Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance

Cutaneous pain experienced during locomotor training was previously reported to interfere with retention assessed in pain-free conditions. To determine whether this interference reflects consolidation deficits or a difficulty to transfer motor skills acquired in the presence of pain to a pain-free c...

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Main Authors: Jason Bouffard, Laurent J. Bouyer, Jean-Sébastien Roy, Catherine Mercier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8539096
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author Jason Bouffard
Laurent J. Bouyer
Jean-Sébastien Roy
Catherine Mercier
author_facet Jason Bouffard
Laurent J. Bouyer
Jean-Sébastien Roy
Catherine Mercier
author_sort Jason Bouffard
collection DOAJ
description Cutaneous pain experienced during locomotor training was previously reported to interfere with retention assessed in pain-free conditions. To determine whether this interference reflects consolidation deficits or a difficulty to transfer motor skills acquired in the presence of pain to a pain-free context, this study evaluated the effect of pain induced during both the acquisition and retention phases of locomotor learning. Healthy participants performed a locomotor adaptation task (robotized orthosis perturbing ankle movements during swing) on two consecutive days. Capsaicin cream was applied around participants’ ankle on both days for the Pain group, while the Control group was always pain-free. Changes in movement errors caused by the perturbation were measured to assess global motor performance; temporal distribution of errors and electromyographic activity were used to characterize motor strategies. Pain did not interfere with global performance during the acquisition or the retention phases but was associated with a shift in movement error center of gravity to later in the swing phase, suggesting a reduction in anticipatory strategy. Therefore, previously reported retention deficits could be explained by contextual changes between acquisition and retention tests. This difficulty in transferring skills from one context to another could be due to pain-related changes in motor strategy.
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spelling doaj-art-74448ccdcf144467a407da7e3eb89e412025-08-20T02:07:27ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432016-01-01201610.1155/2016/85390968539096Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor PerformanceJason Bouffard0Laurent J. Bouyer1Jean-Sébastien Roy2Catherine Mercier3Department of Rehabilitation, Université Laval, 1050 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, CanadaDepartment of Rehabilitation, Université Laval, 1050 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, CanadaDepartment of Rehabilitation, Université Laval, 1050 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, CanadaDepartment of Rehabilitation, Université Laval, 1050 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, CanadaCutaneous pain experienced during locomotor training was previously reported to interfere with retention assessed in pain-free conditions. To determine whether this interference reflects consolidation deficits or a difficulty to transfer motor skills acquired in the presence of pain to a pain-free context, this study evaluated the effect of pain induced during both the acquisition and retention phases of locomotor learning. Healthy participants performed a locomotor adaptation task (robotized orthosis perturbing ankle movements during swing) on two consecutive days. Capsaicin cream was applied around participants’ ankle on both days for the Pain group, while the Control group was always pain-free. Changes in movement errors caused by the perturbation were measured to assess global motor performance; temporal distribution of errors and electromyographic activity were used to characterize motor strategies. Pain did not interfere with global performance during the acquisition or the retention phases but was associated with a shift in movement error center of gravity to later in the swing phase, suggesting a reduction in anticipatory strategy. Therefore, previously reported retention deficits could be explained by contextual changes between acquisition and retention tests. This difficulty in transferring skills from one context to another could be due to pain-related changes in motor strategy.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8539096
spellingShingle Jason Bouffard
Laurent J. Bouyer
Jean-Sébastien Roy
Catherine Mercier
Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance
Neural Plasticity
title Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance
title_full Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance
title_fullStr Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance
title_full_unstemmed Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance
title_short Pain Induced during Both the Acquisition and Retention Phases of Locomotor Adaptation Does Not Interfere with Improvements in Motor Performance
title_sort pain induced during both the acquisition and retention phases of locomotor adaptation does not interfere with improvements in motor performance
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8539096
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AT jeansebastienroy paininducedduringboththeacquisitionandretentionphasesoflocomotoradaptationdoesnotinterferewithimprovementsinmotorperformance
AT catherinemercier paininducedduringboththeacquisitionandretentionphasesoflocomotoradaptationdoesnotinterferewithimprovementsinmotorperformance