Mike Hebron is a PGA Master Professional and has done, and continues to do a tremendous amount of research on how the human animal learns.

Thanks Mike for always sharing!

Sincerely in golf
Tom Patri

Neuro Learning for Golf Presents
Grow the Game Instruction™

Inside the Brain of An Elite Athlete
(click the link above for full paper)

Highlights I found in this paper include:

• To the brain all movements have goals.
• The degrees of freedom in the motor system means that end-point consistency can still be accomplished with variability.
• Athletes fail to reproduce a precise kinematic pattern when performing a particular sports-specific activity.
• What matters is the outcome of the movement, not the movement.
• Most studies that have investigated learning have paid attention to error-based learning using adaptation paradigms (not fixing).
• The two most important characteristics of learning are trial-error search and learning in the face of delayed reward.
• Increasing automaticity is the aim. Automatic processes are rapid, smooth, effortless, demand little conscious attention and are difficult to consciously disrupt.
• Indeed, experts can become undone when they are forced to think about the actions they are producing.
• The importance of genetics in skill development remains controversial.
• Motor decision making operates out from the brain a number of levels. All decisions reflect trade-offs between cost and rewards. Decision making and motor planning happens in parallel. This parallel interacting model is attractive from the perspective of sports expertise.
• In essence, the expert is able to anticipate how a sporting scenario will unfold based on a understanding of situational probabilities. Advanced performers use information from prior to the moment (unconsciously).
• Advanced performers can extract important stimulus information earlier than novices and thus begin movement specification earlier.

Michael Hebron