Task errors contribute to implicit aftereffects in sensorimotor adaptation.

Li-Ann Leow, Welber Marinovic, Aymar de Rugy, Timothy J. Carroll
Eur J Neurosci. 2018-11-09; 48(11): 3397-3409
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14213

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Leow LA(1), Marinovic W(2), de Rugy A(3), Carroll TJ(1).

Author information:
(1)Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
(2)School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
(3)Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine, CNRS, UMR 5287, Université de Bordeaux, France.

Perturbations of sensory feedback evoke sensory prediction errors (discrepancies
between predicted and actual sensory outcomes of movements), and reward
prediction errors (discrepancies between predicted rewards and actual rewards).
When our task is to hit a target, we expect to succeed in hitting the target, and
so we experience a reward prediction error if the perturbation causes us to miss
it. These discrepancies between intended task outcomes and actual task outcomes,
termed “task errors,” are thought to drive the use of strategic processes to
restore success, although their role is incompletely understood. Here, as
participants adapted to a 30° rotation of cursor feedback representing hand
position, we investigated the role of task errors in sensorimotor adaptation:
during target-reaching, we either removed task errors by moving the target
mid-movement to align with cursor feedback of hand position, or enforced task
error by moving the target away from the cursor feedback of hand position, by
20-30° randomly (clockwise in half the trials, counterclockwise in half the
trials). Removing task errors not only reduced the extent of adaptation during
exposure to the perturbation, but also reduced the amount of post-adaptation
aftereffects that persisted despite explicit knowledge of the perturbation
removal. Hence, task errors contribute to implicit adaptation resulting from
sensory prediction errors. This suggests that the system which predicts the
sensory consequences of actions via exposure to sensory prediction errors is also
sensitive to reward prediction errors.

© 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14213
PMID: 30339299 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

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