Muscle Memory – what is actually happening on a cellular level? How is it that my fingers know where the keyboard buttons are without conscious thought?
In: Biology
Oh oh! This is really dumbed down because i no longer have text book and it has been ages; but there is a portion of your brain that interprets where your body and limbs are in relative space at all times. Its how you can reach over and swat an ant crawling on you off without even looking. The sensation of touch on your leg has neurons firing into your brain and that location is attuned and you can reach over and flick away the bug.
Now muscle memory is just that. Your muscles being conditioned over time to do a series of movements when prompted. Its a conditioning so your brain doesn’t have to work to do something. So there’s also the development thing. When we are babies we don’t realize objects are still there if they are removed from sight. But as we develope, we begin to realize ” the teddy bear isn’t really gone forever.. It moved to behind dad’s back.” Well…in more babble terms of course. As we grow older and older we develope deeper thinking and memory. So, you are aware your car is still outside, what color it is, etc. You can recall all of this info now. A keyboard is much the same. We know its still there, unchanged as we look away, and as we memorize the keypad over time it becomes a significant memory, especially with extended and repeated use. We all start off with the chicken peck typing, and the learning curve varies, but you get the idea.
Then it all comes together. The sensation of the touch of our palm on the keyboard is sent to the brain, the brain recognizes where your fingers are in relative space, and you’ve memorized that the letter h is just to the left of your index finger, and an overly complex system of more neurons firing back and forth ensues as you reach over and type the letter h. In a matter of milliseconds! Uh..
Im not sure how well I did there. Psychology class was brutal.
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