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Conscious awareness of action potentiates sensorimotor learning
Arnaud Boutin1, Yannick Blandin2, Cristina Massen1
1IfADo - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany.
Cognition
|June 24, 2014
Summary
Conscious awareness of actions enhances sensorimotor learning and skill. Focusing on performance fluency improves motor skill acquisition by optimizing action processing and sequencing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Learning
- Sensorimotor Control
Background:
- Everyday skills are often learned unconsciously through repetitive behaviors.
- The role of conscious awareness in acquiring new motor skills remains an open question.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how conscious awareness of action influences sensorimotor skill acquisition.
- To determine if enhancing awareness of performance efficiency impacts motor learning.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed sequential finger movements.
- Conscious awareness was heightened by asking participants to judge their performance fluency.
- Control groups involved no judgment or unrelated judgments.
Main Results:
- Enhanced conscious awareness of action potentiated sensorimotor learning.
- Subjective appraisal of motor efficiency improved skillful motor production.
- Optimized processing and sequencing of action units were observed compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Conscious awareness, particularly of motor efficiency, is crucial for sensorimotor learning.
- Skillful expression of sensorimotor behaviors may depend on awareness of one's motor capabilities.
- This study supports the link between conscious awareness and motor skill development.
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