Representations underlying skill in the discrete sequence production task: effect of hand used and hand position

Various studies suggest that movement sequences are initially learned predominantly in effector-independent spatial coordinates and only after extended practice in effector-dependent coordinates. The present study examined this notion for the discrete sequence production (DSP) task by manipulating the hand used and the position of the hand relative to the body. During sequence learning in Experiment 1, in which sequences were executed by reacting to key-specific cues, hand position appeared important for execution with the practiced but not with the unpracticed hand. In Experiment 2 entire sequences were executed by reacting to one cue. This produced similar results as in Experiment 1. These experiments support the notion that robustness of sequencing skill is based on several codes, one being a representation that is both effector and position dependent.