thesisPrevious studies have shown that verbalization, in the form of self-guided instruction, is an effective cognitive strategy used to enhance motor skill acquisition and motor performance. However, past research has not explicitly examined which aspects of motor output are affected (whether beneficially or deleteriously) by verbalization. In the current study, we conducted two separate experiments in which a total of 80 healthy participants, ages 18-27, completed a novel motor sequence learning task. Half of the participants in each Experiment were pretrained in the sequence using verbalization, while the other half was either trained motorically, or not trained at all. Rote memorization of verbal labels facilitated motor learning, motor control, performance speed, and set maintenance, but not motor planning. Potential underlying mechanisms as well as clinical implications are discussed
