Retention following a short-term cup stacking training: Performance and electrocortical activity

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe training-related changes in brain activation immediately after, 24 hours and 7 days after a single cup stacking training session. Methods: Twenty-two young adults were divided into a training and a control group. Both groups performed five attempts of a cup stacking task before and after 20-minutes of cup stacking training (control group were resting). Both groups were re-tested 24 hours and 7 days after the training session. Scalp electroencephalography was recorded from electrodes located on the frontal, central and parietal brain regions. The electroencephalography absolute power was computed for electrodes across each region. Results: There was a substantial reduction in the time to complete cup stacking for the training group (35 ± 18%, p < 0.001), whereas the control group also improved over time (18 ± 3%). Moreover, there was an overall reduction on the alpha and beta power for the frontal, central and parietal brain regions following the 20-minute training/rest across both groups. Both alpha and beta power returned to pre-test levels 24 hours and 7 days following training. Conclusion: A 20-minute cup stacking training significantly improved cup stacking performance. However, the brain-related adaptations to training were not retained when measuring EEG 24 hours or 7 days following training.