Abstract
This study was designed to examine the generality of motor learning by action-observation. During practice, action-observation participants watched a learning model (e.g., physical practice participants) perform a motor sequence-timing task involving mouse/cursor movements on a computer screen; control participants watched a blank screen. Participants transferred to either a congruent (same mouse-cursor gain), or an incongruent (different mouse-cursor gain) condition. As predicted, motor sequence timing was learned through action-observation as well as physical practice. Moreover, transfer of learning to an incongruent set of task demands indicates that the motor representation developed through observation includes generalised visual-motor procedures associated with the use of feedback utilization.
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Hayes, S.J., Elliott, D. & Bennett, S.J. General motor representations are developed during action-observation. Exp Brain Res 204, 199–206 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-010-2303-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-010-2303-6