School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, 3158 Observatory Lodge, 1402 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2214, USA.
Exp Brain Res. 2010 Oct;206(4):359-70. doi: 10.1007/s00221-010-2409-x. Epub 2010 Sep 19.
Error augmentation during training has been proposed as a means to facilitate motor learning due to the human nervous system's reliance on performance errors to shape motor commands. We studied the effects of error augmentation on short-term learning of walking on a balance beam to determine whether it had beneficial effects on motor performance. Four groups of able-bodied subjects walked on a treadmill-mounted balance beam (2.5-cm wide) before and after 30 min of training. During training, two groups walked on the beam with a destabilization device that augmented error (Medium and High Destabilization groups). A third group walked on a narrower beam (1.27-cm) to augment error (Narrow). The fourth group practiced walking on the 2.5-cm balance beam (Wide). Subjects in the Wide group had significantly greater improvements after training than the error augmentation groups. The High Destabilization group had significantly less performance gains than the Narrow group in spite of similar failures per minute during training. In a follow-up experiment, a fifth group of subjects (Assisted) practiced with a device that greatly reduced catastrophic errors (i.e., stepping off the beam) but maintained similar pelvic movement variability. Performance gains were significantly greater in the Wide group than the Assisted group, indicating that catastrophic errors were important for short-term learning. We conclude that increasing errors during practice via destabilization and a narrower balance beam did not improve short-term learning of beam walking. In addition, the presence of qualitatively catastrophic errors seems to improve short-term learning of walking balance.
训练中的错误增强被提出作为一种促进运动学习的方法，因为人类神经系统依赖于性能错误来塑造运动指令。我们研究了在平衡木上行走的短期学习中错误增强的效果，以确定它对运动表现是否有有益的影响。四组健康受试者在跑步机上的平衡木（2.5 厘米宽）上进行了 30 分钟的训练前和训练后的行走。在训练过程中，两组人在带有错误增强装置的平衡木上行走（中高不稳定组）。第三组在更窄的平衡木（1.27 厘米）上行走以增加错误（窄组）。第四组在 2.5 厘米的平衡木上练习行走（宽组）。与错误增强组相比，宽组在训练后有显著更大的改善。尽管在训练过程中每分钟的失败次数相似，但高不稳定组的表现增益明显低于窄组。在后续实验中，第五组受试者（辅助组）使用一种大大减少灾难性错误（即，从平衡木上踏下）的装置进行练习，但保持类似的骨盆运动可变性。与辅助组相比，宽组的表现增益显著更大，表明灾难性错误对短期学习很重要。我们得出结论，通过不稳定和更窄的平衡木在练习中增加错误并没有改善平衡木行走的短期学习。此外，存在定性的灾难性错误似乎可以改善行走平衡的短期学习。
