Elion Orit, Sela Itamar, Bahat Yotam, Siev-Ner Itzhak, Weiss Patrice L Tamar, Karni Avi
The Center for Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation Hospital, C. Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Department of Human Biology and Sagol Department of Neurobiology & Ethology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel.
The Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Israel.
Brain Res. 2015 Jun 3;1609:54-62. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.03.020. Epub 2015 Mar 19.
Does the learning of a balance and stability skill exhibit time-course phases and transfer limitations characteristic of the acquisition and consolidation of voluntary movement sequences? Here we followed the performance of young adults trained in maintaining balance while standing on a moving platform synchronized with a virtual reality road travel scene. The training protocol included eight 3 min long iterations of the road scene. Center of Pressure (CoP) displacements were analyzed for each task iteration within the training session, as well as during tests at 24h, 4 weeks and 12 weeks post-training to test for consolidation phase ("offline") gains and assess retention. In addition, CoP displacements in reaction to external perturbations were assessed before and after the training session and in the 3 subsequent post-training assessments (stability tests). There were significant reductions in CoP displacements as experience accumulated within session, with performance stabilizing by the end of the session. However, CoP displacements were further reduced at 24h post-training (delayed "offline" gains) and these gains were robustly retained. There was no transfer of the practice-related gains to performance in the stability tests. The time-course of learning the balance maintenance task, as well as the limitation on generalizing the gains to untrained conditions, are in line with the results of studies of manual movement skill learning. The current results support the conjecture that a similar repertoire of basic neuronal mechanisms of plasticity may underlay skill (procedural, "how to" knowledge) acquisition and skill memory consolidation in voluntary and balance maintenance tasks.
平衡与稳定技能的学习是否展现出与自主运动序列习得和巩固相关的时程阶段及迁移限制特征？在此，我们追踪了接受训练的年轻人在与虚拟现实道路行驶场景同步的移动平台上站立时保持平衡的表现。训练方案包括对道路场景进行八次时长为3分钟的重复。在训练期间的每个任务重复过程中，以及在训练后24小时、4周和12周的测试中，对压力中心（CoP）位移进行分析，以测试巩固阶段（“离线”）的进步并评估记忆保持情况。此外，在训练前和训练后以及随后的3次训练后评估（稳定性测试）中，评估对外部扰动做出反应时的CoP位移。随着训练期间经验的积累，CoP位移显著减小，到训练结束时表现趋于稳定。然而，训练后24小时CoP位移进一步减小（延迟的“离线”进步），且这些进步得到了稳固保持。与练习相关的进步并未迁移至稳定性测试中的表现。平衡维持任务学习的时程，以及将进步推广到未训练条件的限制，与手动运动技能学习研究的结果一致。当前结果支持这样的推测，即在自主任务和平衡维持任务中，类似的可塑性基本神经元机制可能是技能（程序性的“如何做”知识）习得和技能记忆巩固的基础。
