Consciousness and the consolidation of motor learning

It is no secret that motor learning benefits from repetition. For example, pianists devote countless hours to performing complicated sequences of key presses, and golfers practice their swings thousands of times to reach a level of proficiency. Interestingly, the subsequent waking and sleeping hours after practice also play important roles in motor learning. During this time, a motor skill can consolidate into a more stable form that can lead to improved future performance without intervening practice. Though it is widely believed that sleep is crucial for this consolidation of motor learning, this is not generally true. In many instances only day-time consolidates motor learning, while in other instances neither day-time nor sleep consolidates learning. Recent studies have suggested that conscious awareness during motor training can determine whether sleep or day-time plays a role in consolidation. However, ongoing studies suggest that this explanation is also incomplete. In addition to conscious awareness, attention is an important factor to consider. This review discusses how attention and conscious awareness interact with day and night processes to consolidate a motor memory.