Variability in error-based and reward-based human motor learning is associated with entorhinal volume

Abstract Error-based and reward-based processes are critical for motor learning, and are thought to be mediated via distinct neural pathways. However, recent behavioral work in humans suggests that both learning processes are supported by cognitive strategies and that these contribute to individual differences in motor learning ability. While it has been speculated that medial temporal lobe regions may support this strategic component to learning, direct evidence is lacking. Here we first show that faster and more complete learning during error-based visuomotor adaptation is associated with better learning during reward-based shaping of reaching movements. This result suggests that strategic processes, linked to faster and better learning, drive individual differences in both error-based and reward-based motor learning. We then show that right entorhinal cortex volume was larger in good learning individuals—classified across both motor learning tasks—compared to their poorer learning counterparts. This suggests that strategic processes underlying both error- and reward-based learning are linked to neuroanatomical differences in entorhinal cortex. Significance Statement While it is widely appreciated that humans vary greatly in their motor learning abilities, little is known about the processes and neuroanatomical bases that underlie these differences. Here, using a data-driven approach, we show that individual variability in error-based and reward-based motor learning is tightly linked, and related to the use of cognitive strategies. We further show that structural differences in entorhinal cortex predict this intersubject variability in motor learning, with larger entorhinal volumes being associated with better overall error-based and reward-based learning. Together, these findings provide support for the notion that the ability to recruit strategic processes underlies intersubject variability in both error-based and reward-based learning, which itself may be linked to structural differences in medial temporal regions.