Individual Differences in Learning a Novel Discrete Motor Task

Golenia, Laura; Schoemaker, Marina M.; Mouton, Leonora J.; Bongers, Raoul M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0112806

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(72 reference statements)

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“…Studies of human motor performance typically focus on group effects, although individuals show consistent idiosyncratic patterns in their motor performances (Cesqui et al, 2012; Golenia et al, 2014). This inter-subject variability may be the result of individual-specific self-organizing processes that may be sub-optimal, but adequate (Cesqui et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of training pre-movement sensorimotor rhythms on behavioral performance

McFarland

Sarnacki²,

Wolpaw³

2015

J. Neural Eng.

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Brain–computer interface (BCI) technology might contribute to rehabilitation of motor function. This speculation is based on the premise that modifying the EEG will modify behavior, a proposition for which there is limited empirical data. The present study asked whether learned modulation of pre-motor sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity can affect motor performance in normal human subjects. Eight individuals first performed a joystick-based cursor-movement task with variable warning periods. Targets appeared randomly on a video monitor and subjects moved the cursor to the target and pressed a select button within 2 sec. SMR features in the pre-movement EEG that correlated with performance speed and accuracy were identified. The subjects then learned to increase or decrease these features to control a two-target BCI task. Following successful BCI training, they were asked to increase or decrease SMR amplitude in order to initiate the joystick task. After BCI training, pre-movement SMR amplitude was correlated with performance in subjects with initial poor performance: lower amplitude was associated with faster and more accurate movement. The beneficial effect on performance of lower SMR amplitude was greater in subjects with lower initial performance levels. These results indicate that BCI-based SMR training can affect a standard motor behavior. They provide a rationale for studies that integrate such training into rehabilitation protocols and examine its capacity to enhance restoration of useful motor function.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of training pre-movement sensorimotor rhythms on behavioral performance

McFarland

Sarnacki²,

Wolpaw³

2015

J. Neural Eng.

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“…In healthy individuals these mostly highly overlearned movements lead only to little or no measurable improvement through practice. In contrast, more complex motor tasks (Mulder et al, 2004;Golenia et al, 2014;Zabielska-Mendyk et al, 2018;Paris-Alemany et al, 2019), have the disadvantage of not being transferable to rehabilitation setups or having little everyday relevance. Finding the right balance between transferability and learnability is by far not a trivial matter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Priming Effects of Physical Practice on Motor Imagery-Induced Event-Related Desynchronization

et al. 2020

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For motor imagery (MI) to be effective, an internal representation of the to-be-imagined movement may be required. A representation can be achieved through prior motor execution (ME), but the neural correlates of MI that are primed by ME practice are currently unknown. In this study, young healthy adults performed MI practice of a unimanual visuomotor task (Group MI, n = 19) or ME practice combined with subsequent MI practice (Group ME&MI, n = 18) while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Data analysis focused on the MI-induced event-related desynchronization (ERD). Specifically, changes in the ERD and movement times (MT) between a short familiarization block of ME (Block pre-ME), conducted before the MI or the ME combined with MI practice phase, and a short block of ME conducted after the practice phase (Block post-ME) were analyzed. Neither priming effects of ME practice on MI-induced ERD were found nor performanceenhancing effects of MI practice in general. We found enhancements of the ERD and MT in Block post-ME compared to Block pre-ME, but only for Group ME&MI. A comparison of ME performance measures before and after the MI phase indicated however that these changes could not be attributed to the combination of ME and MI practice. The mixed results of this study may be a consequence of the considerable intra-and inter-individual differences in the ERD, introduced by specifics of the experimental setup, in particular the individual and variable task duration, and suggest that task and experimental setup can affect the interplay of ME and MI.

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“…Moreover, possible small differences in the location of the hand at impact, which caused fluctuation of the ball contact point on the hand palm and fingers surfaces, should be characterized more systematically. In this context it would be also interesting to assess whether and how the observed variability across participants in our experiment are related to individual differences in the acquisition of similar novel tasks [ 55 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grasping in One-Handed Catching in Relation to Performance

et al. 2016

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Catching a flying ball involves bringing the hand to the aimed interception point at the right time, adjusting the hand posture to receive the incoming ball and to absorb the ball momentum, and closing the hand to ensure a stable grip. A small error in any of these actions can lead to a failure in catching the ball. Here we sought to gather new insights on what aspects of the catching movements affect the interceptive performance most. In particular, we wondered whether the errors occurred in bringing the hand to the interception point or in closing the fingers on the ball, and whether these two phases of interception differed between individuals. To this end, we characterized grasping and wrist movement kinematics of eleven participants attempting to catch a ball projected in space with different ball arrival heights and flight durations. The spatial position of the ball and of several markers placed on the participant’s arm were recorded by a motion capture system, the hand joint angles were recorded with an instrumented glove, and several movement features were extracted. All participants were able to intercept the ball trajectory (i.e. to touch the ball) in over 90% of cases, but they differed in the ability to grasp the ball (success rate varied between 2% and 85%). Similar temporal features were observed across individuals when they caught the ball. In particular, all participants adapted their wrist movements under varying temporal and arrival height constraints, they aligned the time of peak hand closing velocity to the time of hand-ball contact, and they maintained the same hand closing duration in the different experimental conditions. These movement features characterized successful trials, and hence allowed to evaluate the possible sources of errors underlying unsuccessful trials. Thus, inter-individual and inter-trial variability in the modulation of each kinematic feature were related to catching performance. We observed that different participants used different solutions to bring the hand to the interception point. In particular the value of the wrist velocity at impact distinguished good from poor catchers. However, each individual showed similar wrist kinematics in grasped and touched trials. We also found that specific grasping features predicted the catching outcome, both on a trial-by-trial basis and across individuals of different performance level. A higher speed of hand closing distinguished touched from grasped trials. A proper triggering of the enclosing phase of the grasping movement and an accurate alignment of the peak of the hand closing speed to the impact event predicted the catching performance of different participants. These results indicate that the control of the grasping movement was the main source of errors affecting catching performance in our experiments. Moreover, these results suggest that distinct temporal and spatial features in the coordination of the grasping movement are related to individual catching abilities.

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Individual Differences in Learning a Novel Discrete Motor Task

Cited by 20 publications

References 50 publications

Effects of training pre-movement sensorimotor rhythms on behavioral performance

Effects of training pre-movement sensorimotor rhythms on behavioral performance

Investigating Priming Effects of Physical Practice on Motor Imagery-Induced Event-Related Desynchronization

Grasping in One-Handed Catching in Relation to Performance

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