Abstract
We have studied the effect of rest breaks on sensorimotor adaptation to rotated visual feedback in a pointing task. Adaptive improvement was significantly poorer after 1-s breaks than after 5–40-s breaks, with no significant difference among the latter break durations. The benefit of >1-s breaks emerged soon after the onset of adaptation, and then remained steady throughout the adaptation, retention (next day), and persistence (no feedback) phases. This pattern of findings indicates that break-induced facilitation is not a result of strategic adjustments, motivation, or recovery from fatigue, but rather to consolidation of previously acquired sensorimotor recalibration rules.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the German Ministry of Research through DLR grant 50WB9942, by DFG grant BO469/8-1, and by the German–Bulgarian exchange grant 436BUL113/131/0-1. Responsibility for contents rests with the authors.
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Bock, O., Thomas, M. & Grigorova, V. The effect of rest breaks on human sensorimotor adaptation. Exp Brain Res 163, 258–260 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-2231-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-005-2231-z