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kenglander's picture

I think your question about

I think your question about muscle memory is really interesting, but I wonder if memory is the appropriate term to describe quick actions and/or responses that occur without activation of the I-function. Could it be that muscle memory is actually just a well-rehearsed motor symphony? That is, could a particular pathway that coordinates a series of actions be reinforced such that it can be activated without consciously thinking about each component?

Changes in these symphonies might occur when the expected results aren't attained. In other words, these motor symphonies could be modified and adapted much like the loopy science model of learning that we talked about at the beginning of the semester. For example, when typing on the computer I do not have to consciously think about my fingers moving to individual keys to spell words. In this case, one might say that there is some sort of "muscle or finger memory" going on when I type because I do not have to activate the I-function. However, if I type the wrong letter, I can adjust my activity and consciously choose the correct key because the previous motor symphony (summary of observations) is not supported by my new experience (making an error while typing). Hopefully I would learn from constant mistakes and these motor symphonies would adjust to improve my keyboard accuracy (readjusting my summary of observations). Furthermore, these pathways would be reinforced if I spelled the correct word, which would reinforce particular activity patterns related to spelling words correctly.  

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