title: Cognitive Fatigue Facilitates Procedural Sequence Learning.
abstract: Enhanced procedural learning has been evidenced in conditions where cognitive control is diminished, including hypnosis, disruption of prefrontal activity and non-optimal time of the day. Another condition depleting the availability of controlled resources is cognitive fatigue (CF). We tested the hypothesis that CF, eventually leading to diminished cognitive control, facilitates procedural sequence learning. In a two-day experiment, 23 young healthy adults were administered a serial reaction time task (SRTT) following the induction of high or low levels of CF, in a counterbalanced order. CF was induced using the Time load Dual-back (TloadDback) paradigm, a dual working memory task that allows tailoring cognitive load levels to the individual's optimal performance capacity. In line with our hypothesis, reaction times (RT) in the SRTT were faster in the high- than in the low-level fatigue condition, and performance improvement was higher for the sequential than the motor components. Altogether, our results suggest a paradoxical, facilitating impact of CF on procedural motor sequence learning. We propose that facilitated learning in the high-level fatigue condition stems from a reduction in the cognitive resources devoted to cognitive control processes that normally oppose automatic procedural acquisition mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit (UR2NF), Centre de Recherches en Cognition et Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Borragán
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit (UR2NF), Centre de Recherches en Cognition et Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hichem
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Slama
authors.affiliation: Consciousness Cognition & Computation Group (CO3), Centre de Recherches en Cognition et Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Destrebecqz
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit (UR2NF), Centre de Recherches en Cognition et Neurosciences (CRCN), ULB Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peigneux
keywords: cognitive fatigue; memory competition; motor sequence learning; procedural learning; serial reaction time (SRT) task; skill learning