Reward improves long-term retention of a motor memory through induction of offline memory gains.

ABSTRACT: In humans, training in which good performance is rewarded or bad performance punished results in transient behavioral improvements. The relative effects of reward and punishment on consolidation and long-term retention, critical behavioral stages for successful learning, are not known. Here, we investigated the effects of reward and punishment on these different stages of human motor skill learning. We studied healthy subjects who trained on a motor task under rewarded, punished, or neutral control conditions. Performance was tested before and immediately, 6 hr, 24 hr, and 30 days after training in the absence of reward or punishment. Performance improvements immediately after training were comparable in the three groups. At 6 hr, the rewarded group maintained performance gains, whereas th

SUBMITTER: Abe M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3075334 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature