An Event Related Potential Study of Skill Learning in Unpaired Participants.

Electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings were analyzed to assess neuronal plasticity associated with cognitive changes during the learning of a new task. EEG was recorded in two sessions: a pre-test recording session before practice; and a second recording after participants were given five consecutive days of practice with an alphabet addition task. In this task participants were given an equation using letters and numbers and were instructed to indicate whether the candidate answer was true or false (e.g., C+3=F, True; A+D=1, False).  In replication of a previous study, it is expected to see a reduction in a positive ERP peak at ~300ms with practice. A second positive peak at ~500ms is expected to be larger after practice mainly when participants are presented with true problems. These ERP changes are expected to coincide with the participants’ switch in cognitive strategy from counting up in the alphabet to retrieving the correct answer from memory. A concomitant reduction in reaction time when solving problems indicates learning of the skill.