Differential time scales of change to learning frequency structures of isometric force tracking

Multiple processes support the persistent (learning) and transient (adaptive) change in behavior over time. We investigated whether practice and rest influence similarly the learning and adaptation of slow and fast frequency structures in isometric force tracking of pathways that varied in their regularity. Participants practiced 25 trials on each of 5 days in either a constant force target or 1 with the 1/f distributional properties of brown or pink noise. There was a reduction in root mean squared error (RMSE) as well as an increasing positive correlation between force output and the target pathway for all noise conditions over days. The spectral frequency analysis of force output and RMSE revealed task dependent outcomes of learning and adaptation as a function of the relatively slow (0-4 Hz) and fast (8-12 Hz) oscillatory time scales. These contrasting findings show that the persistent and transient properties of learning occur across different timescales and dimensions of behavior (force output and outcome-RMSE).