Electroencephalographic evidence for a reinforcement learning advantage during motor skill acquisition

Abstract

The feedback that we receive shapes how we learn. Previous research has demonstrated that quantitative feedback results in better performance than qualitative feedback. However, the data supporting a quantitative feedback advantage are not conclusive and further little work has been done to examine the mechanistic neural differences that underlie the relative benefits of quantitative and qualitative feedback. To address these issues, participants learned a simple motor task in quantitative and qualitative feedback conditions while electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded. We found that participants were more accurate and had a larger neural response – the feedback related negativity - when qualitative feedback was provided. Our data suggest that qualitative feedback is more advantageous than quantitative feedback during the early stages of skill acquisition. Additionally, our findings support previous work suggesting that a reinforcement learning system within the human medial-frontal cortex plays a key role in motor skill acquisition.