Taking Aim at the Cognitive Side of Learning in Sensorimotor Adaptation Tasks

Samuel D McDougle; Richard B Ivry; Jordan A Taylor

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2016.05.002

Taking Aim at the Cognitive Side of Learning in Sensorimotor Adaptation Tasks

Trends Cogn Sci. 2016 Jul;20(7):535-544. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2016.05.002. Epub 2016 May 31.

Authors

Samuel D McDougle¹, Richard B Ivry², Jordan A Taylor¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
² Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: ivry@berkeley.edu.

Abstract

Sensorimotor adaptation tasks have been used to characterize processes responsible for calibrating the mapping between desired outcomes and motor commands. Research has focused on how this form of error-based learning takes place in an implicit and automatic manner. However, recent work has revealed the operation of multiple learning processes, even in this simple form of learning. This review focuses on the contribution of cognitive strategies and heuristics to sensorimotor learning, and how these processes enable humans to rapidly explore and evaluate novel solutions to enable flexible, goal-oriented behavior. This new work points to limitations in current computational models, and how these must be updated to describe the conjoint impact of multiple processes in sensorimotor learning.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological
Adaptation, Psychological / physiology*
Cognition / physiology*
Humans
Learning / physiology*
Models, Psychological
Motor Skills
Psychomotor Performance / physiology*
Reaction Time
Sensorimotor Cortex / physiology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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