Sonification of Movement for Motor Skill Learning in a Novel Bimanual Task: Aesthetics and Retention Strategies

Here we report early results from an experiment designed to investigate the use of sonification for the learning of a novel perceptual-motor skill. We find that sonification which employs melody is more effective than a strategy which provides only bare timing information. We additionally show that it might be possible to ‘refresh’ learning after performance has waned following training - through passive listening to the sound that would be produced by perfect performance. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of general motor performance enhancement and sonic feedback design.

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Sensorimotor cortex beta oscillations reflect motor skill learning ability after stroke

Brain Communications ◽

10.1093/braincomms/fcaa161 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Svenja Espenhahn ◽

Holly E Rossiter ◽

Bernadette C M van Wijk ◽

Nell Redman ◽

Jane M Rondina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Learning ◽

Sensorimotor Cortex ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Skill Learning ◽

Motor Skill Learning ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Beta Oscillations ◽

And Performance

Abstract Recovery of skilled movement after stroke is assumed to depend on motor learning. However, the capacity for motor learning and factors that influence motor learning after stroke have received little attention. In this study, we first compared motor skill acquisition and retention between well-recovered stroke patients and age- and performance-matched healthy controls. We then tested whether beta oscillations (15–30 Hz) from sensorimotor cortices contribute to predicting training-related motor performance. Eighteen well-recovered chronic stroke survivors (mean age 64 ± 8 years, range: 50–74 years) and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were trained on a continuous tracking task and subsequently retested after initial training (45–60 min and 24 h later). Scalp electroencephalography was recorded during the performance of a simple motor task before each training and retest session. Stroke patients demonstrated capacity for motor skill learning, but it was diminished compared to age- and performance-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, although the properties of beta oscillations prior to training were comparable between stroke patients and healthy controls, stroke patients did show less change in beta measures with motor learning. Lastly, although beta oscillations did not help to predict motor performance immediately after training, contralateral (ipsilesional) sensorimotor cortex post-movement beta rebound measured after training helped predict future motor performance, 24 h after training. This finding suggests that neurophysiological measures such as beta oscillations can help predict response to motor training in chronic stroke patients and may offer novel targets for therapeutic interventions.

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P11-10 Effect of rTMS over unaffected M1 on motor performance and motor skill learning with affected hand of chronic stroke patients

Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1016/s1388-2457(10)60687-6 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 121 ◽

pp. S167

Author(s):

M. Kobayashi ◽

T. Ohira ◽

T. Kano ◽

T. Kawase

Keyword(s):

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Chronic Stroke ◽

Skill Learning ◽

Motor Skill Learning ◽

Stroke Patients

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Knowledge and Motor Performance

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1992.74.3c.1195 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 74 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1195-1202 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Robert Kerr ◽

Jean-Louis Boucher

Keyword(s):

Motor Skills ◽

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Task Analysis ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Schema Theory ◽

Motor Ability ◽

General Motor ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

Strategic Allocation

Traditionally, motor skill acquisition has implied that the performance of a given individual on a particular skill is dependent on the amount of prior practice of that skill. However, concepts such as schema theory, or kinetic formulae, or the strategic allocation of resources imply that, even when practising specific skills, performers gain knowledge about their own motor performance which can be used or applied to related or novel situations. An attempt was made to relate the performance of a complex psychomotor task to differing levels of motor skill expertise or knowledge (athlete and nonathlete). 20 subjects performed (1600 responses) on a novel pursuit or tracking task. Analysis indicated that the athletes performed significantly better. Their main advantage appeared to be more in their ability to control and produce fast, accurate movements than in their decision-making. Accepting Henry and Rogers' 1960 proposition that there is no such thing as a general motor ability or coordination factor does not imply that the only alternative is for all motor skills to be specific. It is argued that the differences in the present study arose from the athletes' greater knowledge (schema, kinetic formulae) related to their understanding of their own motor capabilities.

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Motor cortex beta oscillations reflect motor skill learning ability after stroke

10.1101/2020.01.15.20017665 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Svenja Espenhahn ◽

Holly E Rossiter ◽

Bernadette CM van Wijk ◽

Nell Redman ◽

Jane M Rondina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Learning ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Chronic Stroke ◽

Skill Learning ◽

Motor Skill Learning ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Beta Oscillations ◽

And Performance

AbstractRecovery of skilled movement after stroke is assumed to depend on motor learning. However, the capacity for motor learning and factors that influence motor learning after stroke have received little attention. In this study we firstly compared motor skill acquisition and retention between well-recovered stroke patients and age- and performance-matched healthy controls. We then tested whether beta oscillations (15–30Hz) from sensorimotor cortices contribute to predicting training-related motor performance.Eighteen well-recovered chronic stroke survivors (mean age 64±8 years, range 50–74 years) and twenty age- and sex-matched healthy controls were trained on a continuous tracking task and subsequently retested after initial training (45–60 min and 24 hours later). Scalp EEG was recorded during the performance of a simple motor task before each training and retest session. Stroke patients demonstrated capacity for motor skill learning, but it was diminished compared to age- and performance-matched healthy controls. Further, although the properties of beta oscillations prior to training were comparable between stroke patients and healthy controls, stroke patients did show less change in beta measures with motor learning. Lastly, although beta oscillations did not help to predict motor performance immediately after training, contralateral (ipsilesional) sensorimotor cortex post-movement beta rebound (PMBR) measured after training helped predict future motor performance, 24 hours after training. This finding suggests that neurophysiological measures such as beta oscillations can help predict response to motor training in chronic stroke patients and may offer novel targets for therapeutic interventions.

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Persistence of reduced neuromotor noise in long-term motor skill learning

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00263.2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 116 (6) ◽

pp. 2922-2935 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Meghan E. Huber ◽

Nikita Kuznetsov ◽

Dagmar Sternad

Keyword(s):

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Intrinsic Noise ◽

Task Demands ◽

Skill Learning ◽

Guided Practice ◽

Error Corrections ◽

Stochastic Learning ◽

Insight Into

It is well documented that variability in motor performance decreases with practice, yet the neural and computational mechanisms that underlie this decline, particularly during long-term practice, are little understood. Decreasing variability is frequently examined in terms of error corrections from one trial to the next. However, the ubiquitous noise from all levels of the sensorimotor system is also a significant contributor to overt variability. While neuromotor noise is typically assumed and modeled as immune to practice, the present study challenged this notion. We investigated the long-term practice of a novel motor skill to test whether neuromotor noise can be attenuated, specifically when aided by reward. Results showed that both reward and self-guided practice over 11 days improved behavior by decreasing noise rather than effective error corrections. When the challenge for obtaining reward increased, subjects reduced noise even further. Importantly, when task demands were relaxed again, this reduced level of noise persisted for 5 days. A stochastic learning model replicated both the attenuation and persistence of noise by scaling the noise amplitude as a function of reward. More insight into variability and intrinsic noise and its malleability has implications for training and rehabilitation interventions.

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