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Mill RD, Cole MW. Neural representation dynamics reveal computational principles of cognitive task learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.27.546751. [PMID: 37425922 PMCID: PMC10327096 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.27.546751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
During cognitive task learning, neural representations must be rapidly constructed for novel task performance, then optimized for robust practiced task performance. How the geometry of neural representations changes to enable this transition from novel to practiced performance remains unknown. We hypothesized that practice involves a shift from compositional representations (task-general activity patterns that can be flexibly reused across tasks) to conjunctive representations (task-specific activity patterns specialized for the current task). Functional MRI during learning of multiple complex tasks substantiated this dynamic shift from compositional to conjunctive representations, which was associated with reduced cross-task interference (via pattern separation) and behavioral improvement. Further, we found that conjunctions originated in subcortex (hippocampus and cerebellum) and slowly spread to cortex, extending multiple memory systems theories to encompass task representation learning. The formation of conjunctive representations hence serves as a computational signature of learning, reflecting cortical-subcortical dynamics that optimize task representations in the human brain.
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Walk AM, Cannavale CN, Keye SA, Rosok L, Edwards C, Khan N. Weight status impacts children's incidental statistical learning. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 187:34-42. [PMID: 36796729 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
The expanding literature investigating the cognitive effects of childhood weight status has not included examinations of incidental statistical learning, the process by which children unintentionally acquire knowledge about patterns in their environments, despite evidence that it underlies many higher-level information processing capabilities. In the present study, we measured event-related potentials (ERPs) while school-aged participants completed a variation of an oddball task in which stimuli predicted the appearance of a target. Children were asked to respond to the target but were not given any information about the existence of predictive dependencies. We found that children with a healthy weight status had larger P3 amplitudes in response to the predictors that were most meaningful in completing the task, a finding that may suggest optimized learning mechanisms influenced by weight status. These findings offer an important first step to understanding how healthy lifestyle factors may influence incidental statistical learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne M Walk
- Eastern Illinois University, Department of Psychology, United States of America
| | - Corinne N Cannavale
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Kinesiology & Community Health, United States of America
| | - Shelby A Keye
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Kinesiology & Community Health, United States of America
| | - Laura Rosok
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Neuroscience Program, United States of America
| | - Caitlyn Edwards
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Division of Nutritional Sciences, United States of America
| | - Naiman Khan
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Kinesiology & Community Health, United States of America; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Division of Nutritional Sciences, United States of America; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Neuroscience Program, United States of America; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Beckman Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, United States of America.
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Farkas BC, Tóth-Fáber E, Janacsek K, Nemeth D. A Process-Oriented View of Procedural Memory Can Help Better Understand Tourette's Syndrome. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:683885. [PMID: 34955784 PMCID: PMC8707288 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.683885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by repetitive movements and vocalizations, also known as tics. The phenomenology of tics and the underlying neurobiology of the disorder have suggested that the altered functioning of the procedural memory system might contribute to its etiology. However, contrary to the robust findings of impaired procedural memory in neurodevelopmental disorders of language, results from TS have been somewhat mixed. We review the previous studies in the field and note that they have reported normal, impaired, and even enhanced procedural performance. These mixed findings may be at least partially be explained by the diversity of the samples in both age and tic severity, the vast array of tasks used, the low sample sizes, and the possible confounding effects of other cognitive functions, such as executive functions, working memory or attention. However, we propose that another often overlooked factor could also contribute to the mixed findings, namely the multiprocess nature of the procedural system itself. We propose that a process-oriented view of procedural memory functions could serve as a theoretical framework to help integrate these varied findings. We discuss evidence suggesting heterogeneity in the neural regions and their functional contributions to procedural memory. Our process-oriented framework can help to deepen our understanding of the complex profile of procedural functioning in TS and atypical development in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bence Cs. Farkas
- LNC, Département d’Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, INSERM, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Eszter Tóth-Fáber
- Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Brain, Memory and Language Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Karolina Janacsek
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Centre for Thinking and Learning, Institute for Lifecourse Development, School of Human Sciences, Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dezso Nemeth
- Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Brain, Memory and Language Research Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
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Verwey WB, Wright DL, Immink MA. A multi-representation approach to the contextual interference effect: effects of sequence length and practice. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:1310-1331. [PMID: 34136942 PMCID: PMC9090686 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01543-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated the long-term benefit of Random-Practice (RP) over Blocked-Practice (BP) within the contextual interference (CI) effect for motor learning. We addressed the extent to which motor sequence length and practice amount factors moderate the CI effect given that previous reports, often in applied research, have reported no long-term advantage from RP. Based on predictions arising from the Cognitive framework of Sequential Motor Behavior (C-SMB) and using the Discrete Sequence Production (DSP) task, two experiments were conducted to compare limited and extended practice amounts of 4- and 7-key sequences under RP and BP schedules. Twenty-four-hour delayed retention performance confirmed the C-SMB prediction that the CI-effect occurs only with short sequences that receive little practice. The benefit of RP with limited practice was associated with overnight motor memory consolidation. Further testing with single-stimulus as well as novel and unstructured (i.e., random) sequences indicated that limited practice under RP schedules enhances both reaction and chunking modes of sequence execution with the latter mode benefitting from the development of implicit and explicit forms of sequence representation. In the case of 7-key sequences, extended practice with RP and BP schedules provided for equivalent development of sequence representations. Higher explicit awareness of sequence structures was associated with faster completion of practiced but also of novel and unstructured sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willem B Verwey
- Department of Learning, Data-Analytics and Technology Cognition, Data and Education Section, Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands. .,Department of Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
| | - David L Wright
- Department of Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Maarten A Immink
- Sport, Health, Activity, Performance and Exercise Research Centre Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
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Bianco R, Gold BP, Johnson AP, Penhune VB. Music predictability and liking enhance pupil dilation and promote motor learning in non-musicians. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17060. [PMID: 31745159 PMCID: PMC6863863 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53510-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans can anticipate music and derive pleasure from it. Expectations facilitate the learning of movements associated with anticipated events, and they are also linked with reward, which may further facilitate learning of the anticipated rewarding events. The present study investigates the synergistic effects of predictability and hedonic responses to music on arousal and motor-learning in a naïve population. Novel melodies were manipulated in their overall predictability (predictable/unpredictable) as objectively defined by a model of music expectation, and ranked as high/medium/low liked based on participants' self-reports collected during an initial listening session. During this session, we also recorded ocular pupil size as an implicit measure of listeners' arousal. During the following motor task, participants learned to play target notes of the melodies on a keyboard (notes were of similar motor and musical complexity across melodies). Pupil dilation was greater for liked melodies, particularly when predictable. Motor performance was facilitated in predictable rather than unpredictable melodies, but liked melodies were learned even in the unpredictable condition. Low-liked melodies also showed learning but mostly in participants with higher scores of task perceived competence. Taken together, these results highlight the effects of stimuli predictability on learning, which can be however overshadowed by the effects of stimulus liking or task-related intrinsic motivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Bianco
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Ear Institute, University College London, London, UK.
| | - B P Gold
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - A P Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - V B Penhune
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), Montreal, QC, Canada
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Ariani G, Diedrichsen J. Sequence learning is driven by improvements in motor planning. J Neurophysiol 2019; 121:2088-2100. [PMID: 30969809 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00041.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to perform complex sequences of movements quickly and accurately is critical for many motor skills. Although training improves performance in a large variety of motor sequence tasks, the precise mechanisms behind such improvements are poorly understood. Here we investigated the contribution of single-action selection, sequence preplanning, online planning, and motor execution to performance in a discrete sequence production task. Five visually presented numbers cued a sequence of five finger presses, which had to be executed as quickly and accurately as possible. To study how sequence planning influenced sequence production, we manipulated the amount of time that participants were given to prepare each sequence by using a forced-response paradigm. Over 4 days, participants were trained on 10 sequences and tested on 80 novel sequences. Our results revealed that participants became faster in selecting individual finger presses. They also preplanned three or four sequence items into the future, and the speed of preplanning improved for trained, but not for untrained, sequences. Because preplanning capacity remained limited, the remaining sequence elements had to be planned online during sequence execution, a process that also improved with sequence-specific training. Overall, our results support the view that motor sequence learning effects are best characterized by improvements in planning processes that occur both before and concurrently with motor execution. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Complex skills often require the production of sequential movements. Although practice improves performance, it remains unclear how these improvements are achieved. Our findings show that learning effects in a sequence production task can be attributed to an enhanced ability to plan upcoming movements. These results shed new light on planning processes in the context of movement sequences and have important implications for our understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie skill acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Ariani
- The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Computer Science, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada
| | - Jörn Diedrichsen
- The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Computer Science, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada
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