Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Mechanisms Of The Contextual Interference Effect In Individuals Poststroke, Nicolas Schweughofer, Jeong-Yoon Lee, Hui-Ting Goh, Youggeun Choi, Sung Shin Kim, Jill Campbell Stewart Pt,Phd, Rebecca Lewthwaite, Carolee J. Winstein

Faculty Publications

Although intermixing different motor learning tasks via random schedules enhances long-term retention compared with “blocked” schedules, the mechanism underlying this contextual interference effect has been unclear. Furthermore, previous studies have reported inconclusive results in individuals poststroke. We instructed participants to learn to produce three grip force patterns in either random or blocked schedules and measured the contextual interference effect by long-term forgetting: the change in performance between immediate and 24-h posttests. Nondisabled participants exhibited the contextual interference effect: no forgetting in the random condition but forgetting in the blocked condition. Participants at least 3 mo poststroke exhibited no forgetting in …