Learning an Imposed Timing in a Sequential Arm Movement

Abstract

The possibility of learning an imposed timing in a sequential arm movement was investigated as such observations could have important implications for learning in sport. The experimental task was performed by 26 women and 19 men on a vertical digitizer and required a movement made of four segments, different in both length and direction. To impose a timing very different from a spontaneous one, the spontaneous temporal organization on this task had first to be characterized. Then, during the learning, visual and auditory information about the imposed timing was given to subjects on each trial. Analysis showed that subjects accurately learned the imposed timing; moreover, the learning was a discontinuous process. Finally, it was obvious that the learned timing could be transferred to a reversed spatial pattern.