Ch16: Application of Motor Control and Motor Learning

Question 1

Motor Control

Answer 1

How the body directs movement and how the musculoskeletal system interacts to carry out movememt
-Addresses how CNS organizes movement, how we quantify movement, and the nature of movement including the quality and timing

Question 2

Motor learning

Answer 2

Strategies and techniques used to teach others how to move.

• Process, conditions, and rate in which a person learns motor skills.
• For example, motor learning research provides evidence to support how and when therapists provide directions, feedback, cues, and practice.

Question 3

Movement deficits occur in numerous conditions including

Answer 3

Cerebral palsy (CP), DCD, autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, sensory integration disorders, and acquired brain injury

Question 4

Motor problems may present as…

Answer 4

Poor coordination, timing, sequencing, bimanual control, force production, balance, sensory processing, and motor planning.

Question 5

Children with CP exhibit difficulty with

Answer 5

• Postural control because of neuromuscular and sensory impairments, which leads to motor deficits
• Abnormal muscle tone and spasticity interfere with voluntary muscle control and the effective and timely coactivation of muscles to produce coordinated movement patterns
• Sensory impairments that may result in poor motor planning and slower and less efficient movements

Question 6

Children with Down syndrome experience…

Answer 6

Poor timing, decreased strength, decreased postural control, and delayed visual orientation

Question 7

Given the importance of motor skills to young children’s play and development, what is early intervention aimed at?

Answer 7

Skill acquisition, recommended to maximize their motor control

Question 8

motor deficits of children with autism spectrum disorder fall into two areas:

Answer 8

Poor integration of information for motor planning and increased variability in sensory inputs and motor output

Question 9

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD)

Answer 9

Children whose acquisition and execution of motor skills is substantially below that expected for their chronologic age and opportunity for skill learning and use.

• Difficulties are manifested as clumsiness, slowness, and inaccuracy of performance of motor skills.
• Motor skill deficits must significantly and persistently interfere with activities of daily living and impact academic/school, productivity, prevocational and vocational activities, leisure, and play.
• Deficits are not explained by intellectual disability, visual impairment, or neurologic conditions affecting movement.

Question 10

What approach has been found to be effective in improving motor performance ?

Answer 10

Top-down approaches that focus on enabling the child or adolescent to engage in the whole task or occupation (versus focusing on a part or component)

Question 11

Two frameworks that view motor actions as complex results of the interactions between persons, tasks, and environments.

Answer 11

Dynamic systems theory and ecological theory

Question 12

Dynamic Systems Theory

Answer 12

-Motor control is dependent on nonlinear and transactive person factors (ex. cognitive, musculoskeletal, sensory, perception, social-emotional), task characteristics (ex. nature of tasks, goals, rules, object properties, affordances), and environmental systems (ex. contexts)
(Movement derives from a variety of sources and takes place within natural and meaningful contexts)

Question 13

Principles of Dynamic Systems Theory

Answer 13

• Interaction among systems is essential to adaptive control of movement
• Motor performance results from an interaction between adaptable and flexible systems
• Dysfunction occurs when movement patterns lack sufficient adaptability to accommodate task demands and environmental constraints
• Bc task characteristics influence motor requirements, OT modify and adapt the requirements and affordances of tasks to help children succeed.
• Motor actions have common parameters (order and control parameters) that helps OT identify them
• Shift from one behavioral pattern to a new behavioral pattern is a result of perturbation.
• A new movement pattern emerges when the system experiences a change in a “control parameter” (such as speed, accuracy, or force).

Question 14

Shift from one behavioral pattern to a new behavioral pattern is a result of…

Answer 14

Perturbation

Question 15

-A new movement pattern emerges when the system experiences a change in a…

Answer 15

“control parameter” (such as speed, accuracy, or force).

Question 16

Order Parameters (Dynamic Systems Theory)

Answer 16

• Main components that characterize a specific movement and make it different from other movements (ex. reaching vs. grasping).
• These parameters allow for a coordinated pattern to be formed and for frequent movements to become fluent and reproducible.

Question 17

Control Parameters (Dynamic Systems Theory)

Answer 17

• Influence the quality of a motor pattern.
• They influence the stability of an order parameter (ex. speed, force, etc.) and help OT identify whether a movement is of adequate quality to support the intended actions.
• OT addresses this variable to improve the quality of a motor pattern.