Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium.
Cognition and Systems Neuroscience Division, Institute of Neurosciences, UC Louvain, Belgium.
J Neurophysiol. 2020 Apr 1;123(4):1460-1471. doi: 10.1152/jn.00741.2019. Epub 2020 Feb 12.
Developing approaches to improve motor skill learning is of considerable interest across multiple disciplines. Previous research has typically shown that repeating the same action on consecutive trials enhances short-term performance but has detrimental effects on longer term skill acquisition. However, most prior research has contrasted the effects of repetition only at the block level; in the current study we examined the effects of repeating individual trials embedded in a larger randomized block, a feature that is often overlooked when random trial orders are generated in learning tasks. With 4 days of practice, a "Minimal Repeats" group, who rarely experienced repeating stimuli on consecutive trials during training, improved to a greater extent than a "Frequent Repeats" group, who were frequently presented with repeating stimuli on consecutive trials during training. Our results extend the previous finding of the beneficial effects of random compared with blocked practice on performance, showing that reduced trial-to-trial repetition during training is favorable with regard to skill learning. This research highlights that limiting the number of repeats on consecutive trials is a simple behavioral manipulation that can enhance the process of skill learning. Data/analysis code and Supplemental Material are available at https://osf.io/p3278/. Numerous studies have shown that performing different subtasks across consecutive blocks of trials enhances learning. We examined whether the same effect would occur on a trial-to-trial level. Our Minimal Repeats group, who primarily responded to different stimuli on consecutive trials, learned more than our Frequent Repeats group, who frequently responded to the same stimulus on consecutive trials. This shows that minimizing trial-to-trial repetition is a simple and easily applicable manipulation that can enhance learning.
在多个学科领域，开发改善运动技能学习的方法都具有相当大的意义。先前的研究通常表明，在连续试验中重复相同的动作可以提高短期表现，但对长期技能习得有不利影响。然而，大多数先前的研究仅在块水平上对比了重复的效果；在本研究中，我们考察了在更大的随机块中重复单个试验的效果，这是在学习任务中生成随机试验顺序时经常被忽视的一个特征。在 4 天的练习中，“最小重复”组很少在训练中连续遇到重复刺激，其表现比“频繁重复”组有更大的提高，后者在训练中经常遇到连续的重复刺激。我们的结果扩展了先前关于随机练习比分组练习对表现更有益的发现，表明在训练中减少试验间重复有利于技能学习。这项研究强调，限制连续试验中的重复次数是一种简单的行为干预，可以增强技能学习的过程。数据/分析代码和补充材料可在 https://osf.io/p3278/ 获得。许多研究表明，在连续的试验块中执行不同的子任务可以增强学习。我们考察了在试验间水平上是否会出现相同的效果。我们的“最小重复”组主要在连续试验中对不同的刺激做出反应，比我们的“频繁重复”组学习得更多，后者经常对连续试验中的相同刺激做出反应。这表明，最小化试验间重复是一种简单且易于应用的干预措施，可以增强学习。
