Evidence for dual mechanisms of action prediction dependent on acquired visual-motor experiences.

To test mechanisms underpinning action prediction, we directly controlled experience in a dart-throwing training study. A motor-visual group physically practiced throwing darts and a perceptual training group learned to associate dart throw actions (occluded video clips) with landing outcomes. A final control group did not practice. Accuracy was assessed on related prediction tests before and after practice (involving temporally occluded video clips). These tests were performed while additionally performing simple, action-incongruent secondary motor tasks with either the right (observed throwing arm) or left effector, in addition to an attention control task. Motor proficiency tests were also performed. Although both trained groups improved their prediction accuracy after training, only the motor-visual group showed interference associated with the right-arm secondary motor task after practice. No interference was shown for the left-arm motor task. These effects were evidenced regardless of whether predictions were made in response to video stimuli or static clips. Moreover, improvements on the motor proficiency test were only shown for the motor-visual group. These results show evidence in support of motor simulation processes during action prediction among observers with motor experience. Prediction accuracy can be achieved via nonmotor processes (for the perceptual group), but there was no evidence that physically experienced performers could effectively switch processes to maintain prediction accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record

An action-incongruent secondary task modulates prediction accuracy in experienced performers: evidence for motor simulation.

We provide behavioral evidence that the human motor system is involved in the perceptual decision processes of skilled performers, directly linking prediction accuracy to the (in)ability of the motor system to activate in a response-specific way. Experienced and non-experienced dart players were asked to predict, from temporally occluded video sequences, the landing position of a dart thrown previously by themselves (self) or another (other). This prediction task was performed while additionally performing (a) an action-incongruent secondary motor task (right arm force production), (b) a congruent secondary motor task (mimicking) or (c) an attention-matched task (tone-monitoring). Non-experienced dart players were not affected by any of the secondary task manipulations, relative to control conditions, yet prediction accuracy decreased for the experienced players when additionally performing the force-production, motor task. This interference effect was present for 'self' as well as 'other' decisions, reducing the accuracy of experienced participants to a novice level. The mimicking (congruent) secondary task condition did not interfere with (or facilitate) prediction accuracy for either group. We conclude that visual-motor experience moderates the process of decision making, such that a seemingly visual-cognitive prediction task relies on activation of the motor system for experienced performers. This fits with a motor simulation account of action prediction in sports and other tasks, and alerts to the specificity of these simulative processes.

Exploring the dynamic nature of contextual interference: previous experience affects current practice but not learning.

There is evidence that the learning benefits of contextual interference (CI) are moderated by experience, yet we do not know if these experiences are related to specific practice with random schedules. In two experiments, CI practice schedule was manipulated on Day 1. We evaluated its impact on 3 new tasks on Day 2; in the same or different practice schedule (Experiment 1) or when participants chose their practice (Experiment 2). Typical CI effects were observed for both sets of tasks, although on Day 2, there were no longer any costs from random practice. Previous practice affected how practice was scheduled. The prior random group switched more than the prior blocked group. Although switching was related to retention, overall the groups did not differ. Therefore, specific experiences with a method of practice influence later choices about how to practice, performance in practice, but not necessarily what is retained.

Throwing in the dark: improved prediction of action outcomes following motor training without vision of the action.

Traditional models of action understanding emphasise the idea that long-term exposure to a wide array of visual patterns of particular actions allows for effective action anticipation or prediction. More recently, a greater emphasis has been placed on the motor system's role in the perceptual understanding and prediction of action outcomes. There have been attempts to isolate the contributions of visual and motor experience in action prediction, but to date, these studies have relied on comparisons of motor-visual experience to visual-only (observational) experience. We conducted a learning study, where visual experience was directly manipulated during practice. Novice participants practised throwing darts to 3 specific areas of a dartboard. A group trained without vision of their action, only feedback about the final landing position, significantly improved in their ability to predict the landing position of a thrown dart, from temporally occluded video clips. The performance of this 'no-vision' group did not differ from a Full-vision group and was significantly more accurate than an observation-only and a no-practice control group (with the latter two groups not improving pre- to post-practice). These results suggest that motor experience specifically modulates the perceptual prediction of action outcomes. This is thought to occur through simulative mechanisms, whereby observed actions are mapped onto the observer's own motor representations.