Autoren: L. Margraf, D. Krause, M. Weigelt

Abstract

Supplementing an earlier analysis of event-related potentials in extensive motor learning (Margraf et al., 2022a, 2022b), frontal theta-band activity (4–8 Hz) was scrutinized. Thirty-seven participants learned a sequential arm movement with 192 trials in each of five practice sessions. Feedback, based on a performance adaptive bandwidth, was given after every trial. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in the first and last practice sessions. The degree of motor automatization was tested under dual-task conditions in a pre-test–post-test design. Quantitative error information was transported in both feedback conditions (positive and negative). Frontal theta activity was discussed as a general signal that cognitive control is needed and, therefore, was expected to be higher after negative feedback. Extensive motor practice promotes automatization, and therefore, decreased frontal theta activity was expected in the later practice. Further, it was expected that frontal theta was predictive for subsequent behavioural adaptations and the amount of motor automatization. As the results show, induced frontal theta power was higher after negative feedback and decreased after five sessions of practice. Moreover, induced theta activity was predictive for error correction and, therefore, an indicator of whether the recruited cognitive resources successfully induced behavioural adaptations. It remains to be solved why these effects, which fit well with the theoretical assumptions, were only revealed by the induced part of frontal theta activity. Further, the amount of theta activity during practice was not predictive for the degree of motor automatization. It seems that there might be a dissociation between attentional resources associated with feedback processing and attentional resources associated with motor control.

Margraf, L., Krause, D., & Weigelt, M. (2023). Frontal theta reveals further information about neural valence‐dependent processing of augmented feedback in extensive motor practice - A secondary analysis. European Journal of Neuroscience, 57(8), 1297–1316. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15951

Autoren: L. Margraf, D. Krause, M. Weigelt

Abstract

To examine the neural processing of valence-dependent augmented feedback, 38 students learned a sequential arm movement task with 192 trials in each of five practice sessions. The degree of motor automatization was tested under dual-task-conditions. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in the first and last practice session. This study is an additional analysis of the data from Margraf et al. [Margraf, L., Krause, D., & Weigelt, M. (this issue). Valence-dependent neural correlates of augmented feedback processing in extensive motor sequence learning – Part I: Practice-related changes of feedback processing.]. While Part I focused on changes in neural feedback processing after extensive motor practice, Part II examines coherences between neural feedback processing and short-term behavioral adaptations, as well as different dimensions of long-term learning (i.e., accuracy, consistency, and automaticity). It was found that more negative amplitudes of the feedbackrelated-negativity (FRN) after negative feedback were predictive for goal-independent changes of behavior in the early practice phase, whereas more positive amplitudes of the late fronto-central positivity (LFCP) after negative feedback were predictive for goal-directed behavioral adaptations (error reduction), independent from the practice phase. Unexpectedly, more positive amplitudes of the P300 after positive feedback were also predictive for goal-directed behavioral adaptations. Concerning long-term learning and motor automatization, a positive correlation was found for the reduction of dual-task costs (DTC) and LFCP-amplitudes after positive feedback in the early practice.

Margraf, L., Krause, D., & Weigelt, M. (2022). Valence-dependent neural correlates of augmented feedback processing in extensive motor sequence learning – Part II: Predictive value of event-related potentials for behavioral adaptation and learning. Neuroscience, 486, 20–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.04.018

Autoren: L. Margraf, D. Krause, M. Weigelt

Abstract

Several event-related potentials (ERPs) are associated with the processing of valence-dependent augmented feedback during the practice of motor tasks. In this study, 38 students learned a sequential arm-movement-task with 192 trials in each of five practice sessions (960 practice trials in total), to examine practice-related changes in neural feedback processing. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in the first and last practice session. An adaptive bandwidth for movement accuracy led to equal amounts of positive and negative feedback. A frontal located negative deflection in the time window of the feedback-related negativity (FRN) was more negative for negative feedback and might reflect reward prediction errors in reinforcement learning. This negativity increased after extensive practice, which might indicate that smaller errors are harder to identify in the later phase. The late fronto-central positivity (LFCP) was more positive for negative feedback and is assumed to be associated with supervised learning and behavioral adaptations based on feedback with higher complexity. No practice-related changes of the LFCP were observed, which suggests that complex feedback is processed independent from the practice phase. The P300 displayed a more positive activation for positive feedback, which might be interpreted as the higher significance of positive feedback for the updating of internal models in this setting. A valence-independent increase of the P300 amplitude after practice might reflect an improved ability to update the internal representation based on feedback information. These results demonstrate that valence-dependent neural feedback processing changes with extensive practice of a novel motor task. Dissociating changes in latencies of different components support the assumption that they are related to distinct mechanisms of feedback-dependent learning.

Margraf, L., Krause, D., & Weigelt, M. (2022). Valence-dependent Neural Correlates of Augmented Feedback Processing in Extensive Motor Sequence Learning – Part I: Practice-related Changes of Feedback Processing. Neuroscience, 486, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.04.016