Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 8, 2026
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The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task
Published on: May 3, 2018
9.0K
Perception of effort decreases with motor sequence learning.
Bahram Ghafari Goushe1,2,3, Thomas Mangin1,2,3, Benjamin Pageaux4,5,6
1École de kinésiologie et des sciences de l'activité physique (EKSAP), Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
Scientific Reports
|December 19, 2025
Summary
Motor learning, the process of acquiring new motor skills, reduces the perception of effort. As individuals become more proficient in a specific motor task, it feels less effortful.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Motor learning is theorized to optimize resource allocation.
- Effort is the voluntary investment of resources during task performance.
- The empirical link between motor learning and effort perception remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how effort perception changes during motor learning.
- To examine the relationship between motor sequence learning and perceived effort.
Main Methods:
- Thirty young adults participated in four sessions.
- Participants performed a continuous tracking task with random or repeated sequences.
- Effort intensity was rated after each block of trials.
Main Results:
- Sequence-specific motor learning was confirmed by superior performance on repeated sequences in retention tests.
- Perception of effort decreased specifically with sequence-specific motor learning.
- A significant association was found between motor sequence learning and reduced effort perception.
Conclusions:
- Motor sequence learning leads to a reduced perception of effort.
- Increased task proficiency in motor learning correlates with decreased effort.
- This finding opens avenues for exploring neural and behavioral mechanisms of learning and effort.
Keywords:
ChunkingCognitive resources optimizationContinuous tracking taskMotor behaviorPerformanceSkill acquisitionMore Related Videos
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