Patterns of interference in sequence learning and prism adaptation inconsistent with the consolidation hypothesis

Learn Mem. 2002 Sep-Oct;9(5):279-92. doi: 10.1101/lm.50102.

Abstract

The studies reported here used an interference paradigm to determine whether a long-term consolidation process (i.e., one lasting from several hours to days) occurs in the learning of two implicit motor skills, learning of a movement sequence and learning of a visuo-motor mapping. Subjects learned one skill and were tested on that skill 48 h later. Between the learning session and test session, some subjects trained on a second skill. The amount of time between the learning of the two skills varied for different subjects. In both the learning of a movement sequence and the learning of a visuo-motor mapping, we found that remote memories were susceptible to interference, but the passage of time did not afford protection from interference. These results are inconsistent with the long-term consolidation of these motor skills. A possible difference between these tasks and those that do show long-term consolidation is that the present tasks are not dynamic motor skills.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Physiological / physiology*
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Recall / physiology
  • Perceptual Distortion / physiology*
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology*
  • Visual Perception / physiology*