News Finding: Learning a new skill is easier when it is related to an ability we already have.
Paper Finding: We ensured that the initial performance impairments were equivalent for the two perturbation types (Fig.
News Context: Learning a new skill is easier when it is related to an ability we already have. For example, a trained pianist can learn a new melody easier than learning how to hit a tennis serve. Understanding the ways in which the brain's activity can be "flexed" during learning could eventually be used to develop better treatments for stroke and other brain injuries.
Paper Context: We considered five alternative explanations for the difference in learnability. We ensured that the initial performance impairments were equivalent for the two perturbation types (Fig. The intrinsic manifold presumably reflects constraints imposed by the underlying neural circuitry.