Martial arts training is related to implicit intermanual transfer of visuomotor adaptation

• Published in: The European journal of neuroscience 2021-02, Vol.53 (4), p.1107-1123
• Main Authors: Werner, Susen, Hasegawa, Koki, Kanosue, Kazuyuki, Strüder, Heiko K., Göb, Tobias, Vogt, Tobias
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: awareness; explicit; Handedness; judo; Martial arts; motor learning; Motor skill learning; Motor task performance; sensorimotor adaptation; Sensorimotor integration; Sensorimotor system; Specialization; Transfer learning; Visual perception
• ISSN: 0953-816X; 1460-9568
• DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15034

Recent work identified an explicit and implicit transfer of sensorimotor adaptation with one limb to the other, untrained limb. Here, we pursue the idea that different individual factors contribute differently to the amount of explicit and implicit intermanual transfer. In particular, we tested a group of judo athletes who show enhanced right‐hemispheric involvement in motor control and a group of equally trained athletes. After adaptation to a 60° visual rotation, we estimated awareness of the perturbation and transfer to the untrained, non‐dominant left hand in two experiments. We measured the total amount of intermanual transfer (explicit plus implicit) by telling the participants to repeat what was learned during adaptation, and the amount of implicit transfer by instructing the participants to refrain from using what was learned and to perform movements as during baseline instead. We found no difference between the total intermanual transfer of judokas and running experts, with mean absolute transfer values of 42.4° and 47.0°. Implicit intermanual transfer was very limited, but larger in judokas than in general sports athletes, with mean values of 5.2° and 1.6°. A multiple linear regression analysis further revealed that total intermanual transfer, which mainly represents the explicit transfer, is related to awareness of the perturbation, while implicit intermanual transfer can be predicted by judo training, amount of total training, speed of adaptation, and handedness scores. The findings suggest that neuronal mechanisms such as hemispheric interactions and functional specialization underlying intermanual transfer of motor learning may be applied according to individual predisposition. We measured the influence of individual factors on intermanual transfer of visuomotor adaptation in judokas, who show larger right‐hemispheric motor control, and sports athletes. Explicit transfer can be predicted by awareness and implicit transfer is larger in judokas and is related to judo training, total training, speed of adaptation and handedness (laterality quotient). Our data implies that different neural mechanisms can be applied during transfer according to individual predisposition.