ArticleCurrent opinion in behavioral sciences2018
It's Not (Only) the Mean that Matters: Variability, Noise and Exploration in Skill Learning.
Article in Current opinion in behavioral sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 107 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
107 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Assessing running stability: a systematic review of methods.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- The effect of transcranial random noise stimulation on the movement time and components of noise, co-variation, and tolerance in a perceptual-motor task.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Isolating error-based and reward-based learning in a real-world task via gradual perturbations in embodied VR.iScience · 2026Article
- Noise-induced hearing loss delays auditory learning and reduces the influence of acoustic evidence on choice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Neurorehabilitation in the 21st Century: New Science, New Strategies, New Expectations.Neurorehabilitation and neural repair · 2026Review
- Intra-Cyclic Variation of Velocity in Swimming: Association and Consistency Between the Most-Used Measurements.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- An explicit strategy facilitates adaptation to virtual surgeries by biasing the recruitment of existing synergies.iScience · 2026Article
- Different spatio-temporal strategies for controlling a striking gesture to slide an object toward a target distance.Experimental brain research · 2026Article
- Task-Dependent Reorganization of Ankle-Knee Mechanical Coordination Revealed by Moment-Moment Phase Space Analysis.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Hypothesis testing governs strategic motor learning.NPJ science of learning · 2026Article
- Signal-Dependent Planning Noise Reduces Task Interference by Assisting in the Formation of Stable Motor Primitives in a Neural Network Model of Muscle Coordination Learning.Neural computation · 2026Article
- Task-relevant haptic feedback improves asymptotic performance in de novo arm control acquisition.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- A modular architecture for trial-by-trial learning of redundant muscle activity patterns in novel sensorimotor tasks.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Virtual reality simulation training in stroke thrombectomy centers with limited patient volume-Simulator performance and patient outcome.Interventional neuroradiology : journal of peritherapeutic neuroradiology, surgical procedures and related neurosciences · 2026Article
- A quantitative framework for stroke difficulty in table tennis beginners: multidimensional analysis and implications for training.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Pressure sensing technology for remote control: Can we motivate users to stay on the learning curve?PloS one · 2026Article
- Effects of anti-parkinsonian medication on gait during internal and external rhythmic auditory cueing in PD.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- Exploring motor variability in adults with severe athetoid or ataxic cerebral palsy: Impact on error-based and reward-based learning.PloS one · 2026Article
- Motor learning mechanisms are not modified by feedback manipulations in a real-world task.NPJ science of learning · 2025Article
- FRONTAL AND PARIETAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO PROPRIOCEPTION AND MOTOR SKILL LEARNING.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
47 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Mastering a motor skill is typified by a decrease in variability. However, variability is much more than the undesired signature of discoordination: structure in both its distributional properties and temporal sequence can reveal control priorities. Extending from the notion that signal-dependent noise corrupts information transmission in the neuromotor system, this review tracks more recent recognitions that the complex dynamic motor system in its interaction with task constraints creates high-dimensional spaces with multiple equivalent solutions. Further analysis differentiates these solutions to have different degrees of noise-sensitivity, goal-relevance or additional costs. Practice proceeds from exploration of these solution spaces to then exploitation with further channeling of noise. Extended practice leads to fine-tuning of skill brought about by reducing noise. These distinct changes in variability are suggested as a way to characterize stages of learning. Capitalizing on the sensitivity of the CNS to noise, interventions can add extrinsic or amplify intrinsic noise to guide (re-)learning desired behaviors. The persistence and generalization of acquired skill is still largely understudied, although an essential element of skill. Consistent with advances in the physical sciences, there is increasing realization that noise can have beneficial effects. Analysis of the non-random structure of variability may reveal more than analysis of only its mean.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.