Illustration of the task of accurate walking without and with adverse physical consequences – a slippery surface – next to the target for the step. Credit: Bakkum and Marigold, eNeuro (2022)
Actions have consequences, and the physical effects of slipping improve engine learning, according to a study recently published in eNeuro.
The brain refines movement in response to errors, especially those that can be dangerous, such as slipping or stumbling. But in most laboratory studies of motor learning errors do not have physical consequences. In the Bakkum and Marigold study, participants walked the trail and stepped with their right foot on the target, wearing prism-goggles that distorted their field of vision and shifted everything to the right. In one group, the track hid a slippery surface to the right of the target. Participants slipped until they learned to adjust the steps to the left.
Sliding band and control group adjusted to the points at the same pace, but the training was more stuck in the slip group. The group of slips coped better with new tasks, such as the onset of their goal left leg or stepping over obstacles, an indication that their learning may generalize to other situations. One week after testing, the slip group performed better than the control group. Future research will investigate if surprise or emotional reaction to slip improves learning, or if physical effects themselves are an integral part motor training.
Amanda Bakum and others, studying the physical consequences of our actions improves motor memory, euro (2022). DOI: 10.1523 / ENEURO.0459-21.2022
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Society of Neurology
Citation: Physical effects improve motor learning (2022, May 23) received May 23, 2022 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-physical-consequences-motor.html
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