Random Practice Enhances Retention and Spatial Transfer in Force Field Adaptation

Herzog, Michael; Focke, Anne; Maurus, Philipp; Thürer, B.; Stein, Thorsten

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2022.816197

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 97 publications

(204 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…When the perturbation is salient, adaptive changes in behaviour have been shown to entail at least two learning processes: A rapid, strategic process to nullify the perturbation and a slow, automatic process that implicitly recalibrates the sensorimotor map (similar dissociations also apply to prism [15], force field [16] and split-belt [17] adaptation tasks). The methods used in previous studies examining contextual interference effects in sensorimotor adaptation tasks do not partition performance changes associated with these two processes [18][19][20][21][22]. As such, it remains an open question as to whether implicit adaptation is also subject to contextual interference.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Signatures of contextual interference in implicit sensorimotor adaptation

Irving

Ivry

2023

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contextual interference refers to the phenomenon whereby a blocked practice schedule results in faster acquisition but poorer retention of new motor skills compared to a random practice schedule. While contextual interference has been observed under a broad range of tasks, it remains unclear if this effect generalizes to the implicit and automatic recalibration of an overlearned motor skill. To address this question, we compared blocked and random practice schedules in a visuomotor rotation task that isolates implicit adaptation. In experiment 1, we found robust signatures of contextual interference in implicit adaptation: compared to participants tested under a blocked training schedule, participants tested under a random training schedule exhibited a reduced rate of learning during the training phase but better retention during a subsequent no-feedback assessment phase. In experiment 2, we again observed an advantage in retention following random practice and showed that this result was not due to a change in context between the training and assessment phases (e.g. a blocked training schedule followed by a random assessment schedule). Taken together, these results indicate that contextual interference is not limited to the acquisition of new motor skills but also applies to the implicit adaptation of established motor skills.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Signatures of contextual interference in implicit sensorimotor adaptation

Irving

Ivry

2023

Proc. R. Soc. B.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Changes in Muscle Synergy Structure and Activation Patterns Underlie Force Field Adaptation, Retention, and Generalization

Herzog,

Berger,

Russo

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1AbstractHumans can adapt their motor commands in response to errors when they perform reaching movements in new dynamic conditions, a process called motor adaptation. They acquire knowledge about the new dynamics, which they can use when they are re-exposed and, limitedly, generalize to untrained reaching directions. While force field adaptation, retention, and generalization have been thoroughly investigated at a kinematic and kinetic task level, the underlying coordination at a muscular level remains unclear. Many studies propose that the central nervous system uses low- dimensional control, i.e., coordinates muscles in functional groups: so-called muscle synergies. Accordingly, we hypothesized that changes in muscle synergy structure and activation patterns represent the acquired knowledge underlying force field adaptation, retention, and generalization. To test this, 36 male humans practiced reaching to a single target in a viscous force field and were tested for retention and generalization to new directions, while we simultaneously measured muscle activity from 13 upper-body muscles. We found that muscle synergies used for unperturbed reaching cannot explain the muscle patterns when adapted. Instead, muscle synergies specific to this adapted state were necessary, alongside a novel four-phasic pattern of muscle synergy activation. Furthermore, these structural changes and patterns were also evident during retention and generalization. Our results suggest that reaching in an environment with altered dynamics requires structural changes to muscle synergies compared to unperturbed reaching, and that these changes facilitate retention and generalization. These findings provide new insights into how the central nervous system coordinates the muscles underlying motor adaptation, retention, and generalization.2Significance StatementHumans can adapt their reaching movements to new dynamic conditions. They acquire knowledge about the new dynamics and can use it not only when re-exposed to these conditions but also, in part, to generalize unpracticed reaching directions. While adaptation, retention, and generalization in a force field with new dynamics have been thoroughly investigated at a kinematic and kinetic task level, coordination of the underlying muscles remains elusive. Our results show how muscle synergies - functional groupings of co-activated muscles - underlie adaptation, retention, and generalization. In particular, we observed structural changes in the muscle synergies after adaptation compared to unperturbed reaching. These changes facilitate retention and spatial generalization. Thus, muscle synergies provide new insights into human motor adaptation.

show abstract

The effect of contextual interference on transfer in motor learning - a systematic review and meta-analysis

Czyż,

Wójcik,

Solarská

2024

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the initial study on contextual interference (CI) in 1966, research has explored how practice schedules impact retention and transfer. Apart from support from scientists and practitioners, the CI effect has also faced skepticism. Therefore, we aimed to review the existing literature on the CI effect and determine how it affects transfer in laboratory and applied settings and in different age groups. We found 1,287 articles in the following databases: Scopus, EBSCO, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, supplemented by the Google Scholar search engine and manual search. Of 300 fully screened articles, 42 studies were included in the systematic review and 34 in the quantitative analysis (meta-analysis). The overall CI effect on transfer in motor learning was medium (SMD = 0.55), favoring random practice. Random practice was favored in the laboratory and applied settings. However, in laboratory studies, the medium effect size was statistically significant (SMD = 0.75), whereas, in applied studies, the effect size was small and statistically non-significant (SMD = 0.34). Age group analysis turned out to be significant only in adults and older adults. In both, the random practice was favored. In adults, the effect was medium (SMD = 0.54), whereas in older adults was large (SMD = 1.28). In young participants, the effect size was negligible (SMD = 0.12).Systematic review registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier CRD42021228267.

show abstract

Random Practice Enhances Retention and Spatial Transfer in Force Field Adaptation

Cited by 3 publications

References 97 publications

Signatures of contextual interference in implicit sensorimotor adaptation

Signatures of contextual interference in implicit sensorimotor adaptation

Changes in Muscle Synergy Structure and Activation Patterns Underlie Force Field Adaptation, Retention, and Generalization

The effect of contextual interference on transfer in motor learning - a systematic review and meta-analysis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About