Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation

Traditional views of sensorimotor adaptation (i.e., adaptation of movements to perturbed sensory feedback) emphasize the role of automatic, implicit correction of sensory prediction errors. However, latent memories formed during sensorimotor adaptation, manifest as improved relearning (e.g., savings...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Leow, L.A., Marinovic, Welber, de Rugy, A., Carroll, T.J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: SOC NEUROSCIENCE 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102001
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90471
_version_ 1848765383031390208
author Leow, L.A.
Marinovic, Welber
de Rugy, A.
Carroll, T.J.
author_facet Leow, L.A.
Marinovic, Welber
de Rugy, A.
Carroll, T.J.
author_sort Leow, L.A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Traditional views of sensorimotor adaptation (i.e., adaptation of movements to perturbed sensory feedback) emphasize the role of automatic, implicit correction of sensory prediction errors. However, latent memories formed during sensorimotor adaptation, manifest as improved relearning (e.g., savings), have recently been attributed to strategic corrections of task errors (failures to achieve task goals). To dissociate contributions of task errors and sensory prediction errors to latent sensorimotor memories, we perturbed target locations to remove or enforce task errors during learning and/or test, with male/female human participants. Adaptation improved after learning in all conditions where participants were permitted to correct task errors, and did not improve whenever we prevented correction of task errors. Thus, previous correction of task errors was both necessary and sufficient to improve adaptation. In contrast, a history of sensory prediction errors was neither sufficient nor obligatory for improved adaptation. Limiting movement preparation time showed that the latent memories driven by learning to correct task errors take at least two forms: a time-consuming but flexible component, and a rapidly expressible, inflexible component. The results provide strong support for the idea that movement corrections driven by a failure to successfully achieve movement goals underpin motor memories that manifest as savings. Such persistent memories are not exclusively mediated by time-consuming strategic processes but also comprise a rapidly expressible but inflexible component. The distinct characteristics of these putative processes suggest dissociable underlying mechanisms, and imply that identification of the neural basis for adaptation and savings will require methods that allow such dissociations.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T11:34:22Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-90471
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:34:22Z
publishDate 2020
publisher SOC NEUROSCIENCE
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-904712023-03-16T06:04:32Z Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation Leow, L.A. Marinovic, Welber de Rugy, A. Carroll, T.J. Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Neurosciences Neurosciences & Neurology motor learning motor memories savings sensorimotor adaptation visuomotor rotation LONG-TERM-MEMORY PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX LEARNED HELPLESSNESS VISUOMOTOR ROTATION EXPLICIT STRATEGY BASAL GANGLIA SAVINGS MEDIATION HABITS MODEL Traditional views of sensorimotor adaptation (i.e., adaptation of movements to perturbed sensory feedback) emphasize the role of automatic, implicit correction of sensory prediction errors. However, latent memories formed during sensorimotor adaptation, manifest as improved relearning (e.g., savings), have recently been attributed to strategic corrections of task errors (failures to achieve task goals). To dissociate contributions of task errors and sensory prediction errors to latent sensorimotor memories, we perturbed target locations to remove or enforce task errors during learning and/or test, with male/female human participants. Adaptation improved after learning in all conditions where participants were permitted to correct task errors, and did not improve whenever we prevented correction of task errors. Thus, previous correction of task errors was both necessary and sufficient to improve adaptation. In contrast, a history of sensory prediction errors was neither sufficient nor obligatory for improved adaptation. Limiting movement preparation time showed that the latent memories driven by learning to correct task errors take at least two forms: a time-consuming but flexible component, and a rapidly expressible, inflexible component. The results provide strong support for the idea that movement corrections driven by a failure to successfully achieve movement goals underpin motor memories that manifest as savings. Such persistent memories are not exclusively mediated by time-consuming strategic processes but also comprise a rapidly expressible but inflexible component. The distinct characteristics of these putative processes suggest dissociable underlying mechanisms, and imply that identification of the neural basis for adaptation and savings will require methods that allow such dissociations. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90471 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1506-19.2020 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102001 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180103081 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ SOC NEUROSCIENCE fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Neurosciences
Neurosciences & Neurology
motor learning
motor memories
savings
sensorimotor adaptation
visuomotor rotation
LONG-TERM-MEMORY
PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
VISUOMOTOR ROTATION
EXPLICIT STRATEGY
BASAL GANGLIA
SAVINGS
MEDIATION
HABITS
MODEL
Leow, L.A.
Marinovic, Welber
de Rugy, A.
Carroll, T.J.
Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation
title Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation
title_full Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation
title_fullStr Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation
title_full_unstemmed Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation
title_short Task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation
title_sort task errors drive memories that improve sensorimotor adaptation
topic Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Neurosciences
Neurosciences & Neurology
motor learning
motor memories
savings
sensorimotor adaptation
visuomotor rotation
LONG-TERM-MEMORY
PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
VISUOMOTOR ROTATION
EXPLICIT STRATEGY
BASAL GANGLIA
SAVINGS
MEDIATION
HABITS
MODEL
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102001
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102001
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90471