Multifaceted aspects of chunking enable robust algorithms
Open accessAbstract
Sequence production tasks are a standard tool to analyze motor learning, consolidation, and habituation. As sequences are learned, movements are typically grouped into subsets or chunks. For example, most Americans memorize telephone numbers in two chunks of three digits, and one chunk of four. Studies generally use response times or error rates to estimate how subjects chunk, and these estimates are often related to physiological data. Here we show that chunking is simultaneously reflected in reaction times, errors, and their correlations. This multimodal structure enables us to propose a Bayesian algorithm that better estimates chunks while avoiding overfitting. Our algorithm reveals previously unknown behavioral structure, such as an increased error correlations with training, and promises a useful tool for the characterization of many forms of sequential motor behavior.
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Humans excel at stitching together sub-actions to form larger actions.
“Humans excel at stitching together sub-actions to form larger actions (Verwey, 1996; Acuna et al., 2014; Sejnowski and Poizner, 2014).”
From Toward an integration of deep learning and neuroscience (2016) · cites this paper as Acuna et al., 2014
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- Authors
- Acuna, D. E., Wymbs, N. F., Reynolds, C. A., Picard, N., Turner, R. S., Strick, P. L., Grafton, S. T., & Kording, K. P.
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (US)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Corresponding author
- Acuna, Daniel E.
- Venue
- Journal of Neurophysiology
- Publisher
- American Physiological Society
- Published
- 2014-10-15
- Volume
- 112
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1849-1856
- ISSN
- 0022-3077 (ISSN-L)
- 1522-1598
- PMC
- PMC4200007
- OpenAlex
- W2141348937
- Cited by
- 54
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 3.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Neurophysiology (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS074044, NS 44393, P01NS044393, P30NS076405, NS-074044)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Keywords
- chunking, sequence generation, motor learning, habituation, reaction time, error rate, error correlation, Bayesian estimation, overfitting
- MeSH terms
- Algorithms, Animals, Bayes Theorem, Humans, Models, Biological, Models, Neurological, Movement, Practice, Psychological, Reaction Time
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