Off-line learning of motor skill memory: a double dissociation of goal and movement.
Acquiring a new skill requires learning multiple aspects of a task simultaneously. For example, learning a piano sonata requires learning the musical notes and being able to implement this goal by learning the appropriate sequence of finger movements. After practice, skill continues to develop off-line during a period of consolidation. Here we show that different aspects of a procedural memory are processed separately during consolidation: Only the movement sequence is enhanced over the day; whereas only the goal is enhanced over a night of sleep. This double dissociation suggests that distinct systems, enhancing different aspects of a procedural memory, support improvements during consolidation. Consolidation is not a single process; instead, there are multiple routes to off-line learning, and the engagement of these distinct mechanisms is determined by when consolidation takes place.
Cohen
Daniel A
DA
Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Pascual-Leone
Alvaro
A
Press
Daniel Z
DZ
Robertson
Edwin M
EM
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors