Modulation of error sensitivity during motor learning across time, space and environment variability

Abstract

We never experience the exact same situation twice. In our dynamic and constantly changing environment, we continuously need to adapt our behavior, either due to external (e.g., a change of wind) or internal factors (e.g., muscle noise). Motor adaptation is the process of recalibration of movements in response to such perturbation. It activates when an agent needs to change their movement in response to a perceived error. It has been proposed that in order to perform motor adaptation, the brain continuously updates an error sensitivity signal that controls how much is learned from a past error. Such error sensitivity reflects the speed of learning, and understanding its dynamics is crucial to promoting efficient learning. In our experiment, healthy participants performed a visuomotor adaptation task requiring reaching multiple targets using a joystick. They experienced two periods of stable perturbations and two periods of random perturbations. In agreement with past research, we found that error sensitivity is lower in unstable environments. Moreover, error sensitivity is higher in a stable environment without perturbation than in a stable environment with perturbations. We observed a continuous increase of the error sensitivity within a stable perturbation environment. Finally, continuous spatial (across target locations) and temporal (across trials with same target) generalization of learning is present not only in stable but also in the random environment.