The effects of error augmentation on learning to walk on a narrow balance beam

Error augmentation during training has been proposed as a means to facilitate motor learning due to the human nervous system's reliance on performance errors to shape motor commands. We studied the effects of error augmentation on short-term learning of walking on a balance beam to determine whether it had beneficial effects on motor performance. Four groups of able-bodied subjects walked on a treadmill-mounted balance beam (2.5-cm wide) before and after 30 min of training. During training, two groups walked on the beam with a destabilization device that augmented error (Medium and High Destabilization groups). A third group walked on a narrower beam (1.27-cm) to augment error (Narrow). The fourth group practiced walking on the 2.5-cm balance beam (Wide). Subjects in the Wide group had significantly greater improvements after training than the error augmentation groups. The High Destabilization group had significantly less performance gains than the Narrow group in spite of similar failures per minute during training. In a follow-up experiment, a fifth group of subjects (Assisted) practiced with a device that greatly reduced catastrophic errors (i.e., stepping off the beam) but maintained similar pelvic movement variability. Performance gains were significantly greater in the Wide group than the Assisted group, indicating that catastrophic errors were important for short-term learning. We conclude that increasing errors during practice via destabilization and a narrower balance beam did not improve short-term learning of beam walking. In addition, the presence of qualitatively catastrophic errors seems to improve short-term learning of walking balance.