Motor adaptation

Motor adaptation, a form of motor learning, is the process of acquiring and restoring locomotor patterns (e.g. leg coordination patterns) through an error-driven learning process.

This type of adaptation is context-dependent and hence, is specific to the environment in which the adaptation occurred. The central nervous system, particularly the cerebellum, underlies this form of adaptation in vertebrates. It is suggested that the nervous system learns to predict and cancel effects of a novel environment, returning movements to near baseline (unperturbed) conditions. During motor adaptation the nervous system constantly uses error information to improve future movements.