Effects of dyad motor practice on proprioceptive function

Dyad practice of complex motor skills, characterized by two learners alternating between physical and observational practice, can yield better motor outcomes and reduce practice time compared to physical practice alone. It is unknown if the superior effects of dyad practice on motor learning extend to proprioceptive learning.

Forty-two healthy participants (18–35 years) were randomized into three groups (n=14 each): Dyad practice, physical practice with rest (PP-rest), and physical practice without rest (PP-no rest). Participants practiced a 2 degree-of-freedom gamified wrist movement task for 20 minutes using a custom-made wrist robotic device. Wrist position sense acuity was assessed before (baseline) and 24 hours after the end of training (retention), using the Just-noticeable-difference (JND) threshold and Uncertainty.

Only the PP-no rest group exhibited significantly lower JND thresholds at retention compared to baseline ( t (13)=2.44; p = 0.03, Hedge’s g =0.70). There were no differences in position sense Uncertainty within or between groups.

Dyad practice may yield superior gains in motor performance, but this did not translate into comparable gains in proprioceptive acuity. A possible explanation for these findings is that the recruitment of explicit motor learning mechanisms during dyad motor skill practice does not enhance the implicit learning mechanisms underlying proprioceptive learning.

Highlights

• Dyad practice (DP) may yield superior motor gains compared to physical practice

• DP does not yield superior proprioceptive gains compared to physical practice

• Intensive physical practice yields the largest gains in position sense acuity