摘要：SummaryReward timing, that is, the delay after which reward is delivered following an action is known to strongly influence reinforcement learning. Here, we asked if reward timing could also modulate how people learn and consolidate new motor skills. In 60 healthy participants, we found that delaying reward delivery by a few seconds influenced motor learning. Indeed, training with a short reward delay (1 s) induced continuous improvements in performance, whereas a long reward delay (6 s) led to initially high learning rates that were followed by an early plateau in the learning curve and a lower performance at the end of training. Participants who learned the skill with a long reward delay also exhibited reduced overnight memory consolidation. Overall, our data show that reward timing affects the dynamics and consolidation of motor learning, a finding that could be exploited in future rehabilitation programs.Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Reward timing impacts the dynamics of motor learning•Training with short reward delay generates continuous improvements in performance•Long reward delay favors fast initial learning and reduces endpoint performance•Training with long reward delay disrupts memory consolidation in learnersBiological sciences; Behavioral neuroscience; Clinical neuroscience
