• Isabelle M Shuggi, Hyuk Oh, Helena Wu, Maria J Ayoub, Arianna Moreno, Emma P Shaw, Patricia A Shewokis, and Rodolphe J Gentili.
• Department of Kinesiology, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
• Neuroscience. 2019 Dec 15; 423: 232-248.

AbstractThe human capability to learn new motor skills depends on the efficient engagement of cognitive-motor resources, as reflected by mental workload, and psychological mechanisms (e.g., self-efficacy). While numerous investigations have examined the relationship between motor behavior and mental workload or self-efficacy in a performance context, a fairly limited effort focused on the combined examination of these notions during learning. Thus, this study aimed to examine their concomitant dynamics during the learning of a novel reaching skill practiced throughout multiple sessions. Individuals had to learn to control a virtual robotic arm via a human-machine interface by using limited head motion throughout eight practice sessions while motor performance, mental workload, and self-efficacy were assessed. The results revealed that as individuals learned to control the robotic arm, performance improved at the fastest rate, followed by a more gradual reduction of mental workload and finally an increase in self-efficacy. These results suggest that once the performance improved, less cognitive-motor resources were recruited, leading to an attenuated mental workload. Considering that attention is a primary cognitive resource driving mental workload, it is suggested that during early learning, attentional resources are primarily allocated to address task demands and not enough are available to assess self-efficacy. However, as the performance becomes more automatic, a lower level of mental workload is attained driven by decreased recruitment of attentional resources. These available resources allow for a reliable assessment of self-efficacy resulting in a subsequent observable change. These results are also discussed in terms of the application to the training and design of assistive technologies.Copyright © 2019 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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