EFFECTS OF INTERLIMB TRANSFER IN LEARNING AND RETENTION OF SEQUENCES

Abstract

The current study investigated the effects of interlimb transfer in learning and retention of movement sequences in mirror and non-mirror conditions using a simple four element sequence learning task. A total of Forty eight healthy, Right Handed subjects were recruited for the study. The subjects are required to perform a few key presses following a stimulus on a color monitor using a standard numerical keyboard. Four conditions were tested which include 1) right hand practice with mirror 2)right hand practice with non-mirror, 3) left hand practice with mirror, and 4) left hand practice with non-mirror. The reaction time (RT), movement time (MT), total time (TT), were measured using E-prime software program. Two way ANOVA was conducted to see the main effects and interaction effects of practice, retention and transfer for mirror and non-mirror conditions. The two-way ANOVA conducted on MT measures showed significant interaction effects. The practice Hand x Retention Test indicated for the left mirror condition, practicing with the left hand was significantly slower than practicing with the right hand, whereas for non-mirror retention condition, there is no significant difference in practicing either with the right or left hand. The Retention Test x Practice Hand interaction is also significant, for the left hand practice condition, mirror was slower when compared to non-mirror, whereas for the right hand practice condition, non-mirror was slower compared to mirror. Our results indicate differences in motor code execution while processing mirror vs. non–mirror condition with right and left hands.