CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Impact of conflicting material on motor learning and consolidation. Anterograde interference (AI) usually refers to the impact of prior learning on the ability to successfully learn a subsequent, conflicting task. AI has been unambiguously reported in visuomotor and force-field adaptation tasks. It has even been suggested that AI may be stronger than retrograde effects, thereby masking the effect of interest in retrograde protocols aimed at studying consolidation. Yet, none of the work aimed at examining the magnitude of AI have actually quantified its effect on the speed of learning. In this seminar, I will show recent data from our lab in which we dissociated the impact of prior learning on the initial level of performance from its impact on the speed of learning and long-term memory. Contrary to current views, our results indicate that anterograde effects in visuomotor adaptation do not significantly affect the ability to learn conflicting material. Yet, it hampers memory retention, suggesting that it may however interfere with memory consolidation. Our findings may explain the failure of retrograde protocols to unveil memory consolidation in this type of motor learning.