Complex Motor Skill Learning Research Articles

MAP2 and synaptophysin protein expression following motor learning suggests dynamic regulation and distinct alterations coinciding with synaptogenesis

Learning a new motor skill can induce neuronal plasticity in rats. Within motor cortex, learning-induced plasticity includes dendritic reorganization, synaptogenesis, and changes in synapse morphology. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that learning requires protein synthesis. It is likely that some of the proteins synthesized during learning are involved in, or the result of, learning-induced structural plasticity. We predicted the expression of proteins involved in neural plasticity would be altered in a learning dependent fashion. Long–Evans rats were trained on a series of motor tasks that varied in complexity, so that the effects of activity could be teased apart from the effects of learning. The motor cortices were examined for MAP2 and synaptophysin protein using Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Western blotting revealed that expression of MAP2 was not detectably influenced by learning, whereas synaptophysin expression increased on day 1, 3, and 5 of complex motor skill learning. Expression of MAP2 does not seem to indicate difficulty of task or duration of training time, whereas increases in synaptophysin expression, which appear diffusely across the cortex, seem to be correlated with the first 5 days of motor skill learning. Similar findings with GAP-43 suggest the change in synaptophysin may coincide with synapse formation. Immunohistochemistry did not reveal any localized changes in protein expression. These data indicate a difference in learning-induced expression in the mammalian brain compared to reports in the literature, which have often focused on stimulation to induce alterations in protein expression.

Principles derived from the study of simple skills do not generalize to complex skill learning

We review research related to the learning of complex motor skills with respect to principles developed on the basis of simple skill learning. Although some factors seem to have opposite effects on the learning of simple and of complex skills, other factors appear to be relevant mainly for the learning of more complex skills. We interpret these apparently contradictory findings as suggesting that situations with low processing demands benefit from practice conditions that increase the load and challenge the performer, whereas practice conditions that result in extremely high load should benefit from conditions that reduce the load to more manageable levels. The findings reviewed here call into question the generalizability of results from studies using simple laboratory tasks to the learning of complex motor skills. They also demonstrate the need to use more complex skills in motor-learning research in order to gain further insights into the learning process.

Enhancing the Learning of Sport Skills Through External-Focus Feedback

The authors examined how the effectiveness of feedback for the learning of complex motor skills is affected by the focus of attention it induces. The feedback referred specifically either to body movements (internal focus) or to movement effects (external focus). In Experiment 1, groups of novices and advanced volleyball players (N = 48) practiced “tennis” serves under internal-focus or external-focus feedback conditions in a 2 (expertise) × 2 (feedback type) design. Type of feedback did not differentially affect movement quality, but external-focus feedback resulted in greater accuracy of the serves than internal-focus feedback during both practice and retention, independent of the level of expertise. In Experiment 2, the effects of relative feedback frequency as a function of attentional focus were examined. A 2 (feedback frequency: 100% vs. 33%) × 2 (feedback type) design was used. Experienced soccer players (N = 52) were required to shoot lofted passes at a target. External-focus feedback resulted in greater accuracy than internal-focus feedback did. In addition, reduced feedback frequency was beneficial under internal-focus feedback conditions, whereas 100% and 33% feedback were equally effective under external-focus conditions. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of effect-related, as opposed to movement-related, feedback and also suggest that there is a need to revise current views regarding the role of feedback for motor learning.

The automaticity of complex motor skill learning as a function of attentional focus.

The present experiment was designed to test the predictions of the constrained-action hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that when performers utilize an internal focus of attention (focus on their movements) they may actually constrain or interfere with automatic control processes that would normally regulate the movement, whereas an external focus of attention (focus on the movement effect) allows the motor system to more naturally self-organize. To test this hypothesis, a dynamic balance task (stabilometer) was used with participants instructed to adopt either an internal or external focus of attention. Consistent with earlier experiments, the external focus group produced generally smaller balance errors than did the internal focus group and responded at a higher frequency indicating higher confluence between voluntary and reflexive mechanisms. In addition, probe reaction times (RTs) were taken as a measure of the attention demands required under the two attentional focus conditions. Consistent with the hypothesis, the external focus participants demonstrated lower probe RTs than did the internal focus participants, indicating a higher degree of automaticity and less conscious interference in the control processes associated with the balance task.

The automaticity of complex motor skill learning as a function of attentional focus

The present experiment was designed to test the predictions of the constrained-action hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that when performers utilize an internal focus of attention (focus on their movements) they may actually constrain or interfere with automatic control processes that would normally regulate the movement, whereas an external focus of attention (focus on the movement effect) allows the motor system to more naturally self-organize. To test this hypothesis, a dynamic balance task (stabilometer) was used with participants instructed to adopt either an internal or external focus of attention. Consistent with earlier experiments, the external focus group produced generally smaller balance errors than did the internal focus group and responded at a higher frequency indicating higher confluence between voluntary and reflexive mechanisms. In addition, probe reaction times (RTs) were taken as a measure of the attention demands required under the two attentional focus conditions. Consistent with the hypothesis, the external focus participants demonstrated lower probe RTs than did the internal focus participants, indicating a higher degree of automaticity and less conscious interference in the control processes associated with the balance task.

Physical Assistance Devices in Complex Motor Skill Learning: Benefits of a Self-Controlled Practice Schedule

This study examines the effects of a self-controlled use of physical assistance devices on learning a complex motor skill (i.e., producing slalom-type movements on a ski simulator). Physical assistance was provided by ski poles. One group of learners (self-control) was provided with the poles whenever they requested them, whereas another (yoked) group had no influence on the pole/no-pole schedule. While there were no group differences during the practice phase (Days 1 and 2), clear group differences emerged in the retention test without poles (Day 3). The self-control group produced significantly larger amplitudes than the yoked group. These results extend previous findings by showing learning advantages of the self-controlled use of physical assistance devices in complex motor skill learning.

Benefits of Blocked Over Serial Feedback on Complex Motor Skill Learning

The effects of blocked versus serial feedback (FB) on the learning of a complex motor skill—the production of slalom type movements on a ski-simulator—were examined. FB was given about force onset, which is considered to be a measure of movement efficiency; relatively late force onsets characterize expert performance. One group of participants (blocked FB; n = 10) received FB about 1 foot per day; for example, for the right foot on Days 1 and 3 and for the left foot on Days 2 and 4. For another group (serial FB; n = 10), the foot about which FB was received was switched on consecutive trials on each of 4 days of practice. Learning was assessed on no-FB trials at the beginning of Days 2, 3, and 4, and on Day 5. Even though there were no differences between groups in force onset, the blocked FB group produced significantly larger movement amplitudes and higher movement frequencies than the serial FB group on the retention test on Day 5. Thus, contrary to the learning of more simple skills (e.g., T. D. fee & H. Carnahan, 1990), constantly changing the movement component that FB is provided about did not seem to be beneficial for the learning of more complex skills. The findings add to the increasing evidence showing that practice variables that have been shown to enhance the learning of simple skills can actually be detrimental to the learning of complex skills.

Therapeutic effects of complex motor training on motor performance deficits induced by neonatal binge-like alcohol exposure in rats: I. Behavioral results

The effects of complex motor task learning on subsequent motor performance of adult rats exposed to alcohol on postnatal days 4 through 9 were studied. Male and female Long–Evans rats were assigned to one of three treatments: (1) alcohol exposure (AE) via artificial rearing to 4.5.g kg −1 day −1 of ethanol in a binge-like manner (two consecutive feedings), (2) gastrostomy control (GC) fed isocaloric milk formula via artificial rearing, and (3) suckling control (SC), where pups remained with lactating dams. After completion of the treatments, the pups were fostered back to lactating dams, and after weaning they were raised in standard cages (two–three animals per cage) until they were 6 months old. Rats from each of the postnatal treatments then spent 20 days in one of three conditions: (1) inactive condition (IC), (2) motor control condition (MC) (running on a flat oval track), or (3) rehabilitation condition (RC) (learning to traverse a set of 10 elevated obstacles). After that all the animals were tested on three tasks, sensitive to balance and coordination deficits (parallel bars, rope climbing and traversing a rotating rod). On parallel bars, both male and female rats demonstrated the same pattern of outcomes: AE-IC rats made significantly more mistakes (slips and falls) than IC rats from both control groups. After 20 days of training in the RC condition, there were no differences between AE and both SC and GC animals in their ability to perform on the parallel bars test. On rope climbing, female animals showed a similar pattern of abilities: AE-IC rats were the worst group; exercising did not significantly improve the AE rats' ability to climb, whereas the RC groups (SC, GC and AE) all performed near asymptote and there were no significant differences among three neonatal treatment groups. There was a substantial effect of the male rats' heavier body weight on climbing ability, and this may have prevented the deficits in AE rats behavior from being detected. Nevertheless, male animals from all three postnatal treatments (SC, GC and AE) were significantly better on this task after RC. Female and male rats from all three postnatal groups demonstrated significantly better performance on the rotarod task after 20 days of `rehabilitation'. These results suggest that complex motor skill learning improves some of the motor performance deficits produced by postnatal exposure to alcohol and can potentially serve as a model for rehabilitative intervention.

Frequent Feedback Enhances Complex Motor Skill Learning

Feedback frequency effects on the learning of a complex motor skill, the production of slalom-type movements on a ski-simulator, were examined. In Experiment 1, a movement feature that characterizes expert performance was identified. Participants (N = 8) practiced the task for 6 days. Significant changes across practice were found for movement amplitude and relative force onset. Relative force onset is considered a measure of movement efficiency; relatively late force onsets characterize expert performance. In Experiment 2, different groups of participants (N = 27) were given concurrent feedback about force onset on either 100% or 50% of the practice trials; a control group was given no feedback. The following hypothesis was tested: Contrary to previous findings concerning relatively simple tasks, for the learning of a complex task such as the one used here, a high relative feedback frequency (100%) is more beneficial for learning than a reduced feedback frequency (50%). Participants practiced the task on 2 consecutive days and performed a retention test without feedback on Day 3. The 100% feedback group demonstrated later relative force onsets than the control group in retention; the 50% feedback group showed intermediate performance. The results provide support for the notion that high feedback frequencies are beneficial for the learning of complex motor skills, at least until a certain level of expertise is achieved. That finding suggests that there may be an interaction between task difficulty and feedback frequency similar to the interaction found in the summary-KR literature.

Instructions for Motor Learning: Differential Effects of Internal Versus External Focus of Attention

The effects of different types of instructions on complex motor skill learning were examined. The instructions were related either to the participant's own body movements (internal focus) or to the effects of those movements on the apparatus (external focus). The hypothesis tested was that external-focus instructions would be more beneficial for learning than internal-focus instructions. In Experiment 1, the participants (N = 33) performed slalom-type movements on a ski-simulator. The instructions referred to the way in which force should be exerted on the platform that the participant was standing on. The instructions given 1 group of participants referred to the performers' feet (internal focus), whereas the instructions given another group referred to the wheels of the platform, which were located directly under the feet (external focus). The control group was given no focus instructions. All participants practiced the task on 2 consecutive days and performed a retention test on Day 3. Compared with the effects of internal-focus instructions and no instructions, the external-focus instructions enhanced learning. Internal-focus instruction was not more effective than no instructions. In Experiment 2, an attempt was made to replicate the differential effects of external-versus internal-focus instructions with a different task (balancing on a stabilometer). Consistent with Experiment 1, instructing learners (N = 16) to focus on 2 markers on the platform of the stabilometer (external focus) led to more effective learning than instructing them to focus on their feet (internal focus), as measured by a retention test after 2 days of practice. Practical and theoretical implications of those results are discussed.

Selective Synaptic Plasticity within the Cerebellar Cortex Following Complex Motor Skill Learning

Complex motor skill learning, but not mere motor activity, leads to an increase in synapse number within the cerebellar cortex. The present experiment used quantitative electron microscopy to determine which synapse types were altered in number. Adult female rats were allocated to either an acrobatic condition (AC), a voluntary exercise condition (VX), or an inactive condition (IC). AC animals were trained to traverse an elevated obstacle course requiring substantial motor coordination to complete. VX animals were housed with unlimited access to running wheels and IC animals received no motor training but were handled briefly each day. Results showed the AC animals to have significantly more parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapses than both the VX and IC animals. No other synapse type was significantly altered. Thus, the learning-dependent increase in synapse number observed within the cerebellar cortex is accomplished primarily through the addition of parallel fiber synapses.

Complex motor skill learning: Behavioral and morphological compensation for the effects of early postnatal binge-drinking

Complex motor skill learning: Behavioral and morphological compensation for the effects of early postnatal binge-drinking

Structural Stability within the Lateral Cerebellar Nucleus of the Rat Following Complex Motor Learning

Complex motor learning, but not mere motor activity, has been previously shown to induce structural modifications within the cerebellar cortex. The present experiment examined whether similar changes occur within one of the primary output targets of the region of the cerebellar cortex in which these structural changes were described, the lateral cerebellar nucleus (LCN; dentate nucleus). Adult female rats were randomly allocated to one of three training conditions. Acrobatic condition (AC) rats were trained to complete a complex motor learning task consisting of a series of elevated obstacles while motor control (MC) condition animals were forced to traverse a flat obstacle-free runway equal in length to the AC task. Inactive condition (IC) animals received no motor training. Unbiased stereological techniques and electron microscopy were used to obtain estimates of synapse number and postsynaptic density (PSD) length within the LCN. Results showed that neither synapse number nor PSD length was significantly altered as a function of training condition. These results indicate that complex motor skill learning is associated with structural plasticity within the cerebellar cortex and with structural stability within the lateral cerebellar nucleus.

Tissue plasminogen activator induction in Purkinje neurons after cerebellar motor learning.

The cerebellar cortex is implicated in the learning of complex motor skills. This learning may require synaptic remodeling of Purkinje cell inputs. An extracellular serine protease, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), is involved in remodeling various nonneural tissues and is associated with developing and regenerating neurons. In situ hybridization showed that expression of tPA messenger RNA was increased in the Purkinje neurons of rats within an hour of their being trained for a complex motor task. Antibody to tPA also showed the induction of tPA protein associated with cerebellar Purkinje cells. Thus, the induction of tPA during motor learning may play a role in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity.

Heart rate regulation as skill learning: strength-endurance versus cardiac reaction time.

ABSTRACTFleishman's (1966) model of complex motor skill learning is applied to viscera) self‐regulation. Five different underlying abilities are illustrated: strength, endurance, steadiness, control precision, and reaction time. In the experiment, 16 subjects were pre and post tested with instructions alone for degree of cardiac Strength and Endurance control (SE) (maximally increase or decrease heart rate and sustain it for a minute) and degree of cardiac Reaction Time control (RT) (produce a small, 3 sec burst of increased or decreased heart rate as quickly as possible to the onset of a trial). All subjects received heart rate biofeedback during training, but half practiced SE while the other practiced RT. It was predicted that cardiac learning would be specific to the skill practiced during biofeedback, with little transfer to the other task. The data indicated that SE training led to improved SE control (30%) accompanied by a slight decrement in RT control (‐5%). Conversely, RT training led to markedly improved RT control (120%)H accompanied by a small decrement in SE control(18%). The value of conceptualizing complex visceral skills as reflecting learned patterns of underlying neurophysiological abilities is illustrated.