Exploring the Impact of Declarative Learning on the Consolidation of Acquired Motor Skills Under Valence Feedback

Abstract

Implicit motor learning involves the acquisition and consolidation of motor skills without conscious awareness, influenced by various factors. Punishment and reward have been identified as significant modulators during training, impacting skill acquisition differently. Additionally, the role of a second declarative task in offline consolidation has been explored, affecting both stabilization and enhancement processes during wake and sleep periods. However, how valanced feedback and learning a secondary declarative task can influence the learning and consolidation of implicit motor learning has not been explored. This study investigates whether receiving monetary feedback during motor sequence learning influences consolidation when declarative knowledge about the task is disrupted by a second word-list task. Participants' skill levels were assessed during training, immediately after training, 15 min post-training (after performing the second task), and 24 h later after night sleep. Concurrently, brain synchrony was measured using electroencephalography (EEG) recording. Results indicate that monetary punishment leads to early enhancement and higher performance after the second task compared to reward and control groups. However, after 24 h, no significant enhancement was observed in any group, with differences between groups diminishing. EEG analysis revealed distinct brain subnetworks across alpha, beta, and unexpectedly delta network which traditionally associated with sleep-dependent consolidation. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between valanced feedback learning, declarative memory disruption, and offline consolidation in implicit motor learning, highlighting the dynamic nature of skill acquisition and retention, offering potential implications for targeted interventions and future research directions.