1-7 Flashcards
What are the 3 pre-requisites of motor skills?
- limb/head movement
- voluntary
- purpose/goal
How are degrees of freedom determined
by the number of joints within a rigid body
How are degrees of freedom reduced
- development of muscle synergies/coordination
- physical properties
- comfort
How does the development of muscle synergies reduce degrees of freedom
Body becomes rigid, reducing the DOF available (e.g linking upper and lower arm reduces uniqueness and DOF)
Gross vs Fine motor skill
large muscles - gross
small muscles - fine
Discrete vs Serial vs Continuous motor skills
discrete - not repetitive (e.g jumping)
serial - a series of discrete movements (e.g playing a piano)
continuous - a continuous cycle of movement (e.g rowing, running)
Closed vs Open motor skills
closed - no need to adapt to environment (e.g swimming in a lane)
open - adapting to the environment (e.g swimming in an ocean)
Study Gentiles 2 Dimensional Classification
lecture 2.1
Types of Reaction Time
Simple - only one option (e.g pressing a button)
Choice - given a choice based on stimulus (e.g pressing a button asap with the right hand for the right light and the left hand for the left light). Hicks Law
Discrimination - making a decision (e.g pressing a button asap when a certain coloured light is turned on, but not when others are displayed)
What is fractionated reaction time
Premotor Time + Motor Time = Reaction Time
What is premotor time?
The time taken for the brain to recruit muscle fibres in response to a stimulus (time taken from appearance of stimulus to the first visible EMG trace)
what is motor time?
movement hasn’t started but the muscle is already firing
What is the speed-accuracy trade off referred to as?
Fitts Law
What is a choice reaction time referred to as?
Hicks Law
What are some variables that influence reaction time?
- Response selection
- Response programming
- Response complexity
- Accuracy demands
- Genetic disorders
- Age
What is constant error?
average error of performance
a CE of -0.8 means they shot 0.8 units too short of the target
What is variable error?
how consistent their performance is
A VE of 0.8 means the results were on average 0.8m apart from one another
What is total error?
Constant error + variable error
Negatives don’t count. e.g CE of -1, VE 0.4, TE = 1.4
What are the 4 major paradigms in motor control research
- Ideomotor
- Behaviourism
- Cognitivism
- Holism
What is the ideomotor paradigm
movements are initatid without active intent and influenced by images and ideas
What is the behaviourism paradigm
behaviours are either a reflex or a consequence of history
What is the cognitivism paradigm
brain is seen as a computer with an input and output
What is the holism paradigm
everything works in tandem with one another
What are the 3 major theories in motor control research?
- reflex theories
- hierarchical theories
- dynamical/ecological theories