system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 what really is "muscle memory"?

Our muscles don't have little brains that remember how to move. It has to be a subconscious process, right?

And why is is that sometimes when we slow down to think about a highly practiced action, it becomes more difficult to do?
gpt
it's actually nerve memory.  the more we use a neural pathway, the easier it gets to do it, whether it's recalling a memory or driving a car.  this also explains why thinking about it can make it more difficult; we're trying to use a different neural pathway for the same action.