Instrumental-Motor Transfer: The Relative Value of Competing Movement Goals Modulates Implicit Motor Learning

Multiple learning signals can shape motor output, including reward and punishment (via value-based reinforcement learning) and sensorimotor error (via motor adaptation). However, it is unclear if action values, learned via reinforcement learning, interact with error-based motor learning. Here, we asked if the learned value of competing motor goals influences how the motor system learns from sensorimotor errors linked to those goals. We designed a paradigm that required participants (N = 85) to learn about the value associated with different movement targets prior to undergoing implicit visuomotor adaptation at or nearby those same targets. We observed two classes of related effects: repulsio