Effects of External Pacing Type on the Cross-Education of Motor Skill
Date
2025-01
Authors
Andrushko, Justin W
Zirk, Dakota T
Kurniawan, Aryan R
Renshaw, Doug W
Farthing, Jonathan P
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Journal of Motor Behavior
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Abstract
Cross-education (CE) is a phenomenon whereby motor training of one limb leads to improved performance in the opposite untrained limb. External pacing of a motor task can enhance CE; however, the influence of different pacing methods is poorly understood. This study explored how motor training with auditory (AP) and visual pacing (VP) impacts CE with a visuomotor force target task. Sixty-one participants performed a unimanual motor task. Participants were randomized into a visual (n = 31) or auditory (n = 30) pacing stimuli condition. The primary outcome was cumulative error scores for each hand, before and after visuomotor training. Pacing type did not yield different magnitudes of CE. However, after adjusting for baseline differences, a significant hand (trained vs. untrained) × practice side (dominant or non-dominant) interaction (p = .013, ηp2 = .106) and a group main effect (p = .036, ηp2 = .165) were observed. Visual pacing resulted in greater improvements in task performance compared to auditory pacing regardless of hand or practice side, while training the dominant limb resulting in a greater interlimb asymmetry regardless of pacing stimulus. These findings have implications for applying pacing strategies during rehabilitation from unilateral injury or neurological impairment.
Description
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Motor Behavior on August 19, 2024 available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2024.2390032
Keywords
inter-limb transfer, visuomotor training, motor learning, entrainment, auditory pacing, visual pacing
Citation
Andrushko, J. W., Zirk, D. T., Kurniawan, A. R., Renshaw, D. W., & Farthing, J. P. (2025). Effects of External Pacing Type on the Cross-Education of Motor Skill. Journal of motor behavior, 57(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2024.2390032
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2024.2390032