training in which a robotic device passively moves the subject's arm on one of a set of fan-shaped trajectories. Subjects are required to indicate whether the robot moved the limb to the right or the left and feedback is provided. Over the course of training both the perceptual boundary and acuity are altered. The perceptual learning is observed to improve both the rate and extent of learning in a subsequent sensorimotor adaptation task and the benefits persist for at least 24 h. The improvement in the present studies varies systematically with changes in perceptual acuity and is obtained regardless of whether the perceptual boundary shift serves to systematically increase or decrease error on subsequent movements. The beneficial effects of perceptual training are found to be substantially dependent on reinforced decision-making in the sensory domain. Passive-movement training on its own is less able to alter subsequent learning in the motor system. Overall, this study suggests perceptual learning plays an integral role in motor learning.

Efficacy of Auditory versus Motor Learning for Skilled and Novice Performers

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 1657-1682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Brown ◽  
Virginia B. Penhune
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Learning Condition ◽  
Pitch Accuracy ◽  
Auditory Learning ◽  
Learning Conditions

Humans must learn a variety of sensorimotor skills, yet the relative contributions of sensory and motor information to skill acquisition remain unclear. Here we compare the behavioral and neural contributions of perceptual learning to that of motor learning, and we test whether these contributions depend on the expertise of the learner. Pianists and nonmusicians learned to perform novel melodies on a piano during fMRI scanning in four learning conditions: listening (auditory learning), performing without auditory feedback (motor learning), performing with auditory feedback (auditory–motor learning), or observing visual cues without performing or listening (cue-only learning). Visual cues were present in every learning condition and consisted of musical notation for pianists and spatial cues for nonmusicians. Melodies were performed from memory with no visual cues and with auditory feedback (recall) five times during learning. Pianists showed greater improvements in pitch and rhythm accuracy at recall during auditory learning compared with motor learning. Nonmusicians demonstrated greater rhythm improvements at recall during auditory learning compared with all other learning conditions. Pianists showed greater primary motor response at recall during auditory learning compared with motor learning, and response in this region during auditory learning correlated with pitch accuracy at recall and with auditory–premotor network response during auditory learning. Nonmusicians showed greater inferior parietal response during auditory compared with auditory–motor learning, and response in this region correlated with pitch accuracy at recall. Results suggest an advantage for perceptual learning compared with motor learning that is both general and expertise-dependent. This advantage is hypothesized to depend on feedforward motor control systems that can be used during learning to transform sensory information into motor production.

Hemispheric Differences in the Relationship Between Corticomotor Excitability Changes Following a Fine-Motor Task and Motor Learning

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 1570-1578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael I. Garry ◽  
Gary Kamen ◽  
Michael A. Nordstrom
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Hemispheric Differences ◽  
Corticomotor Excitability ◽  
Hand Muscles ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Intrinsic Hand Muscles

Motor performance induces a postexercise increase in corticomotor excitability that may be associated with motor learning. We investigated whether there are hemispheric differences in the extent and/or time course of changes in corticomotor excitability following a manipulation task (Purdue pegboard) and their relationship with motor performance. Single- and paired-pulse (3 ms) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess task-induced facilitation of the muscle evoked potential (MEP) and intracortical inhibition (ICI) for three intrinsic hand muscles acting on digits 1, 2, and 5. Fifteen right-handed subjects performed three 30-s pegboard trials with left or right hand in separate sessions. TMS was applied to contralateral motor cortex before and after performance. Number of pegs placed was higher with the right hand, and performance improved (motor learning) with both hands over the three trials. MEP facilitation following performance was short-lasting (<15 min), selective for muscles engaged in gripping the pegs, and of similar magnitude in left and right hands. ICI was reduced immediately following performance with the right hand, but not the left. The extent of MEP facilitation was positively correlated with motor learning for the right hand only. We conclude that the pegboard task induces a selective, short-lasting change in excitability of corticospinal neurons controlling intrinsic hand muscles engaged in the task. Only left hemisphere changes were related to motor learning. This asymmetry may reflect different behavioral strategies for performance improvement with left and right upper limb in this task or hemispheric differences in the control of skilled hand movements.

scholarly journals Effect of Repetitive Passive Movement Before Motor Skill Training on Corticospinal Excitability and Motor Learning Depend on BDNF Polymorphisms

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manh Van Pham ◽  
Shota Miyaguchi ◽  
Hiraku Watanabe ◽  
Kei Saito ◽  
Naofumi Otsuru ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Index Finger ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Passive Movement ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Homeostatic Plasticity ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Learning Efficiency ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
The Right

A decrease in cortical excitability tends to be easily followed by an increase induced by external stimuli via a mechanism aimed at restoring it; this phenomenon is called “homeostatic plasticity.” In recent years, although intervention methods aimed at promoting motor learning using this phenomenon have been studied, an optimal intervention method has not been established. In the present study, we examined whether subsequent motor learning can be promoted further by a repetitive passive movement, which reduces the excitability of the primary motor cortex (M1) before motor learning tasks. We also examined the relationship between motor learning and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Forty healthy subjects (Val/Val genotype, 17 subjects; Met carrier genotype, 23 subjects) participated. Subjects were divided into two groups of 20 individuals each. The first group was assigned to perform the motor learning task after an intervention consisting in the passive adduction–abduction movement of the right index finger at 5 Hz for 10 min (RPM condition), while the second group was assigned to perform the task without the passive movement (control condition). The motor learning task consisted in the visual tracking of the right index finger. The results showed that the corticospinal excitability was transiently reduced after the passive movement in the RPM condition, whereas it was increased to the level detected in the control condition after the motor learning task. Furthermore, the motor learning ability was decreased immediately after the passive movement; however, the motor performance finally improved to the level observed in the control condition. In individuals carrying the Val/Val genotype, higher motor learning was also found to be related to the more remarkable changes in corticospinal excitability caused by the RPM condition. This study revealed that the implementation of a passive movement before a motor learning tasks did not affect M1 excitatory changes and motor learning efficiency; in contrast, in subjects carrying the Val/Val polymorphism, the more significant excitatory changes in the M1 induced by the passive movement and motor learning task led to the improvement of motor learning efficiency. Our results also suggest that homeostatic plasticity occurring in the M1 is involved in this improvement.

scholarly journals Somatosensory Perceptual Training Enhances Motor Learning by Observing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather R. McGregor ◽  
Joshua G.A. Cashaback ◽  
Paul L. Gribble
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Force Field ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Functional Plasticity ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Learning Group ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Somatosensory Function

AbstractNeuroimaging and neurophysiological studies in humans have demonstrated that action observation activates brain regions involved in sensory-motor control. A growing body of work has shown that action observation can also facilitate motor learning; observing a tutor undergoing motor learning results in functional plasticity within the motor system and gains in subsequent motor performance. However, the effects of observing motor learning extend beyond the motor domain. Converging evidence suggests that learning also results in somatosensory functional plasticity and somatosensory perceptual changes. This work has raised the possibility that the somatosensory system is also involved in motor learning that results from observation. Here we tested this hypothesis using a somatosensory perceptual training paradigm. If the somatosensory system is indeed involved in motor learning by observing, then improving subjects' somatosensory function before observation should enhance subsequent observation-related gains in motor performance. Subjects performed a proprioceptive discrimination task in which a robotic manipulandum moved the subject’s passive upper limb and he or she made judgments about the position of the hand. Subjects in a Trained Learning group received trial-by-trial feedback to improve their proprioceptive acuity. Subjects in an Untrained Learning group performed the same task without feedback. All subjects then observed a learning video showing a tutor adapting her reaches to a left force field (FF). We found that subjects in the Trained Learning group, who had superior proprioceptive acuity prior to observation, benefited more from observing learning compared to subjects in the Untrained Learning group. Improving somatosensory function can therefore enhance subsequent observation-related gains in motor learning. This study provides further evidence in favor of the involvement of the somatosensory system in motor learning by observing.AbbreviationsFF:Force fieldPD:Maximum perpendicular deviationIQR:interquartile rangeThe authors report no financial interests or conflicts of interests.

scholarly journals Emergence of perceptuomotor relationships during paleolithic stone toolmaking learning: intersections of observation and practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristel Yu Tiamco Bayani ◽  
Nikhilesh Natraj ◽  
Nada Khresdish ◽  
Justin Pargeter ◽  
Dietrich Stout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
Motor Skill Acquisition ◽  
Gaze Patterns ◽  
Archeological Evidence ◽  
And Performance

AbstractStone toolmaking is a human motor skill which provides the earliest archeological evidence motor skill and social learning. Intentionally shaping a stone into a functional tool relies on the interaction of action observation and practice to support motor skill acquisition. The emergence of adaptive and efficient visuomotor processes during motor learning of such a novel motor skill requiring complex semantic understanding, like stone toolmaking, is not understood. Through the examination of eye movements and motor skill, the current study sought to evaluate the changes and relationship in perceptuomotor processes during motor learning and performance over 90 h of training. Participants’ gaze and motor performance were assessed before, during and following training. Gaze patterns reveal a transition from initially high gaze variability during initial observation to lower gaze variability after training. Perceptual changes were strongly associated with motor performance improvements suggesting a coupling of perceptual and motor processes during motor learning.

scholarly journals Interactions between sleep disruption, motor learning, and p70 S6 kinase 1 signaling

SLEEP ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Korey Kam ◽  
Mihwa Kang ◽  
C Yasemin Eren ◽  
Ward D Pettibone ◽  
Heather Bowling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Mrna Translation ◽  
Sleep Disruption ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
S6 Kinase ◽  
P70 S6 Kinase ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Ribosomal Protein S6

Abstract Offline gains in motor performance after initial motor learning likely depend on sleep, but the molecular mechanisms by which this occurs are understudied. Regulation of mRNA translation via p70 S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) signaling represents one potential mechanism, as protein synthesis is thought to be increased during sleep compared to wake and is necessary for several forms of long-term memory. Using phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 (RpS6) as a readout of S6K1 activity, we demonstrate that a period of 10 h of acute sleep disruption impairs both S6K1 signaling and offline gains in motor performance on the rotarod in adult wild type C57/Bl6 mice. Rotarod motor learning results in increased abundance of RpS6 in the striatum, and inhibition of S6K1 either indirectly with rapamycin or directly with PF-4708671 diminished the offline improvement in motor performance without affecting the initial acquisition of rotarod motor learning when sleep is normal. In sum, S6K1 activity is required for sleep-dependent offline gains in motor performance and is inhibited following acute sleep disruption, while motor learning increases the abundance of striatal RpS6. Thus, S6K1 signaling represents a plausible mechanism mediating the beneficial effects of sleep on motor performance.

scholarly journals Pursuing Artful Movement Science in Music Performance: Single Subject Motor Analysis With Two Elite Pianists

2021 ◽  
pp. 003151252110034
Author(s):  
Craig Turner ◽  
Peter Visentin ◽  
Deanna Oye ◽  
Scott Rathwell ◽  
Gongbing Shan
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
Force Plate ◽  
Left Shoulder ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Performance Variables ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
Piano Students ◽  
Motor Strategy ◽  
The Right

Piano performance motor learning research requires more “artful” methodologies if it is to meaningfully address music performance as a corporeal art. To date, research has been sparse and it has typically constrained multiple performance variables in order to isolate specific phenomena. This approach has denied the fundamental ethos of music performance which, for elite performers, is an act of interpretation, not mere reproduction. Piano performances are intentionally manipulated for artistic expression. We documented motor movements in the complex task of performance of the first six measures of Chopin’s “Revolutionary” Etude by two anthropometrically different elite pianists. We then discussed their motor strategy selections as influenced by anthropometry and the composer’s musical directives. To quantify the joint angles of the trunk, shoulders, elbows, and wrists, we used a VICON 3 D motion capture system and biomechanical modeling. A Kistler force plate (1 N, Swiss) quantified center of gravity (COG) shifts. Changes in COG and trunk angles had considerable influence on the distal segments of the upper limbs. The shorter pianist used an anticipatory strategy, employing larger shifts in COG and trunk angles to produce dynamic stability as compensation for a smaller stature. Both pianists took advantage of low inertial left shoulder internal rotation and adduction to accommodate large leaps in the music. For the right arm, motor strategizing was confounded by rests in the music. These two cases illustrated, in principle, that expert pianists’ individualized motor behaviors can be explained as compensatory efforts to accommodate both musical goals and anthropometric constraints. Motor learning among piano students can benefit from systematic attention to motor strategies that consider both of these factors.

Implications of Optimal Feedback Control Theory for Sport Coaching and Motor Learning: A Systematic Review

Motor Control ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Steven van Andel ◽  
Robin Pieper ◽  
Inge Werner ◽  
Felix Wachholz ◽  
Maurice Mohr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feedback Control ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Control Theory ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Optimal Feedback Control ◽  
Optimal Feedback ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Novel Theory ◽  
Feedback Control Theory

Best practice in skill acquisition has been informed by motor control theories. The main aim of this study is to screen existing literature on a relatively novel theory, Optimal Feedback Control Theory (OFCT), and to assess how OFCT concepts can be applied in sports and motor learning research. Based on 51 included studies with on average a high methodological quality, we found that different types of training seem to appeal to different control processes within OFCT. The minimum intervention principle (founded in OFCT) was used in many of the reviewed studies, and further investigation might lead to further improvements in sport skill acquisition. However, considering the homogenous nature of the tasks included in the reviewed studies, these ideas and their generalizability should be tested in future studies.

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