Name: the "motor" in implicit motor sequence learning: a foot-stepping serial reaction time task
Uploaded: 2018-05-03T12:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task at JoVE.com

Support for this research was provided by the University of Maryland Kinesiology Graduate Research Initiative Fund to Yue Du.

The protocol was performed in accordance with the guidelines approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Maryland, College Park.
1. Experimental Set-up
<ol>
	<li>Set up a motion capture system as shown in Figure 1a. Place eight cameras in a circle with a radius of 4 m. 
	NOTE: The number and positions of cameras can be varied, provided all cameras are appropriately positioned to obtain a clear vision of all reflective markers attached to...

<ol>
	<li>Nissen, M. J., Bullemer, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Attentional+requirements+of+learning:+Evidence+from+performance+measures.">Attentional requirements of learning: Evidence from performance measures.</a> Cognit Psychol. 19 (1), 1-32 (1987).</li><li>Willingham, D. B., Nissen, M. J., Bullemer, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=On+the+development+of+procedural+knowledge.">On the development of procedural knowledge.</a> J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 15 (6), 1047-1060 (1989).</li><li>Du, Y., Valentini, N. C., Kim, M. J., Whitall, J., Clark, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Children+and+adults+both+learn+motor+sequences+quickly,+but+do+so+differently.">Children and adults both learn motor sequences quickly, but do so differently.</a> Front Psychol. 8 (158), (2017).</li><li>Du, Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Learning processes underlying implicit motor sequence acquisition in children and adults. , (2016).</li><li>Du, Y., Clark, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=New+insights+into+statistical+learning+and+chunk+learning+in+implicit+sequence+acquisition.">New insights into statistical learning and chunk learning in implicit sequence acquisition.</a> Psychon Bull Rev. , 1-9 (2016).</li><li>Gheysen, F., Van Waelvelde, H., Fias, W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Impaired+visuo-motor+sequence+learning+in+Developmental+Coordination+Disorder.">Impaired visuo-motor sequence learning in Developmental Coordination Disorder.</a> Res Dev Disabil. 32 (2), 749-756 (2011).</li><li>Wilson, P. H., Maruff, P., Lum, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Procedural+learning+in+children+with+developmental+coordination+disorder.">Procedural learning in children with developmental coordination disorder.</a> Hum Movement Sci. 22 (4-5), 515 (2003).</li><li>Cermak, S. A., Larkin, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Developmental coordination disorder. , (2002).</li><li>Taylor, J. A., Ivry, R. 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D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Preparation+of+anticipatory+postural+adjustments+prior+to+stepping.">Preparation of anticipatory postural adjustments prior to stepping.</a> J Neurophysiol. 97 (6), 4368-4379 (2007).</li><li>Cordo, P. J., Nashner, L. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Properties+of+postural+adjustments+associated+with+rapid+arm+movements.">Properties of postural adjustments associated with rapid arm movements.</a> J Neurophysiol. 47 (2), 287-382 (1982).</li><li>Vicon Motion System Nexus Documentation. Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.vicon.com/display/Nexus25/Nexus+Documentation">https://docs.vicon.com/display/Nexus25/Nexus+Documentation</a> (2017)</li><li>Oldfield, R. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+assessment+and+analysis+of+handness:+The+edinburgh+inventory.">The assessment and analysis of handness: The edinburgh inventory.</a> Neuropsychologia. 9, 97-113 (1971).</li><li>Armstrong, T., Bull, F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Development+of+the+world+health+organization+global+physical+activity+questionnaire+(GPAQ).">Development of the world health organization global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ).</a> J Public Health. 14 (2), 66-70 (2006).</li><li>Henderson, S. E., Sugden, D. A., Barnett, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Movement Assessment Battery for Children - Second edition (Movement ABC-2). , (2007).</li><li>Destrebecqz, A., Cleeremans, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Can+sequence+learning+be+implicit?+New+evidence+with+the+process+dissociation+procedure.">Can sequence learning be implicit? New evidence with the process dissociation procedure.</a> Psychon Bull Rev. 8 (2), 343-350 (2001).</li><li>De Leva, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Adjustments+to+Zatsiorsky-Seluyanov's+segment+inertia+parameters.">Adjustments to Zatsiorsky-Seluyanov's segment inertia parameters.</a> J Biomech. 29 (9), 1223-1230 (1996).</li><li>Bair, W. -. N., Kiemel, T., Jeka, J. J., Clark, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Development+of+multisensory+reweighting+for+posture+control+in+children.">Development of multisensory reweighting for posture control in children.</a> Exp Brain Res. 183 (4), 435-446 (2007).</li><li>Curran, T., Keele, S. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Attentional+and+nonattentional+forms+of+sequence+learning.">Attentional and nonattentional forms of sequence learning.</a> J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 19 (1), 189-202 (1993).</li><li>Du, Y., Prashad, S., Schoenbrun, I., Clark, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Probabilistic+motor+sequence+yields+greater+offline+and+less+online+learning+than+fixed+sequence.">Probabilistic motor sequence yields greater offline and less online learning than fixed sequence.</a> Front Hum Neurosci. 10, (2016).</li><li>Destrebecqz, A., Cleeremans, A., Jim&#233;nez, L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Attention and implicit learning. , 181-213 (2003).</li><li>Jimenez, L., Vazquez, G. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sequence+learning+under+dual-task+conditions:+alternatives+to+a+resource-based+account.">Sequence learning under dual-task conditions: alternatives to a resource-based account.</a> Psychol Res. 69 (5-6), 352-368 (2005).</li><li>Curran, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effects+of+aging+on+implicit+sequence+learning:+Accounting+for+sequence+structure+and+explicit+knowledge.">Effects of aging on implicit sequence learning: Accounting for sequence structure and explicit knowledge.</a> Psychol Res. 60 (1-2), 24-41 (1997).</li><li>Ramenzoni, V. C., Riley, M. A., Shockley, K., Chiu, C. Y. 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This protocol describes the experimental set-up and procedures for a modified SRT task. The modified SRT task shares its appealing simplicity with the classic SRT task, although the modified SRT task demands use of a motion capture technique. Like the classic SRT task, many parameters could be manipulated for specific research questions in the foot-stepping SRT task, including but not limited to: the length of interval-stimulus interval or response-stimulus interval27, the type of sequence structu...

Implicit motor sequence learning, generally known as learning a sequence without knowing the sequence, is critical to our daily activities and has been well studied by a paradigmatic task named the serial reaction time (SRT) task designed by Nissen and Bullemer1. In this classic SRT task, participants press keys to respond quickly and accurately to visual stimuli. To examine sequence learning, the appearance of visual stimuli is manipulated to follow either a pre-structured or random sequence, which is unknown to participants. Learning is evidenced by the faster response time to the pre-structured sequence (e.g., the training sequence) than that to the random or another pre-structured sequence1,2. While the classic SRT task typically requires bi-manual finger tapping, a vast majority of implicit motor sequence learning in everyday activities, such as dancing, playing musical instruments, or playing sports, involves whole body actions that present postural and inertial challenges not found in the classic SRT task. Thus, we proposed that sequence learning tasks need to be more multifaceted. In addition, the focus of the previous research has been almost exclusively on the cognitive component of the task (e.g., decision making or action selection), ignoring the motor control issues involved in sequence learning (e.g., movement execution). Thus, to further understand implicit motor sequence learning, it is essential to study sequence learning in a whole-body or gross motor task that better approximates our daily motor activities.
In our recent studies, we extended the classic SRT task to a modified SRT task where finger pressing was replaced by foot stepping to incorporate postural control into sequence learning3,4,5. This modified task presents its own advantages to complement the classic SRT task. First, the gross motor sequence learning task better mimics daily sequential activities where whole-body movement is involved. To date, our understanding of motor sequence learning typically comes from the classic SRT task, but little is known whether the knowledge of motor sequence learning from the classic SRT task remains to be true in learning sequential motor skills in daily activities. Thus, the modified SRT task allows us to examine whether the systematically reported characteristics (e.g., age-independent implicit sequence learning between children and adults) in the finger-pressing SRT task remain when postural control is involved. Additionally, in populations with posture control and gross motor skill learning difficulties, such as children with developmental coordination disorder6,7,8, understanding how posture control interacts with gross motor sequence learning is critical to help improve intervention strategies, and thus optimize the effectiveness of learning sequential motor skills in daily life.
Second, a common notion about implicit sequence learning is that motor planning, and not movement execution, plays an important role in learning a sequence in the classic SRT task9. This is because pressing keys does not involve moving to new locations in space, as the fingers are always on the response keys. However, many daily sequential behaviors involve large spatial movements. Little is known as to whether movement execution is a key player in motor sequence learning when large spatial movements are required. In the classic SRT task, response time, the summation of reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT), serves as an indicator of sequence learning. The foot-stepping SRT task, like other paradigms involving spatial movements10, allows the researcher to disentangle response time in implicit sequence learning into RT, which reflects cognitive processing, and MT, which characterizes the movement itself.
Third, in addition to MT, the combination of the foot-stepping SRT task and motion capture techniques provides rich data on the continuous whole-body movement (e.g., movement of the center of mass, or COM). Measuring the continuous change of movement has the advantage of revealing the dynamics of the cognitive processes underlying the discrete response measured by RT or MT11,12. In particular, learning sequences in the SRT task are typically explained as a mixture of explicit and implicit processes. That is, despite the common use of the SRT task as an implicit learning task, participants often show the capability to verbally recall the learned sequence after the SRT task, suggesting an explicit component involved in implicit sequence learning. Although the explicit component can be assessed by recall tests conducted after the SRT task13,14, these post-task tests lack the ability to examine the temporal evolution of explicit knowledge during learning. We propose that with explicit sequence knowledge, an individual would know the location of the next stimulus, and thus produce anticipatory postural adjustment15,16,17 in a feedforward manner to prepare for the stepping foot to move to the corresponding target. Therefore, examining the movement of the COM before the stimulus appearance (i.e., anticipation) opens a window to studying the progressive development of explicit memory during implicit sequence learning.
The protocol demonstrates the experimental set-up and procedure of the foot-stepping SRT task. We provide representative results of response time, RT, and MT. In addition, we present results regarding the relationship between posture control and the explicit processes underlying implicit motor sequence learning.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Vicon motion capture system</td>
			<td>Vicon</td>
			<td>Vicon T-40, T-160, calibration wand</td>
			<td>Alternative systems may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 mm reflective markers</td>
			<td>Vicon</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Numbers of markers may be varied</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Labview software</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Control visual stimuli. Use together with DAQ board. Alternative software may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DAQ board</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td>BNC-2111; DAQCard-6024E</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MATLAB</td>
			<td>MathWorks</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Alternative software may be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>double sided hypo-allergenic adhesive tape</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>pre-wrapping tape</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

the "motor" in implicit motor sequence learning: a foot-stepping serial reaction time task

This protocol describes a modified serial reaction time (SRT) task used to study implicit motor sequence learning. Unlike the classic SRT task that involves finger-pressing movements while sitting, the modified SRT task requires participants to step with both feet while maintaining a standing posture. This stepping task necessitates whole body actions that impose postural challenges. The foot-stepping task complements the classic SRT task in several ways. The foot-stepping SRT task is a better proxy for the daily activities that require ongoing postural control, and thus may help us better understand sequence learning in real-life situations. In addition, response time serves as an indicator of sequence learning in the classic SRT task, but it is unclear whether response time, reaction time (RT) representing mental process, or movement time (MT) reflecting the movement itself, is a key player in motor sequence learning. The foot-stepping SRT task allows researchers to disentangle response time into RT and MT, which may clarify how motor planning and movement execution are involved in sequence learning. Lastly, postural control and cognition are interactively related, but little is known about how postural control interacts with learning motor sequences. With a motion capture system, the movement of the whole body (e.g., the center of mass (COM)) can be recorded. Such measures allow us to reveal the dynamic processes underlying discrete responses measured by RT and MT, and may aid in elucidating the relationship between postural control and the explicit and implicit processes involved in sequence learning. Details of the experimental set-up, procedure, and data processing are described. The representative data are adopted from one of our previous studies. Results are related to response time, RT, and MT, as well as the relationship between the anticipatory postural response and the explicit processes involved in implicit motor sequence learning.

The above paradigm is implemented by Du and colleagues in a series of studies3,4,5. We use a part of data adopted from one of these studies4 to represent the usage of the foot-stepping SRT task. In this study, there are 6 learning blocks and a RSI of 700 ms is used. Visual stimuli followed sequence A (i.e., 1423564215; Figure 1a) in b...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task at JoVE.com

The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task

We introduce the foot-stepping serial reaction time (SRT) task. This modified SRT task, complementing the classic SRT task that involves only finger-pressing movement, better approximates daily sequenced activities and allows researchers to study the dynamic processes underlying discrete response measures and disentangle the explicit process operating in implicit sequence learning.

This protocol describes a modified serial reaction time (SRT) task used to study implicit motor sequence learning. Unlike the classic SRT task that ...

The overall goal of this experiment is to study how people learn a sequence of actions that mimic daily activities, and to elucidate the cognitive processes, specifically the explicit process operating an implicit motor sequence learning. This task provides a novel way to review the progress of development of the explicit wellness during implicit motor sequence learning. Using this task can help answer key questions in the motor learning and the developmental field, such as implicit motor sequence learning and its age-related development.The key advantage of this technique is that compared to the classic SRT task, the foot-stepping in task involves greater motor control complexity and it allows us to better understand the learning of sequential skills in daily life, such as dancing, playing musical instruments, or playing sports. The implications of this technique extend to helping us understand children with movement difficulties, particularly the learning of motor sequences by children with something called developmental coordination disorder or DCD. We had first got the idea for this method when we watched one of our children, who we were studying, who had DCD, as he practiced the Wii game, Dance Dance Revolution"He was able to learn the sequence, despite the problems he was having with his motor control and his postural challenges.Demonstrating the procedural will be Elizabeth Bell and Mia Caminita, graduate students from the neuromechanics laboratory. Begin by insuring proper function of the motion capture system to ensure accurate collection of 3D data from reflective markers. For dynamic calibration, wave the calibration wand supplied with the motion capture system through the space where all reflective markers would move when participants perform the SRT task.For static calibration, place the calibration wand on the floor with the position and orientation, which can be used as the origin of the coordination system of the motion capture system. Run the motion capture system to set the origin. In the motion capture system, assign each marker a name and create segments by connecting markers together.Link all segments to finalize the skeleton template. Upon arrival, ask participants to carefully read and sign the consent form. Hi Mia, thanks for volunteering to complete this study.This consent form will give you better detail on exactly what we're going to do today. If you will agree to participate, can you just initial each page and then sign the last? After this, there's just a few questionnaires that we will go through.Screen for study eligibility using such questionnaires as the hand dominance questionnaire, global physical activity level questionnaire, and neurological health questionnaire. Ask the participant to take off their shoes and socks. Okay, great, now we're ready for motion capture.If I could just have you take off your shoes and socks, we'll be good to go.Okay. Then use double-sided, hypoallergenic, adhesive tape and pre-wrapping tape to attach 38 spherical reflective markers, each 50 millimeters in diameter, to the skin at predetermined significant bony landmarks. This marker setup is the same as the customized skeleton template shown here.Clear all unwanted reflections other than those 38 markers from the participant's body. Run a calibration trial by instructing participants to stand quietly on the home position in a T-pose and run the motion capture system to capture all markers for two to ten seconds. Before each participant starts the task, set up the parameters, including but not limited to, participant ID, group ID, number of learning blocks, the time length of stimulus presentation, and the interstimulus interval or response stimulus interval, to control the time interval between the completion of movement and the onset of the next stimulus.Ask the participant to stand on the home position. Okay, if you could step into the dark blue rectangles, this will be your home position. And adjust the distance of the home position so that participants can comfortably step on to all six targets on the floor.Have the participant quickly step on to each target several times. And back behind your left foot, great. And mark the distance from the home position to each target at the most comfortable stepping length for each participant.Tell the participant that once a stimulus appears at one of six locations shown on the monitor, they need to step as quickly and accurately as possible to the corresponding target on the floor and then return to the home position. Once the stimulus appears at one of the six locations shown on the monitor, you will step as quickly and accurately as possible to the corresponding target on the floor and then return to the home position. Then, tell the participant to step with the right foot to the three targets located on the right side and the left foot to the other three targets.You will step with your right foot for the three targets on the right side of the screen and your left foot for the three targets on the left. Instruct the participants to keep their elbows by their side and bent at a 90 degree angle when they perform the task so that the cameras can see the markers placed on the hip. Please keep your hands by your side and your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle.Run a practice block that consist of 36 steps so that participants are familiar with the task. Stimuli on this block appear in random order. After the practice block, start the experimental blocks.In this protocol, there are six blocks, and each experimental block is comprised of 100 steps per stimulus. Set the specific order of visual stimuli as per experimental purposes. Stimuli follow either a specified or random sequence.The presentation of stimulus order is unknown to participants. Give participants a mandatory three minute break after each block. Before each experimental block, remind participants to respond to stimuli as quickly and accurately as they can.So we're going to repeat the same task. It's important to respond to stimuli as quickly and accurately as you can. Given a possible speed accuracy trade-off, instructing the subject to be as fast and accurate as possible, at the same time before each learning block is critical.Upon completion of all learning blocks, ask participants to complete a post-test that consists of widely used recall and recognition tests described in the literature. This figure illustrates 12 young adults'mean response times across six learning blocks. The response time to a novel sequence is significantly lower in block five compared with the learned sequence in block four, indicating learning of the sequence.Mean reaction time exhibits the same pattern as response time. In particular, reaction time in block five is slower than that in block four. Unlike response time and reaction time, movement time is comparable between blocks four and five.In addition to the time measurement focused in the classic SRT task, the whole body movement, especially the center of mass movement, can also be measured in the foot-stepping SRT task. This figure shows one participant's data of movement trajectories of the center of mass that occur 100 milliseconds before the stimuli appear. This figure shows the directions of the anticipatory center of mass movement.The anticipatory movement direction for each stimulus is very inconsistent at the beginning and became more consistent as learning progressed across blocks. This figure shows the significant changes in the movement direction variability across blocks at the group level. Specifically, the variability increased from block four to five, indicating that the center of mass movement direction would be an evident sign of motor sequence learning in the SRT task.More importantly, the anticipatory center of mass movement is likely to reflect the explicit process operating in implicit motor sequence learning. The increased variability from block four to five was demonstrated only in participants who required the explicit knowledge of the sequence, but not in participants who did not show explicit knowledge. Moreover, the change in variability from block four to five is significantly correlated to the amount of explicit knowledge acquired by participants.After watching this video, you should have a good understanding of the advantages of this foot-stepping task, that compliment the classic key-pressing SRT task. First, it better mimics impulse sequence learning in daily sequenced activities. Second, this modified SRT task offers a unique ability to examine the temporal evolution of explicit awareness that operates in implicit motor sequence learning.Last, using this tasks, other information, like continuous movement trajectories, can be recorded and examined. The measurement of temporal dynamics of movement could be used to review hidden cognitive process in future sequence learning studies.

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Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

Study Motor Skill Learning by Single-pellet Reaching Tasks in Mice

Reaching for and retrieving objects require precise and coordinated motor movements in the forelimb. When mice are repeatedly trained to grasp and retrieve food rewards positioned at a specific location, their motor performance (defined as accuracy and speed) improves progressively over time, and plateaus after persistent training. Once such reaching skill is mastered, its further maintenance does not require constant practice. Here we introduce a single-pellet reaching task to study the acquisition and maintenance of skilled forelimb movements in mice. In this video, we first describe the behaviors of mice that are commonly encountered in this learning and memory paradigm, and then discuss how to categorize these behaviors and quantify the observed results. Combined with mouse genetics, this paradigm can be utilized as a behavioral platform to explore the anatomical underpinnings, physiological properties, and molecular mechanisms of learning and memory.

Persistent practice improves the precision of coordinated movements.&#160;Here we introduce a single-pellet reaching task, which is designed to assess the learning and memory of forelimb skill in mice.&#160;

Reaching for and retrieving objects require precise and coordinated motor movements in the forelimb. When mice are repeatedly trained to grasp and ...

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Kinesthetic awareness is important to successfully navigate the environment. When we interact with our daily surroundings, some aspects of movement are deliberately planned, while others spontaneously occur below conscious awareness. The deliberate component of this dichotomy has been studied extensively in several contexts, while the spontaneous component remains largely under-explored. Moreover, how perceptual processes modulate these movement classes is still unclear. In particular, a currently debated issue is whether the visuomotor system is governed by the spatial percept produced by a visual illusion or whether it is not affected by the illusion and is governed instead by the veridical percept. Bistable percepts such as 3D depth inversion illusions (DIIs) provide an excellent context to study such interactions and balance, particularly when used in combination with reach-to-grasp movements. In this study, a methodology is developed that uses a DII to clarify the role of top-down processes on motor action, particularly exploring how reaches toward a target on a DII are affected in both deliberate and spontaneous movement domains.

It is unclear how top-down signals from the ventral visual stream affect movement. We developed a paradigm to test motor behavior towards a target on a 3D depth inversion illusion. Significant differences are reported in both deliberate, goal-directed movements and automatic actions under illusory and veridical viewing conditions.

Kinesthetic awareness is important to successfully navigate the environment. When we interact with our daily surroundings, some aspects of movement are ...

The 5-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task: A Task of Attention and Impulse Control for Rodents

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. Test day challenges, modifications to the standard task, can be used to systematically tax the neural systems controlling either attention or impulse control. Importantly, these challenges have consistent effects on behavior across laboratories in intact animals and can reveal either enhancements or deficits in cognitive function that are not apparent when rats are only tested on the standard task. The variety of behavioral measures that are collected can be used to determine if other factors (i.e., sedation, motivation deficits, locomotor impairments) are contributing to changes in performance. The versatility of the 5CSRTT is further enhanced because it is amenable to combination with pharmacological, molecular, and genetic techniques.

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. Test day challenges, which are modifications of the standard task, increase flexibility of the task and can be combined with other manipulations to more fully characterize behavior.

This protocol describes the 5-choice serial reaction time task, which is an operant based task used to study attention and impulse control in rodents. ...

Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke

Mouse models have become increasingly popular in the field of behavioral neuroscience, and specifically in studies of experimental stroke. As models advance, it is important to develop sensitive behavioral measures specific to the mouse. The present protocol describes a skilled motor task for use in mouse models of stroke. The Pasta Matrix Reaching Task functions as a versatile and sensitive behavioral assay that permits experimenters to collect accurate outcome data and manipulate limb use to mimic human clinical phenomena including compensatory strategies (i.e., learned non-use) and focused rehabilitative training. When combined with neuroanatomical tools, this task also permits researchers to explore the mechanisms that support behavioral recovery of function (or lack thereof) following stroke. The task is both simple and affordable to set up and conduct, offering a variety of training and testing options for numerous research questions concerning functional outcome following injury. Though the task has been applied to mouse models of stroke, it may also be beneficial in studies of functional outcome in other upper extremity injury models.

Mouse models have become increasingly popular in studies of behavioral neuroscience. As models advance, it is important to develop sensitive behavioral measures specific to the mouse. This protocol describes the Pasta Matrix Reaching Task, which is a skilled motor task for use in mouse models of stroke.

Mouse models have become increasingly popular in the field of behavioral neuroscience, and specifically in studies of experimental stroke. As models ...

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Task-specific actions emerge from spontaneous movement during infancy. It has been proposed that task-specific actions emerge through a discovery-learning process. Here a method is described in which 3-4 month old infants learn a task by discovery and their leg movements are captured to quantify the learning process. This discovery-learning task uses an infant activated mobile that rotates and plays music based on specified leg action of infants. Supine infants activate the mobile by moving their feet vertically across a virtual threshold. This paradigm is unique in that as infants independently discover that their leg actions activate the mobile, the infants&#8217; leg movements are tracked using a motion capture system allowing for the quantification of the learning process. Specifically, learning is quantified in terms of the duration of mobile activation, the position variance of the end effectors (feet) that activate the mobile, changes in hip-knee coordination patterns, and changes in hip and knee muscle torque. This information describes infant exploration and exploitation at the interplay of person and environmental constraints that support task-specific action. Subsequent research using this method can investigate how specific impairments of different populations of infants at risk for movement disorders influence the discovery-learning process for task-specific action.

A method is described in which 3-4 month old infants learn a task by discovery and their leg movements are captured to quantify the learning process.

Task-specific actions emerge from spontaneous movement during infancy. It has been proposed that task-specific actions emerge through a discovery-learning ...

Electrophysiological Motor Unit Number Estimation (MUNE) Measuring Compound Muscle Action Potential (CMAP) in Mouse Hindlimb Muscles

Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and motor unit number estimation (MUNE) are electrophysiological techniques that can be used to monitor the functional status of a motor unit pool in vivo. These measures can provide insight into the normal development and degeneration of the neuromuscular system. These measures have clear translational potential because they are routinely applied in diagnostic and clinical human studies. We present electrophysiological techniques similar to those employed in humans to allow recordings of mouse sciatic nerve function. The CMAP response represents the electrophysiological output from a muscle or group of muscles following supramaximal stimulation of a peripheral nerve. MUNE is an electrophysiological technique that is based on modifications of the CMAP response. MUNE is a calculated value that represents the estimated number of motor neurons or axons (motor control input) supplying the muscle or group of muscles being tested. We present methods for recording CMAP responses from the proximal leg muscles using surface recording electrodes following the stimulation of the sciatic nerve in mice. An incremental MUNE technique is described using submaximal stimuli to determine the average single motor unit potential (SMUP) size. MUNE is calculated by dividing the CMAP amplitude (peak-to-peak) by the SMUP amplitude (peak-to-peak). These electrophysiological techniques allow repeated measures in both neonatal and adult mice in such a manner that facilitates rapid analysis and data collection while reducing the number of animals required for experimental testing. Furthermore, these measures are similar to those recorded in human studies allowing more direct comparisons.

Electrophysiological Motor Unit Number Estimation MUNE Measuring Compound Muscle Action Potential CMAP in Mouse Hindlimb Muscles

We present refined protocols that allow in vivo monitoring of motor unit function in the mouse. Techniques to measure compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and motor unit number estimation (MUNE) in the mouse hind limb muscles innervated by the sciatic nerve are described.

Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and motor unit number estimation (MUNE) are electrophysiological techniques that can be used to monitor the ...

Investigating Motor Skill Learning Processes with a Robotic Manipulandum

Skilled reaching tasks are commonly used in studies of motor skill learning and motor function under healthy and pathological conditions, but can be time-intensive and ambiguous to quantify beyond simple success rates. Here, we describe the training procedure for reach-and-pull tasks with ETH Pattus, a robotic platform for automated forelimb reaching training that records pulling and hand rotation movements in rats. Kinematic quantification of the performed pulling attempts reveals the presence of distinct temporal profiles of movement parameters such as pulling velocity, spatial variability of the pulling trajectory, deviation from midline, as well as pulling success. We show how minor adjustments in the training paradigm result in alterations in these parameters, revealing their relation to task difficulty, general motor function or skilled task execution. Combined with electrophysiological, pharmacological and optogenetic techniques, this paradigm can be used to explore the mechanisms underlying motor learning and memory formation, as well as loss and recovery of function (e.g. after stroke).

A paradigm is presented for training and analysis of an automated skilled reaching task in rats. Analysis of pulling attempts reveals distinct subprocesses of motor learning.

Skilled reaching tasks are commonly used in studies of motor skill learning and motor function under healthy and pathological conditions, but can be ...

Using a Split-belt Treadmill to Evaluate Generalization of Human Locomotor Adaptation

Understanding the mechanisms underlying locomotor learning helps researchers and clinicians optimize gait retraining as part of motor rehabilitation. However, studying human locomotor learning can be challenging. During infancy and childhood, the neuromuscular system is quite immature, and it is unlikely that locomotor learning during early stages of development is governed by the same mechanisms as in adulthood. By the time humans reach maturity, they are so proficient at walking that it is difficult to come up with a sufficiently novel task to study de novo locomotor learning. The split-belt treadmill, which has two belts that can drive each leg at a different speed, enables the study of both short- (i.e., immediate) and long-term (i.e., over minutes-days; a form of motor learning) gait modifications in response to a novel change in the walking environment. Individuals can easily be screened for previous exposure to the split-belt treadmill, thus ensuring that all experimental participants have no (or equivalent) prior experience. This paper describes a typical split-belt treadmill adaptation protocol that incorporates testing methods to quantify locomotor learning and generalization of this learning to other walking contexts. A discussion of important considerations for designing split-belt treadmill experiments follows, including factors like treadmill belt speeds, rest breaks, and distractors. Additionally, potential but understudied confounding variables (e.g., arm movements, prior experience) are considered in the discussion.

We describe a protocol for investigating human locomotor adaptation using the split-belt treadmill, which has two belts that can drive each leg at a different speed. We specifically focus on a paradigm designed to test the generalization of adapted locomotor patterns to different walking contexts (e.g., gait speeds, walking environments).

Understanding the mechanisms underlying locomotor learning helps researchers and clinicians optimize gait retraining as part of motor rehabilitation. ...

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Over the last decade, employing computer animations for animal behavior research has increased due to its ability to non-invasively manipulate the appearance and behavior of visual stimuli, compared to manipulating live animals. Here, we present the FishSim Animation Toolchain, a software framework developed to provide researchers with an easy-to-use method for implementing 3D computer animations in behavioral experiments with fish. The toolchain offers templates to create virtual 3D stimuli of five different fish species. Stimuli are customizable in both appearance and size, based on photographs taken of live fish. Multiple stimuli can be animated by recording swimming paths in a virtual environment using a video game controller. To increase standardization of the simulated behavior, the prerecorded swimming path may be replayed with different stimuli. Multiple animations can later be organized into playlists and presented on monitors during experiments with live fish.
In a case study with sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna), we provide a protocol on how to conduct a mate-choice copying experiment with FishSim. We utilized this method to create and animate virtual males and virtual model females, and then presented these to live focal females in a binary choice experiment. Our results demonstrate that computer animation may be used to simulate virtual fish in a mate-choice copying experiment to investigate the role of female gravid spots as an indication of quality for a model female in mate-choice copying.
Applying this method is not limited to mate-choice copying experiments but can be used in various experimental designs. Still, its usability depends on the visual capabilities of the study species and first needs validation. Overall, computer animations offer a high degree of control and standardization in experiments and bear the potential to &#39;reduce&#39; and &#39;replace&#39; live stimulus animals as well as to &#39;refine&#39; experimental procedures.

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Using the novel FishSim Animation Toolchain, we present a protocol for non-invasive visual manipulation of public information in the context of mate-choice copying in sailfin mollies. FishSim Animation Toolchain provides an easy-to-use framework for the design, animation and presentation of computer-animated fish stimuli for behavioral experiments with live test fish.

Over the last decade, employing computer animations for animal behavior research has increased due to its ability to non-invasively manipulate the ...

Using the Race Model Inequality to Quantify Behavioral Multisensory Integration Effects

Multisensory integration research investigates how the brain processes simultaneous sensory information. Research on animals (mainly cats and primates) and humans reveal that intact multisensory integration is crucial for functioning in the real world, including both cognitive and physical activities. Much of the research conducted over the past several decades documents multisensory integration effects using diverse psychophysical, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques. While its presence has been reported, the methods used to determine the magnitude of multisensory integration effects varies and typically faces much criticism. In what follows, limitations of previous behavioral studies are outlined and a step-by-step tutorial for calculating the magnitude of multisensory integration effects using robust probability models is provided.

The current study aims to provide a step-by-step tutorial for calculating the magnitude of multisensory integration effects in an effort to facilitate the production of translational research studies across diverse clinical populations.

Multisensory integration research investigates how the brain processes simultaneous sensory information. Research on animals (mainly cats and primates) ...