Abstract
Previous studies have shown that motor sequencing skill can benefit from the reinstatement of the learning context—even with respect to features that are formally not required for appropriate task performance. The present study explored whether such context-dependence develops when sequence execution is fully memory-based—and thus no longer assisted by stimulus–response translations. Specifically, we aimed to distinguish between preparation and execution processes. Participants performed two keying sequences in a go/no-go version of the discrete sequence production task in which the context consisted of the color in which the target keys of a particular sequence were displayed. In a subsequent test phase, these colors either were the same as during practice, were reversed for the two sequences or were novel. Results showed that, irrespective of the amount of practice, performance across all key presses in the reversed context condition was impaired relative to performance in the same and novel contexts. This suggests that the online preparation and/or execution of single key presses of the sequence is context-dependent. We propose that a cognitive processor is responsible both for these online processes and for advance sequence preparation and that combined findings from the current and previous studies build toward the notion that the cognitive processor is highly sensitive to changes in context across the various roles that it performs.
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Notes
No-go trials are included to prevent participants from simply learning to start performing the sequence after the 1,500-ms preparation interval has ended. Instead, they have to await the (no-)go signal before deciding whether or not they should actually execute the sequence.
One may argue that under some conditions, motor buffer loading continues after sequence execution has started (on the basis of, for example, explicit knowledge). Indeed, such an assumption may be supported to some extent by the study of Verwey (2001) who showed that loading of the second motor chunk could be performed during execution of the first motor chunk. However, even then, one would not expect all key presses of the sequence to be affected, and thus expect to find an interaction with Key.
Short-term memory traces being built during actual stimulus presentation during the test trial, and long-term memory traces being built throughout the many repetitions of the sequence in the practice phase.
Improvement from the (last) practice block to the same context condition (i.e., no context changes between practice and test) was significant for the limited practice group (from 409 ms to 299 ms on average), F(1,7) = 6.98, p = .03, but not for the extended practice group (from 206 ms to 196 ms; p = .53). This indicates room for performance improvement for the limited practice group and near asymptote performance for the extended practice group.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Nadiya El-Sourani for her assistance in running the experiment. MR was supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) under contract number 400-07-097. EA was supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) under contract number 446-10-025 and by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO) under contract number 12C4712 N.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Ruitenberg, M.F.L., Abrahamse, E.L., De Kleine, E. et al. Context-dependent motor skill: perceptual processing in memory-based sequence production. Exp Brain Res 222, 31–40 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3193-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3193-6