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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
10:39
The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task
Published on: May 3, 2018
Interference effects in learning similar sequences of discrete movements
Johan M Koedijker1, Raôul R D Oudejans, Peter J Beek
1Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands. johan.koedijker@ispw.unibe.ch
Journal of Motor Behavior
|May 27, 2010
Summary
This study investigated how learning similar movement sequences affects memory. Results show that memory interference, impacting motor learning, stems from changes in how movement structures are represented.
Area of Science:
- Motor learning
- Cognitive psychology
- Human movement science
Background:
- Proactive and retroactive interference are known phenomena in memory.
- Understanding interference in motor learning is crucial for skill acquisition and retention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate proactive and retroactive interference in learning similar discrete movement sequences.
- To explore the underlying mechanisms of these interference effects, including practice repetitions and hand dominance.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted with participants learning two similar movement sequences over consecutive days.
- Interference effects were assessed through retention tests, with variations in repetition numbers and practicing hand (dominant vs. nondominant).
Main Results:
- Clear evidence of button-specific proactive and retroactive interference effects was found.
- Even with 50 repetitions, significant interference effects were observed, indicating rapid learning.
- No difference in interference effects was found between dominant and nondominant hand learning.
Conclusions:
- Changes in the representation of movement structure are the primary cause of observed interference effects.
- Motor learning is susceptible to interference, even with limited practice, suggesting robust representational changes.
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