Skill Memory

By: Kayla Flinn

Perceptual Motor

-Movements guided by sensory information
-Can be learned through operant conditioning -Visually, non-verbally/ unconsciously obtained

Cognitive

-Mental operations such as problem solving or reasoning -Could be expressed verbally but not always

Practice

-With effective practice, performance increases -Improvements in performance are described bt the Power Law of Practice (pattern on improvement found to be similar across species and tasks)- rapid gains at first, then gradual plateau

Making practice effective:
-Feedback: Influential for most types of learning
- Does feedback = more improvement? Yes, and no
- For simple perceptual motor skills. more feedback increases accuracy at the beginning but no improvement of long term memory retention
BUT
-Practice can be effective with or without conscious effort or feedback
-Perceptual learning does not require attention or feedback, although it can speed it up

Timing:
-Spreading out time (spaced) or crammed together (massed)

Expertise

Retention and Recall

Retention/ Recall influenced by many factors:
-Amount of time passed between last practice and retrieval attempt...-> decay... interference, over learning or amount of skill practice

-Complexity of the skill: Closed VS Open loop-> Perceptual VS cognitive
-Better Retention if tested for recognition VS Recall
-Better retention if retrieval conditions similar to encoding-> Transfer Specifity

Interference

Skills learning and recall can deteriorate due to interference from other skills

What Leads to Forgetting?

-Simple Passages of time with no further practice (like trace decay theory)
-Or things we do when time is passing (interference theory)
-Or is it due to how well we encode the initial skill memory (consolidation theory)

Sources of evidence include Trempe et al., 2011. Suggests that experiencing interference after learning takes place can affect retention, also the consolidation

Comparison of memories for skills, events, and facts

Skill Memories:
-Difficult to convey except by direct demonstration
- May be acquired without awareness
-Require several repetitions

Events and Facts Memories:
-Communicated flexibly different formats
-Have content that is consciously available
-Can be acquired in a single exposure

Implicit Memory in the BRAIN

A skill? A skill is a learned ability to perform a task, also known as procedural memory!

- Habit learning is a type of implicit memory -Multiple operant conditioning practice leads to powerful behaviour patterns
-As habits and skills become automatic, the Basal Ganglia changes!

The Cortex

Basal Ganglia

-Seen in mammals, remodelling of the cortex seems to play an important role in skill learning
-Training expands the cortical space representing skill memories -Expansion goes with increased grey matter -Disuse shrinks comical space representing skill movements

Gaser & Schlauch, 2003
-Are there differences in cortex size/ function between people that relate to their ability to perform a particular skill?
-Professional vs amateur musicians
-Volume of grey matter in several regions of the cortex correlated with musical practice

Variety: The variety of skills used: Constant vs Varied
-Constant: Faster learning within practice sessions
-Varied: Better long-term retention
-Learning VS Performance distinction:
-Complex motor sequences typically improve and persist long term with varied

-Expertise? Superior Skill Performance relative to the rest of the population
-How does one become an expert--> Practice!
- Talent: biological predisposition toward learning and performing a skill better than others

-Expertise may involove perceptual learning
-Experts perceive the world differently than novices