Effects of Limb-Specific Fatigue on Motor Learning during an Upper Extremity Proprioceptive Task

Nicholas Siekirk, College of Education Division of Kinesiology, Qin Lai, Georgia Southern University Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, Bradley Kendall, College of Health Sciences Taylor University Department of Kinesiology

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: The effects of limb-specific fatigue on motor skill acquisition and retention are not clear.
Objective: To investigate the impact of limb-specific fatigue on the acquisition and retention of an upper extremity proprioceptive task.
Methods: Twenty-two right-handed participants were randomly and equally assigned to either fatigued or non-fatigued protocols. Acquisition phase for the upper extremity task consisted of 5 blocks each with 12 trials. After 48 hours, all participants performed 1 block retention test (12 trials) with the left arm followed by 1 block transfer test (12 trials) with the right arm. Performance for each block was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Performance differences between groups for the acquisition was analyzed using a 2 x 5 (group x block) ANOVA with repeated measures on the blocks. The performance on retention-transfer was analyzed by separate ANOVAs. Statistical significance set at p < .05.
Results: The fatigued condition displayed significantly more E than the non-fatigue group (p < .05). During retention and transfer, the fatigue group again displayed higher E compared to the non-fatigued group (p < .05).
Conclusion: The results of this study support that limb-specific fatigue may produce performance deficits during acquisition and interfere with motor skill retention.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41-46
Number of pages6
JournalInternational Journal of Motor Control and Learning
Volume1
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 29 2019

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