What is it called when there are improvements in motor skill performance that are rapid at first and much slower later in practice?

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Volume 69, Issue 2, March 2009, Pages 398-405

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There is now ample evidence that sleep plays a crucial role in motor skill consolidation and memory retention (Brashers-Krug et al., 1996, Smith, 1995, Stickgold et al., 2001). Specifically, sleep has been implicated in the consolidation process, which is the conversion of an unstable memory trace into a stable form that becomes increasingly resistant to interferences resulting from competing or disrupting factors, hence highlighting the performance gains in the absence of further practice (McGaugh, 2000). Despite such evidence, there is still no consensus regarding the sleep stages that are preferentially involved in the memory phase (see Rauchs, Desgranges, Foret, & Eustache, 2005). Yet, the importance of the alternate periods of Non-Rapid Eyes Movements (NREM) and Rapid Eyes Movements (REM) is still controversial. Recent data have reported that sleep spindles may be involved in the off-line consolidation of a new sequence of finger movements known to be sleep-dependent, hence suggesting changes in NREM sleep following motor learning for consolidation (Morin, Doyon, Dostie, Barakat, Tahar, & Korman, et al., 2008). Furthermore, other findings have shown that beside the memory stabilization that occurs during wake cycles (Muellbacher et al., 2002, Walker et al., 2003), the enhancement phase arises primarily during sleep, either by promoting memory formation (Gais, Plihal, Wagner, & Born, 2000), restoring previously lost memories (Fenn, Nusbaum, & Margoliash, 2003) or consolidating and optimizing motor skills (Fischer, Hallschmid, Elsner, & Born, 2002). Accordingly, many authors have shown that subjects were more accurate and performed finger-tapping sequences faster after sleep, while equivalent time during wake did not provide significant changes (Fischer et al., 2002, Karni et al., 1994, Kuriyama et al., 2007). Delayed gains on a sequential finger-tapping task would thus trigger only after a night of sleep, whereas a comparable interval without sleep may not provide additional benefit. In addition, Huber, Ghilardi, Massimini, and Tononi (2004) used a kinematic and dynamic controlled pointing motor task to investigate the sleep-related effects on performance. In their experiment, the participants were requested to perform out-and-back movements from a central starting point to one of eight peripheral location targets. The authors reported a significant motor skill performance enhancement after sleep. Such effect may be elicited by slow potential oscillations of neurons membrane (<1 Hz), which predominantly arise from the prefrontal cortex and then propagate in anteroposterior direction (Massimini et al., 2004, Sejnowski and Destexhe, 2000, Steriade and Timofeev, 2003). These oscillations were also hypothesized to be primarily related to local homeostasis changes which have a causal role in the sleep-associated consolidation of memory (Huber et al., 2004, Marshall et al., 2006). These latter results, as those mentioned previously, support the hypothesis stating that physical practice (PP) of sequential and pointing motor tasks before sleep may enhance performance through the declarative and procedural memory consolidation processes (Fischer et al., 2002).

In the wealth of the motor learning literature, mental practice, and most especially motor imagery (MI), is considered a reliable complement to PP in enhancing cognitive and motor performance. Accordingly, the effects of MI on the improvement of motor skill learning are now well-established (for reviews, see Feltz and Landers, 1983, Guillot and Collet, 2008), including pointing and graphic tasks (Gentili et al., 2006, Yagüez et al., 1998). MI is a dynamic state during which an individual simulates the performance of a specific motor task mentally, without any movement (Decety, 1996, Jeannerod, 1994). Visual imagery (self-visualisation of the movement) and kinesthetic imagery (the ability to perceive the somatic feedbacks that the actual movement should elicit) are the most common MI modalities. To date, a large body of research has shown that the execution of a movement and MI showed several parallel characteristics. First, MI duration has been found to be highly correlated with the time taken to perform the same movement (e.g. Decety et al., 1989, Guillot and Collet, 2005a). Imagined actions have also been found to obey to similar motor rules and biomechanical constraints than PP (Johnson, 2000, Maruff et al., 1999). Second, MI and motor performance have been shown to elicit similar peripheral activity of the autonomic nervous system (Decety et al., 1991, Guillot and Collet, 2005b). Finally, an important number of neuroimaging studies have provided evidence that the neural networks mediating MI and motor performance are quite similar, albeit not identical (e.g. Decety et al., 1994, Gerardin et al., 2000, Guillot et al., 2008a, Lotze and Halsband, 2006), hence supporting the functional equivalence principle (Holmes & Collins, 2001). Especially, both MI and motor performance have been shown to activate the ventral premotor cortex, which corresponds to the human analog of the so-called mirror neuron system (for review, see Buccino, Solodkin, & Small, 2006). Thus, MI shares some common mental processes with the observation of movement.

Despite accumulated evidence that MI and motor performance share common neural substrates, little is known about the possible effect of sleep on the consolidation of memory processes following mental practice. The functional and structural equivalences between MI and motor performance suggest that off-line performance gains following MI may occur during sleep, just as it has been well-established for PP. Hence, in the present experiment, we investigated, for the first time, whether the enhancement of the memory representation following MI learning after a night of sleep resulted in improved physical performance the next day. A quite similar experimental design to that proposed by Huber et al. (2004) was used to investigate the consolidation effect of both procedural (trajectories movement) and declarative (working memory) learning following MI, PP or control (i.e. no-practice, but neutral activity) training conditions. Motor performance was evaluated before training, as well as just before and after a night of sleep. Both MI and PP groups were expected to significantly improve performance, as compared to the control group. Furthermore, they were also expected to increase their level of performance after sleep, hence supporting the hypothesis of sleep consolidation process. These results finally aimed at highlighting the efficacy of MI-based mental practice techniques in learning processes and the impact of the sleep consolidation process.

Thirty healthy participants (12 males and 18 females) aged between 20 and 35 years (mean age 25.7 years ± 2.1) gave their informed consent to take part in this experiment, which was approved by the local Research Ethics Committee. All were right-handed, as measured by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (Oldfield, 1971). They were enrolled at the university, in the close environment of the laboratory, and were thus not paid to take part in the study. The procedure of the experiment and the tasks

The average sleep score, as measured by the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Questionnaire, was 3.7 (±1.3), thus attesting for the “good quality” of sleep in all subjects. Mean MIQ scores (SD) were 44.25 (10.4), 44.4 (6.8) and 42.8 (13) in the PP, MI and control groups, respectively. As expected, visual scores were systematically higher than kinesthetic scores in all groups. No significant difference was found between the three groups, thus guaranteeing homogeneity in terms of individual MI ability.

This study was devised to investigate the effects of memory retention and consolidation processes that may occur during a night of sleep following mental practice. Accordingly, and on the basis of the well-established sleep-related effects following PP (Karni et al., 1995, Orban et al., 2006, Stickgold and Walker, 2005, Wagner et al., 2004), we hypothesized that MI training would also contribute in enhancing motor performance after a night of sleep. First, the present results provide expected

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Acquisition of gross motor sequence learning with physical and mental training elicits gains in performance. However, the effects of sleep or daytime consolidation after both types of practice remain unclear, especially the effects upon the goal- and movement-based components of a gross motor sequential task. The main purpose of this study was to test the effect of physical practice (PP) and motor imagery practice (MIP) on the acquisition and consolidation processes of gross motor sequence learning.
Seventy-six participants were tested before and after PP or MIP on a whole-body sequential paradigm, following either a night of sleep (PPsleep and MIPsleep groups) or an equivalent daytime period (PPday and MIPday groups). Control groups without training were tested following similar timespans (CTRLsleep and CTRLday groups). The number of sequential movements and the centre of mass displacement – corresponding to goal and movement-based components, respectively – were assessed.
Results showed that relative to the CTRL groups, the PP and MIP groups improved performance during acquisition. Importantly, only the MIPsleep group further improved performance after a night of sleep; participants of other groups stabilised their performance after consolidation. Additionally, the number of sequential movements and the centre of mass displacement evolved conjointly without being influenced by the type of training or the nature of the consolidation.
To conclude, these results confirm that sleep contributes to the consolidation of gross motor sequence learning acquired with MIP but not PP. The relationship between the goal- and movement-based components of a gross motor sequential task is discussed.
In the last decade, many studies confirmed the benefits of mental practice with motor imagery. In this review we first aimed to compile data issued from fundamental and clinical investigations and to provide the key-components for the optimization of motor imagery strategy. We focused on transcranial magnetic stimulation studies, supported by brain imaging research, that sustain the current hypothesis of a functional link between cortical reorganization and behavioral improvement. As perspectives, we suggest a model of neural adaptation following mental practice, in which synapse conductivity and inhibitory mechanisms at the spinal level may also play an important role.
Converging evidences suggest that mental movement simulation and actual movement production share similar neurocognitive and learning processes. Although a large body of data is available in the literature regarding mental states involving the dominant arm, examinations for the nondominant arm are sparse. Does mental training, through motor-imagery practice, with the dominant arm or the nondominant arm is equally efficient for motor learning? In the current study, we investigated laterality effects in motor learning by motor-imagery practice. Four groups of right-hander adults mentally and physically performed as fast and accurately as possible (speed/accuracy trade-off paradigm) successive reaching movements with their dominant or nondominant arm (physical-training-dominant-arm, mental-training-dominant-arm, physical-training-nondominant-arm, and mental-training-nondominant-arm groups). Movement time was recorded and analyzed before, during, and after the training sessions. We found that physical and mental practice had a positive effect on the motor performance (i.e., decrease in movement time) of both arms through similar learning process (i.e., similar exponential learning curves). However, movement time reduction in the posttest session was significantly higher after physical practice than motor-imagery practice for both arms. More importantly, motor-imagery practice with the dominant arm resulted in larger and more robust improvements in movement speed compared to motor-imagery practice with the nondominant arm. No such improvements were observed in the control group. Our results suggest a superiority of the dominant arm in motor learning by mental practice. We discussed these findings from the perspective of the internal models theory.
Motor-skill practice in repetitive or variable orders leads to better within-day acquisition and facilitates retention and transfer, respectively. This practice pattern effect has been robustly found for physical practice, but little is known about its effect after motor imagery (MI) practice. In the present study, we investigated the effect of constant or variable MI practice, and the consolidation following a day-time or a sleep interval. The physical performance was assessed before (pre-test) and after MI training (post-test), as well as after a night or day-time consolidation (retention test). Finally, a transfer test on an unpracticed task was further performed. Results revealed that in all participants, performance increased significantly in the post-test when compared with the pre-test, while only subjects in the variable MI training showed further gains in performance in the retention test following a night of sleep, and exhibited the best transfer of performance to a novel visuomotor sequence. In contrast, subjects in the constant MI training did not show any delayed performance gain following both day and sleep-consolidation. Overall, and for the first time, these findings partially support the practice pattern effect of motor learning with MI, and further highlight a new difference between mental and physical practice, especially on consolidation. To conclude, variable MI practice, rather than constant, seems to be the valuable condition that should be considered in the practical implications of mental training in motor learning and rehabilitation.

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To assess differences relating to circadian preference in objectively measured sleep patterns from childhood to adolescence over a 9-year period. We hypothesized there is developmental continuity in sleep timing and duration according to circadian preference.
Young participants (N = 111, 65% girls) from a community-based birth cohort underwent sleep actigraphy at mean ages 8.1 (SD = 0.3), 12.3 (SD = 0.5), and 16.9 (SD = 0.1) years. A short version of Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire was administered in late adolescence. At each follow-up, sleep midpoint, duration, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, and weekend catch-up sleep were compared between those reporting morning, intermediate, and evening preferences in late adolescence.
Mixed model analyses indicated that sleep timing was significantly earlier among morning types compared with evening types at all ages (P values < .04). The mean differences in sleep midpoint between morning and evening types increased from a mean of 19 minutes (age 8), 36 minutes (age 12), to 89 minutes (age 17). The largest change occurred from age 12 to 17 years. Sleep duration, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, and catch-up sleep did not differ according to circadian preference.
This study found significant continuity in sleep timing from childhood to adolescence over 9 years, indicating that late circadian preference reported in late adolescence begins to manifest in middle childhood. Further studies are needed to establish whether sleep timing has its origins at an even earlier age.
Selective attention plays an important role in category learning. However, immaturities of top-down attentional control during infancy coupled with successful category learning suggest that early category learning is achieved without attending selectively. Research presented here examines this possibility by focusing on category learning in infants (6–8 months old) and adults. Participants were trained on a novel visual category. Halfway through the experiment, unbeknownst to participants, the to-be-learned category switched to another category, where previously relevant features became irrelevant and previously irrelevant features became relevant. If participants attend selectively to the relevant features of the first category, they should incur a cost of selective attention immediately after the unknown category switch. Results revealed that adults demonstrated a cost, as evidenced by a decrease in accuracy and response time on test trials as well as a decrease in visual attention to newly relevant features. In contrast, infants did not demonstrate a similar cost of selective attention as adults despite evidence of learning both to-be-learned categories. Findings are discussed as supporting multiple systems of category learning and as suggesting that learning mechanisms engaged by adults may be different from those engaged by infants.
Early math abilities are claimed to be linked to magnitude representation ability. Some claim that nonsymbolic magnitude abilities scaffold the acquisition of symbolic (Arabic number) magnitude abilities and influence math ability. Others claim that symbolic magnitude abilities, and ipso facto math abilities, are independent of nonsymbolic abilities and instead depend on the ability to process number symbols (e.g., 2, 7). Currently, the issue of whether symbolic abilities are or are not related to nonsymbolic abilities, and the cognitive factors associated with nonsymbolic–symbolic relationships, remains unresolved. We suggest that different nonsymbolic–symbolic relationships reside within the general magnitude ability distribution and that different cognitive abilities are likely associated with these different relationships. We further suggest that the different nonsymbolic–symbolic relationships and cognitive abilities in combination differentially predict math abilities. To test these claims, we used latent profile analysis to identify nonsymbolic–symbolic judgment patterns of 124, 5- to 7-year-olds. We also assessed four cognitive factors (visuospatial working memory [VSWM], naming numbers, nonverbal IQ, and basic reaction time [RT]) and two math abilities (number transcoding and single-digit addition abilities). Four nonsymbolic–symbolic ability profiles were identified. Naming numbers, VSWM, and basic RT abilities were differentially associated with the different ability profiles and in combination differentially predicted math abilities. Findings show that different patterns of nonsymbolic–symbolic magnitude abilities can be identified and suggest that an adequate account of math development should specify the inter-relationship between cognitive factors and nonsymbolic–symbolic ability patterns.
Sedentary behavior (SB) is associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and low mood. There is a paucity of multi-national research investigating SB and depression, particularly among low- and middle-income countries. This study investigated the association between SB and depression, and factors which influence this.
Cross-sectional data were analyzed from the World Health Organization's Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. Depression was based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The association between depression and SB (self-report) was estimated by multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses. Mediation analysis was used to identify influential factors.
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People with depression are at increased risk of engaging in high levels of SB. This first multi-national study offers potentially valuable insight for a number of hypotheses which may influence this relationship, although testing with longitudinal studies is needed.
Insomnia has been a rising public concern in recent years. As one example of a multidisciplinary topic, the theme of insomnia research has gradually shifted over time; however, there is very little quantitative characterization of the research trends in insomnia. The current study aims to quantitatively analyze trends in insomnia publications for the past 20 years. We retrospectively analyzed insomnia-related publications retrieved from PubMed and Google Scholar between 1994 and from a number of different perspectives. We investigated the major areas of research focus for insomnia, journal characteristics, as well as trends in clinical management and treatment modalities. The resulting 5841 publications presented an exponential growth trend over the past two decades, with mean annual growth rates at nearly 10% for each publication type. Analysis of major research focuses indicated that depression, hypnotics and sedatives, questionnaires, and polysomnography are the most common topics at present. Furthermore, we found that while studies on drug therapy and adverse effects decreased in the most recent five years, the greatest expansion of insomnia publications were in the areas of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and alternative therapies. Collectively, insomnia publications present a continuous trend of increase. While sedative and hypnotic drugs dominated the treatment of insomnia, non-pharmacological therapies may have great potential for advancement in future years. Future research effort is warranted for novel tools and clinical trials, especially on insomnia treatments with inadequate evidence or not-yet-clear efficacy and side effects.
This study evaluated the agreement between a sleep diary and actigraphy on the assessment of sleep parameters among school teachers from Brazil.
A total of 163 teachers (66.3% women; aged 45 ± 9 years) filled out a sleep diary and wore a wrist actigraph device for seven consecutive days. Data were collected from August 2014 to March 2015 in Londrina, a large city in southern Brazil. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were used to compare self-reported and actigraphic data.
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In this highly educated population, the sleep diary and the actigraphy showed moderate or good agreement to assess several sleep parameters. However, these methods seemed to measure different dimensions of sleep regarding sleep onset latency and efficiency. These findings moderately varied according to the individual's subjective sleep quality.