Chapter 1: Issues and Theories Flashcards
Why should therapists study motor control?
Because we retrain patients who have motor control problems producing functional movement disorders
What is motor control?
The ability to regulate or direct the mechanisms essential to movement
What are the three factors that interact to produce movement?
Task, individual, environment.
What are the three factors within an individual that constrain movement?
Cognition, action, and perception
What is the degree of freedom problem?
The problem of choosing amongst the multiple number of ways that an action can be carried out.
What is perception when it comes to the individual?
The integration of sensory impressions into psychologically meaningful information. Includes:
(1) peripheral sensory mechanisms
(2) higher level processing that adds interpretations and meaning to incoming afferent information
What is cognition when it comes to the individual?
A broad processes that include attention, planning, problem solving, motivation, and emotional aspects of motor control that underlie the establishment of intent or goals
What are the three groupings of task constraints of movement?
Stability, mobility and manipulation
What is a discrete task?
A task that has a recognizable beginning and end. Example: kicking a ball
What is a continuous task?
A task that has a cyclical pattern (walking)
What is a stability task?
A task that has a stationary base of support.
What is a mobility task?
A task in which the base of support is in motion
How do you define a manipulation task?
A task that increases the demand for stability beyond that demanded for the same task lacking the manipulation component.
What is an open movement task?
A task that requires the performer to adapt their behavior within a constantly changing and often unpredictable environment
What is a closed movement task?
Tasks that show little variation and are performed in a relatively fixed or predictable environment.
How is environmental constraints on movement broken down? (Hint: only 2)
Regulatory versus non-regulatory
What are regulatory features?
Aspects of the environment that shape movement (example: type of surface on which the task is performed)
What are non-regulatory features?
Features of the environment that may affect performance but movement does not have to conform to these features (example: background noise)
What is a theory of motor control?
A group of abstract ideas about the control of movement.
What is reflex theory?
Sherrington- the foundation for theories of motor control- reflexes are the building blocks of complex behavior. (Many limitations)
What are the five limitations to reflex theory?
(1) reflexes cannot be the basic unit of behavior because they must be activated by an outside agent
(2) does not explain/predict movement that occurs in the a sense of a sensory stimulus
(3) doesn’t explain fast movement
(4) doesn’t explain how a single stimulus can result in varying responses
(5) doesn’t explain the ability to produce novel movement
What is the clinical implication for reflex theory?
Clinical strategies designed to yet reflexes should allow therapists to predict function
What is hierarchical control?
Organizational control that is top down (successively higher level exerts control over the level below it)
What are limitations to hierarchical theory?
Cannot explain the dominance of reflex behavior in certain situations in normal adults. (Example: withdrawal reflex)
What are the clinical implications to hierarchical theory?
Used to explain disordered motor control in the patients with a neurological disorder.
How does systems theory solve degrees of freedom?
Higher levels of the nervous system activate lower levels and lower levels activate synergies. Synergies solve the degree of freedom because it allows the NS to eliminate redundant degrees of freedom.
What is the limitation of systems theory?
The presumption that the nervous system has a less important role in determining the animals behavior.
What is ecological theory?
Our motor systems allow is to interact most effectively with the environment in order to perform goal-oriented behavior. The PERCEPTION of environmental factors is important to the task
What are the limitations to ecological theory?
Give less emphasis to the organization and function of the nervous system and more emphasis on the environment
What theories were the basis for neurofacilitation?
Neurofacilitation (Bobath) is drawn from both reflex and hierarchical theories.
What is the clinical focus of neurofacilitation when retraining motor control?
Neurofacilitation approaches focused on retraining motor control through techniques designed to facilitate and/or inhibit deferent movement patterns
What are some underlying assumptions of the neurofacilitation approach?
(1) the control of movement is top down and lesions of higher cortical levels result in abnormal reflexes from lower levels
(2) recovery of normal motor control cannot occur unless the CNS can regain control over lower centers
What are the 2 key assumptions of the neurofacilitation approach?
(1) functional skills will automatically return to normal once abnormal movement patterns are inhibited and normal movement patterns are facilitated
(2) repetition of these normal movement patterns will automatically transfer to functional tasks
What is the Task oriented approach to clinical intervention?
Normal movement emerges as an interaction among many different systems, each contributing different aspects of control. Movement is organized around a behavioral goal and is constrained by the environment
What does compensation strategies have to do with the Task Oriented Approach?
Movements observed in patients with cortical lesions is not just the result of the lesion itself but also the efforts of remaining systems to compensate for the loss and still be functional. The compensation strategies are not always optimal.
What is a clinical application to the Task oriented approach?
It is essential to work in identifiable functional tasks rather than on movement patterns for movements sake alone
What is SPICPAE Johnny?
Sense Perceive Interpret Conceptualize Plan Activate Execute
