TY - JOUR
T1 - Learning redundant motor tasks with and without overlapping dimensions
T2 - Facilitation and interference effects
AU - Ranganathan, Rajiv
AU - Wieser, Jon
AU - Mosier, Kristine M.
AU - Mussa-Ivaldi, Ferdinando A.
AU - Scheidt, Robert A.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Prior learning of a motor skill creates motor memories that can facilitate or interfere with learning of new, but related, motor skills. One hypothesis of motor learning posits that for a sensorimotor task with redundant degrees of freedom, the nervous system learns the geometric structure of the task and improves performance by selectively operating within that task space. We tested this hypothesis by examining if transfer of learning between two tasks depends on shared dimensionality between their respective task spaces. Human participants wore a data glove and learned to manipulate a computer cursor by moving their fingers. Separate groups of participants learned two tasks: a prior task that was unique to each group and a criterion task that was common to all groups. We manipulated the mapping between finger motions and cursor positions in the prior task to define task spaces that either shared or did not share the task space dimensions (x-y axes) of the criterion task.Wefound that if the prior task shared task dimensions with the criterion task, there was an initial facilitation in criterion task performance. However, if the prior task did not share task dimensions with the criterion task, there was prolonged interference in learning the criterion task due to participants finding inefficient task solutions. These results show that the nervous system learns the task space through practice, and that the degree of shared task space dimensionality influences the extent to which prior experience transfers to subsequent learning of related motor skills.
AB - Prior learning of a motor skill creates motor memories that can facilitate or interfere with learning of new, but related, motor skills. One hypothesis of motor learning posits that for a sensorimotor task with redundant degrees of freedom, the nervous system learns the geometric structure of the task and improves performance by selectively operating within that task space. We tested this hypothesis by examining if transfer of learning between two tasks depends on shared dimensionality between their respective task spaces. Human participants wore a data glove and learned to manipulate a computer cursor by moving their fingers. Separate groups of participants learned two tasks: a prior task that was unique to each group and a criterion task that was common to all groups. We manipulated the mapping between finger motions and cursor positions in the prior task to define task spaces that either shared or did not share the task space dimensions (x-y axes) of the criterion task.Wefound that if the prior task shared task dimensions with the criterion task, there was an initial facilitation in criterion task performance. However, if the prior task did not share task dimensions with the criterion task, there was prolonged interference in learning the criterion task due to participants finding inefficient task solutions. These results show that the nervous system learns the task space through practice, and that the degree of shared task space dimensionality influences the extent to which prior experience transfers to subsequent learning of related motor skills.
KW - Body-machine interface
KW - Coordination
KW - Finger
KW - Structure learning
KW - Synergies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84902139381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84902139381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4455-13.2014
DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4455-13.2014
M3 - Article
C2 - 24920632
AN - SCOPUS:84902139381
SN - 0270-6474
VL - 34
SP - 8289
EP - 8299
JO - Journal of Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Neuroscience
IS - 24
ER -