feedback is the positive or negative response that tells the learner how well the task was completed. inherent feedback: after completing the skill, inherent feedback is the sensory information that tells the learner how well the task was completed. a basketball player will note that he or she made a mistake when the ball misses the hoop. another example is a diver knowing that a mistake was made when the entry into the water is painful and undesirable. augmented feedback: in contrast to inherent feedback, augmented feedback is information that supplements or "augments" the inherent feedback. for example, when a person is driving over a speed limit and is pulled over by the police. although the car did not do any harm, the policeman gives augmented feedback to the driver in order for him to drive more safely. another example is a private tutor for a new student in a field of study. augmented feedback decreases the amount of time to master the motor skill and increases the performance level of the prospect. transfer of motor skills: the gain or loss in the capability for performance in one task as a result of practice and experience on some other task. an example would be the comparison of initial skill of a tennis player and non-tennis player when playing table tennis for the first time. an example of a negative transfer is if it takes longer for a typist to adjust to a randomly assigned letter of the keyboard compared to a new typist. retention: the performance level of a particular skill after a period of no use. the type of task can have an effect on how well the motor skill is retained after a period of non-use: continuous tasks – activities like swimming, bicycling, or running; the performance level retains proficiency even after years of non-use. discrete tasks – an instrument, video game, or a sport; the performance level drops significantly but will be better than a new learner. the relationship between the two tasks is that continuous tasks usually use gross motor skills and discrete tasks use fine motor skills. brain structures the regions of the frontal lobe responsible for motor skill include the primary motor cortex, the supplemental motor area, and the premotor cortex. the primary motor cortex is located in the precentral gyrus and is often visualized as the motor homunculus. by stimulating certain areas of the motor strip and observing where it had an effect, penfield and rassmussen were able to map out the motor homunculus. areas on the body that have complex movements, such as the hands, have a bigger representation on the motor homunculus. the supplemental motor area, which is just anterior to the primary motor cortex, is involved with postural stability and adjustment as well as coordinating sequences of movement. the premotor cortex, which is just below the supplemental motor area, integrates sensory information from the posterior parietal cortex and is involved with the sensory-guided planning of movement and begins the programming of movement. the basal ganglia are an area of the brain where gender differences in brain physiology is evident. the basal ganglia are a group of nuclei in the brain that is responsible for a variety of functions, some of which include movement. the globus pallidus and putamen are two nuclei of the basal ganglia which are both involved in motor skills. the globes pallid-us is involved with the voluntary motor movement, while the putamen is involved with motor learning. even after controlling for the naturally larger volume of the male brain, it was found that males have a larger volume of both the globus pallidus and putamen. the cerebellum is an additional area of the brain important for motor skills. the cerebellum controls fine motor skills as well as balance and coordination. although women tend to have better fine motor skills, the cerebellum has a larger volume in males than in females, even after correcting for the fact that males naturally have a larger brain volume. hormones are an additional factor that contributes to gender differences in motor skill. for instance, women perform better on manual dexterity tasks during times of high estradiol and progesterone levels, as opposed to when these hormones are low such as during menstruation. an evolutionary perspective is sometimes drawn upon to explain how gender differences in motor skills may have developed, although this approach is controversial. for instance, it has been suggested that men were the hunters and provided food for the family, while women stayed at home taking care of the children and doing domestic work. some theories of human development suggest that men's tasks involved gross motor skill such as chasing after prey, throwing spears and fighting. women, on the other hand, used their fine motor skills the most in order to handle domestic tools and accomplish other tasks that required fine motor-control.