Robust retention of individual sensorimotor skill after self-guided practice

Abstract

Long-term retention of a motor skill has received relatively little systematic study, even though lasting neuroplasticity is the holy grail of any clinical intervention. This study examined the acquisition and retention of a novel bimanual polyrhythmic skill, practiced with sparse explicit feedback mimicking real-life scenarios. Self-paced and metronome-paced practice conditions were compared in their effect on long-term retention. Two groups of subjects first underwent extensive practice of 20 practice sessions over 2 mo, then followed up with three retention sessions after 3 mo. Results showed that subjects developed robust spatiotemporal patterns, despite the lack of reward and little quantitative error feedback about their performance ( Hypothesis 1). These movement patterns were reproduced after a 3-mo interval, frequently even in the first trial, with no intermediate practice ( Hypothesis 2). Self-paced training of movement patterns led to slightly less variability in the retention test ( Hypothesis 3). These results document the specificity and stability of kinematic patterns and their underlying neuroplastic changes and underscore the effectiveness of self-guided practice. The findings are discussed in the context of current neuroimaging results and their clinical implications.