Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Human behaviour is developed through continuous adaptation to our environment over a range of timescales. Extensive studies have investigated the mechanisms and computations underlying this process of sensorimotor adaptation using several hundred trials. However, most of our motor skills have had countless hours of practice. Here we study a simple motor adaptation task using thousands of training trials over multiple weeks to study the long-term development of a motor memory, and examine changes in adaptation, retention, interlimb transfer, decay, spontaneous recovery and generalization. Unlike previous studies, participants showed near complete compensation to the novel dynamics, along with long-term increases in retention and spontaneous recovery. Moreover, we find narrowing in the angular generalization, suggesting continual tuning of the motor memory to the task. This demonstrates the extensive changes occurring with longer training of motor tasks, highlighting their importance in studies of sensorimotor control, rehabilitation and training.
Source: Nature Human Behaviour
Authors: David W. Franklin, Pascal Nietschmann, Thalia Papadopoulou, Sae Franklin
Institution: Technical University of Munich
Language: English
Topic: Motor Control and Adaptation
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
OpenAlex ID: W4407884439