Time scales in motor learning and development.

Abstract

A theoretical framework based on the concepts and tools of nonlinear dynamical systems is advanced to account for both the persistent and transitory changes traditionally shown for the learning and development of motor skills. The multiple time scales of change in task outcome over time are interpreted as originating from the system's trajectory on an evolving attractor landscape. Different bifurcations between attractor organizations and transient phenomena can lead to exponential, power law, or S-shaped learning curves. This unified dynamical account of the functions and time scales in motor learning and development offers several new hypotheses for future research on the nature of change in learning theory.

The dynamics of expertise acquisition in sport: The role of affective learning design

“…The individualised nature of emotions must also take into account the different interacting time scales of learning that influence the development of expertise (Newell, Liu, & Mayer-Kress, 2001). The critical relationship between the timescale of perception and action (short term over seconds and minutes) and those of learning and development (longer term over days, weeks and months) predicates how an individual might approach specific situational constraints.…”

Persistent coordination patterns in a complex task after 10 years delay

“…It confirms the persistence of qualitative reorganizations after learning. The persistent change arises from stability of attractor landscape [4]- [5]: the adopted coordination mode is highly stable [11]- [6] and it was confirmed by the linearization of the stiffness. One allows us to validate the hypothesis (or the old saying): Once one learns to ride a bicycle, one never forgets Even if performance, generally measured by amplitude and frequency variables in motor learning experiment, was quite altered after a long time without practice, skilled motor coordination remained unchanged.…”

“…Moreover, motor learning is characterized by persistent change in behaviour over time [4]. Here, change and persistence are not opposite, but really complementary to analyse learning; change in performance exhibits both persistent and transitory properties which are the basis to determinate and understand laws of learning [4].…”

“…The transient change has been identified toward 3 types of rapid change: iwarm up decrement that occurs in the course of initial trials of practice session; ii-the drifting away from previous performance due to fatigue and decrement in attention; iii-trial to trial fluctuations have generally been interpreted as noise. When it plans to understand the learning process and these different fluctuations and stabilities it is essential to consider all the time scales [4]. However, such variables can be well studied across a long time of observation.…”

“…However, such variables can be well studied across a long time of observation. Longitudinal studies are relevant to reveal both qualitative and quantitative changes in behaviour but few studies in learning and performance of motor skill assess the time evolution or the dynamic property of the change [4].…”