Cognitive load suppresses explicit learning while sparing implicit learning in visuomotor adaptation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Motor skill acquisition is ubiquitously accompanied by cognitive load, yet its effects on motor learning remain understudied. Using a dual-task paradigm combining visual working memory and visuomotor adaptation, we found a striking dissociation: cognitive load suppresses explicit learning while paradoxically enhancing implicit learning. This enhancement can be explained by the compensatory relationship between explicit and implicit systems, rather than direct facilitation. Our findings revealed how the motor learning system adaptively reorganized under cognitive constraints.
Source: Journal of Neurophysiology
Authors: Xiaoyue Zhang, Tianyang Zhang, Kunlin Wei
Institutions: Peking University, Center for Life Sciences
Language: English
Topic: Motor Control and Adaptation
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Award: G5864023603
OpenAlex ID: W4414084779