Chapter 1- Evolution of a Field of Study

Question 1

T/F: motor control + motor learning are in the same fields

Answer 1

False- motor control + learning are SEPARATE fields

Question 2

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motor control

Answer 2

the study of the control of movements in humans + animals

Question 3

what 2 questions does motor control answer

Answer 3

-how are various movements controlled by the organization of the CNS + coordinating individual muscles + joints?
-how does sensory information from the environment, body, or both control movement?

Question 4

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motor learning

Answer 4

the study of how movements are learned

Question 5

what question does motor learning answer

Answer 5

how are movements produced differently as a result of practice or experience?

Question 6

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3 fields of study that help us understand movement

Answer 6

-biomechanics
-neurophysiology
-psychology

Question 7

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biomechanics

Answer 7

-mechanical + physical bases on biological systems
-joints, levers, associated mechanical characteristics

Question 8

biomechanics example- cup stacking

Answer 8

-fingers have joints
-the biomechanics of his fingers opening/closing
-the grip aperture expanding/closing

Question 9

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neurophysiology

Answer 9

the branch emphasizing neural processes associated with (+ causes of) movements with little reference to gross movements

-functioning of brain + spinal cord -> muscles
-control of contractions of muscles that move limbs

Question 10

neurophysiology example- cup stacking

Answer 10

using eyes to get visual feedback to modify how movements were progressing one after the other

Question 11

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psychology

Answer 11

the branch emphasizing high-level skills with little reference to neurological mechanisms involved

Question 12

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what are the 2 origins of motor control + learning

Answer 12

-neurophysiology
-psychology

Question 13

movement

Answer 13

act of changing physical location or position; going from 1 location to another

Question 14

movement is critical to ____

Answer 14

evolutionary development
-if we were not able to move + becoming better at moving, we would just stay babies + have no way to sustain ourselves in life

Question 15

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2 forms of movement

Answer 15

-genetically defined movement
-learned movement

Question 16

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genetically defined movement

Answer 16

-limbs
-centipede coordination
-dog scratches
-blinking to puffs of air

Question 17

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learned movement

Answer 17

requires skills—
controlling a car, typing, triple twist somersault dive

Question 18

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3 levels of analysis to study movement

Answer 18

-individual level
-group level
-organizational level

Question 19

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individual level (of movement)

Answer 19

nature of biochemical interactions within cells during individual movements, or individual cell/organs/bodily systems (regarding movement control)

Question 20

example of individual level of movement

Answer 20

neurons send electrical impulses to communicate between nervous system + muscular system to coordinate movement

Question 21

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group level (of movement)

Answer 21

movements of animals/humans, specifying analysis to speed, accuracy, choices (decision making) + patterns

Question 22

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organizational level (of movement)

Answer 22

roles of movement in the environment, such as during certain occupations/sports, or in groups/teams

Question 23

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Friedrich BESSEL

Answer 23

-German astronomer
-empirical investigations of motor skills
-tried to understnad the difference among colleagues in recording transit times of movement of stars

Question 24

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Robert WOODWORTH

Answer 24

-American psychologist
-earliest systematic approaches to understanding motor skills
-fundamental principles of rapid arm + hand movements -> visual-motor performance principles
-movement memory, speed-accuracy trade-off, + phase transition in bimanual movements

Question 25

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Edward THORNDIKE

Answer 25

-American psychologist
-processes of learning skills + other behaviors
-Law of Effect: responses that are rewarded tend to be repeated
-focus on differences among individuals surrounding practice
-savings earned in practice time or amount of practice when relearning a skill after a given time

Question 26

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Charles SHERRINGTON

Answer 26

-classification of responses to stimuli in the extremities
-most voluntary movements result from fundamental reflexes
-creation of classical concepts of motor control (i.e. reciprocal innervation: flexors are automatically activated + extensors are deactivated together)
-final common pathway
-perception of movement (sensory receptors + proprioceptions)

Question 27

final common pathway

Answer 27

convergence of reflex, sensory, + command sources in brain converge at the spine to produce a final set of instructions to the muscles

Question 28

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Erich VON HOLST

Answer 28

-German behavioral psychologist
-published seminal papers on motor control
-not globally recognized until English translations appeared

Question 29

elaborate on Bernstein’s fued with Pavlov

Answer 29

-Pavlov: movements of an animal are a passive bundle of conditioned reflexes
-Bernstein: movements are active + goal-directed, so not reflexes

Question 30

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Nikolai BERNSTEIN

Answer 30

-Russian/Soviet neurophysiologist
-published seminal papers on motor control theory- movement coordination
-degrees of freedom (DoF): different moving parts cannot be controlled individually or consciously
-Bernstein had a feud with Pavlov in their ideas on whether movement = reflex

Question 31

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Edwin FLEISHMAN

Answer 31

-contributed to U.S. Air Force via work on individual differences + abilities
-developed a program to link correlational + experimental methods in the study of perceptual-motor abilities
-identification of individual abilities to perform a variety of tasks
-impact of physical fitness
-individual differences on learning + retention of complex skills

Question 32

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Paul FITTS

Answer 32

-American psychologist
-Fitts’ law: the time observed to complete an aimed movement depends on a simple mathematical relation between distance to move + size of the intended target
-applied math + information processing principles to understand human movement
-suggested learning involves progression through stages

Question 33

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Esther THELEN

Answer 33

-infant development + research on complex movement + behavior development
-opposed dominant view suggesting stereotypical movements in infants + predetermined, neural maturation processes- newborn stepping reflexes -> showed that newborns really can walk if they weren’t underdeveloped

-recognized that the disappearance + reemergence of reflexes were not a matter of neural maturation but of complex interactions of the sensory-motor system with a gravitational influence of environment
-reflexes reappear in infants when suspended in water -> if weights are added to those feet, reflexes disappear -> SO- the disappearance + reemergence of reflexes is not a matter of neural maturation but rather reflex
-newborn can perform stepping actions -> they disappear at 4-6 weeks + reappear at 6-8 months

Question 34

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Richard SCHMIDT

Answer 34

founded the Journal of Motor Behavior