Off-line learning of motor skill memory: A double dissociation of goal and movement
- Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Kirstein Building KS-446, Boston, MA 02215
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Edited by Edward E. Smith, Columbia University, New York, NY (received for review July 18, 2005)
Abstract
Acquiring a new skill requires learning multiple aspects of a task simultaneously. For example, learning a piano sonata requires learning the musical notes and being able to implement this goal by learning the appropriate sequence of finger movements. After practice, skill continues to develop off-line during a period of consolidation. Here we show that different aspects of a procedural memory are processed separately during consolidation: Only the movement sequence is enhanced over the day; whereas only the goal is enhanced over a night of sleep. This double dissociation suggests that distinct systems, enhancing different aspects of a procedural memory, support improvements during consolidation. Consolidation is not a single process; instead, there are multiple routes to off-line learning, and the engagement of these distinct mechanisms is determined by when consolidation takes place.
Footnotes
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↵ * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: emrobert{at}bidmc.harvard.edu.
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Author contributions: D.A.C. and E.M.R. designed research; D.A.C. and E.M.R. performed research; D.Z.P. contributed new reagents/analytical tools; D.A.C. and E.M.R. analyzed data; D.A.C., A.P.-L., and E.M.R. wrote the paper; and E.M.R. devised the hypothesis.
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Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
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Abbreviations: SRTT, serial reaction time task; REM, rapid eye movement.
- Copyright © 2005, The National Academy of Sciences
