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Effects of practice on final position reproduction

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Summary

Three subjects practiced fast, accurate 36° elbow flexion movements to a 2.5° target for 14 sessions of 100 trials (total, 1400 trials). Subjects then returned for a 15th experimental session in which they were asked to perform 15 movements under identical conditions to the practice condition. They were then tested under three experimental conditions without visual feedback: (1) identical to the practice conditions, (2) with small shifts in starting position (± 3° of the practiced starting position), that were insufficient for subjective discrimination and, therefore, subjects were instructed to repeat the practiced movements; and (3) with a large shift in starting position (range, ± 15° of the practiced starting position), under the instruction to move to the same target. Experimental conditions 2 and 3 demonstrated that shifts in starting position were partially correlated with shifts in final position. These results are interpreted from the point of view of the equilibrium-point hypothesis of motor control.

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Jaric, S., Corcos, D.M. & Latash, M.L. Effects of practice on final position reproduction. Exp Brain Res 91, 129–134 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00230021

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00230021

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