Two different motor learning mechanisms contribute to learning reaching movements in a rotated visual environment

Sequential motor learning transfers from real to virtual environment

Background

Skill acquisition of motor learning between virtual environments (VEs) and real environments (REs) may be related. Although studies have previously examined the transfer of motor learning in VEs and REs through the same tasks, only a small number of studies have focused on studying the transfer of motor learning in VEs and REs by using different tasks. Thus, detailed effects of the transfer of motor skills between VEs and REs remain controversial. Here, we investigated the transfer of sequential motor learning between VEs and REs conditions.

Methods

Twenty-seven healthy volunteers performed two types of sequential motor learning tasks; a visually cued button-press task in RE (RE task) and a virtual reaching task in VE (VE task). Participants were randomly assigned to two groups in the task order; the first group was RE task followed by VE task and the second group was VE task followed by RE task. Subsequently, the response time in RE task and VE task was compared between the two groups respectively.

Results

The results showed that the sequential reaching task in VEs was facilitated after the sequential finger task in REs.

Conclusions

These findings suggested that the sequential reaching task in VEs can be facilitated by a motor learning task comprising the same sequential finger task in REs, even when a different task is applied.