Reflecting on what is “skill” in human motor skill learning

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Julie Duque¹  Goldy Yadav² 

[1] Cognition and Actions Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium;null;

关键词: motor skills;    learning;    motor control;    skill behavior;    movements;    motor errors;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2023.1117889

 received in 2022-12-07, accepted in 2023-06-16,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Humans have an exceptional ability to execute a variety of skilled movements. Researchers have been long interested in understanding behavioral and neurophysiological basis of human motor skill learning for advancing both fundamental neuroscientific knowledge and clinical outcomes. However, despite decades of work in this field there is a lack of consensus about what is meant by “skill” in skill learning. With an advent of various task paradigms testing human motor behavior and increasing heterogeneity in motor learning assessments methods, it is very crucial to identify key features of skill in order to avoid any ambiguity that may result in misinterpretation or over-generalization of findings, which could have serious implications for replication and translational research. In this review, we attempt to highlight the features of skill following a historical approach, considering the seminal work that led to the first definitions of skill and including some contemporary concepts emerging from human motor learning research. Overall, based on this literature, we emphasize that skill has some fundamental characteristics, such as- (i) optimal movement selection and execution, (ii) improved movement speed and accuracy, and (iii) reduced movement variability and error. These features of skill can emerge as a consequence of extensive practice/training/learning, thus resulting in an improved performance state beyond baseline levels. Finally we provide some examples of model tasks that can appropriately capture these features of skill, and conclude that any neuroscientific endeavor aimed at understanding the essence of skill in human motor skill learning should focus on these aspects.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Yadav and Duque.