Effects of Online Sensory Feedback Restriction during the Training on Immediate and Long-Term Learning on a Finger Opposition Tapping Task

Abstract

Background: Online sensory feedback has been considered fundamental for motor learning. The sensory inputs experienced in previous attempts can be processed and compared to allow the online refinement of subsequent attempts, resulting on performance improvement. However, numerous studies have provided direct and indirect evidence that learning new motor abilities is possible, regardless of online sensory feedback. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of online sensory feedback on learning a new motor skill. Methods: We investigated the immediate and the 28-day delayed performance of a single-session training (4 blocks of 600 movements) performed under 4 different conditions of online sensory restriction: (1) no restriction; (2) visual input restriction; (3) visual and tactile input restriction and (4) total input restriction (mental practice), in 40 young healthy participants (mean age 26.6±3.6 years). The task consisted of performing finger opposition sequences using the dominant hand (right). Results: The training condition did not influence immediate or delayed performance in terms of accuracy or speed. Conclusion: As all conditions resulted in a similar amount of performance improvement, the level of online feedback available during training did not affect the learning process. Probably, according to the sensory inputs availability on the training conditions, equally efficient strategies are developed to improve performance in terms of speed and accuracy.