Class Test 1 Flashcards

1
Q

what 2 things are involved in making an action?

A
  1. Plan a goal

2. Guide the action to achieve the goal

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2
Q

what does sensory information during action allow for?

A

movement guidance and correction

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3
Q

How is an action goal achieved through the sensory feedback loop?

A

Goal –> Reference Mechanism –> Effectors/executive –> Environment. (environment then gives feedback to the reference mechanism)

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4
Q

What does feedback for correction of a movement depend on?

A

capacity and time

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5
Q

what are the problems with closed loop control?

A
  • we can execute some movements without sensory feedback

- the sensory feedback loop may be too long to control fast movements

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6
Q

Define a motor programme

A

a prestructured set of central commands capable of carrying out the movement open-loop

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7
Q

What is an open loop system?

A

When there is no sensory feedback

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8
Q

Learning and improving and open-loop movement is done through a reference which is compared to movement feedback…

A

If it is right and perfect then it is stored in memory. if not, it is improved.

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9
Q

What are the 2 problems with open and closed loop motor control?

A
  1. The storage problem –> questions whether there are set programmes that we learn and execute for every single movement - we wont have the capacity for all of this
  2. The novelty problem –> questions how we adapt the set programs we have to make new responses.
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10
Q

Explain the role of the generalised motor programme

A

it is a memory structure that governs a class of movements possessing a common movement pattern

It consists of invariant characteristics and adjusted parameters
Main invariants = Relative duration, relative force, order of events
Main Parametes = overall duration overall force

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11
Q

what are the two types of movement errors that may require correction?

A
  1. Programme selection - incorrect action selected

2. Programme execution - incorrect execution

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12
Q

How long does a selection error take to correct to form a new plan?

A

120-200 ms

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13
Q

Execution errors require modifying the ongoing plan. How long after error detection does this take?

A

30-50 ms

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14
Q

What is the main difference between open-loop and closed-loop systems

A

closed loop systems contain feedback between the movement effectors and the movement control centre.

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15
Q

what is an internal model and what are the two types?

A

= neural mechanisms that can mimic the input/output characteristics or their inverses, of the motor apparatus

  1. internal forward model
  2. internal inverse model
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16
Q

Describe what a forward model does?

A

their goal is to predict ‘what would be the sensory consequences of the movement’
- you begin with ‘ what is the goal?’

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17
Q

Describe what an inverse model does?

A

A series of motor commands that decide on the necessary motor commands from the desired goal.
It acts as a motor controller
Desired trajectory –> Inverse model –> Controlled object –> Realised trajectory

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18
Q

How do the internal models work together in a pair?

A

we set a feed forward model of what we want to achieve and then the inverse model is used to decide how we get there

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19
Q

Describe where motor control happens in the brain

A

In the cerebellum cortex
Motor cortex –> plans and executes the movement
Basal Ganglia –> Initiates movement
Cerebellum –> Integrates and refines the movment

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20
Q

What is the effect of cerebellar damage on motor control?

A

loss of coordination
some effects to muscle tone and posture
no effect on muscle strength, sensory perception or higher order

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21
Q

How does the cerebellum affect motor coordination?

A
  • corrects ongoing movements when they deviate from the intended course + modifies descending output + central motor programs
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22
Q

Each motor programme of complex action can be called a what? and what can the separation between these be based around

A

unit of action

The separation between these units can be based around the relative timing of the movement. A change in timing represents a change in the movement unit

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23
Q

Explain the dynamic pattern theory

A

the theory suggests that continuous action coordinates on the basis of stability. this is defined by the relationship between movement variability and efficiency. (increased variability means a decrease in motor efficiency) –> to improve this, the dynamic pattern of the movement changes.

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24
Q

A change in dynamic serves to provide a ‘self-organised process’ that establishes more of a process. What is the evidence for this?

A
  • Actions in asymmetry are known as anti-phase (left finger flexion, right finger extension thing)
  • Actions made together in symmetry are known as in-phase (flexion of both fingers)
    in-phase movements are more stable. When anti-phase movements are made quicker and quicker, they will switch to the in-phase pattern to ‘self organise itself
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25
Q

What is the Power Law of Practice

A

A negatively accelerated relation between performance and practice trails is similar to that of a power function.

= T = aP ^-b

T –> time
P –> some measure of practice , eg #of trials
-b –> a constant, the larger it is, the more rapid decreases with ractice

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26
Q

The rate of improvement at any point in practice tends to be linearly related to the margin of improvement left

A

Early in practice = fast improvement

Late in practice = slow improvement

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27
Q

During pre practice what is the best condition to increase the rate of learning?

A
  • Making the task seem important.
  • Goal setting and encouragement, like you can do it is not as effective as specific, absolute goals of moderate difficulty
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28
Q

What is, and what is learned through, Modelling

A
It is when you watch the movement being performed and then copy the model
Learned is:
- Movement strategies
- Spacial information
- Temporal information
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29
Q

why is it better to look at a learning model rather than an expert?

A
  • better with knowledge of results - less errors over trails

- importance of cues + guidance

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30
Q

When regarding distribution of practice what are the 2 practice ways you can do

A
  1. Massed practice (all trials are consecutive)

2. Distributed practice ( rest between trials)

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31
Q

What are ‘Distribution of practice’ effects on performance

A
  • the longer the rest, the better the performance

- given constant periods of work and short rest periods,degrade performance relative to longer rest periods

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32
Q

What are ‘Distribution of practice’ effects on learning

A
  • length of retention interval
  • Do the learning effects ‘wash out’?
  • Total practice time - more practice if you have less rest.
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33
Q

What are the effects that varying practice has on retention of learning new skills

A

Constant vs varied practice

- by practising different things over constant practice is better for retention - less error

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34
Q

What are the effects that varying practice has on transfer of learning

A
  • there is a better transfer for task within range of practice distances
  • Smaller error for group where there’s variability
  • Variability appears to increase the applicability of the learning
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35
Q

What other factors influence the effects of variability of practice

A
  • Age of learner - powerful for kids
  • Gender of learner - more effective for female
  • Scheduling variable practice - is most effective randomised rather than blocked
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36
Q

What is the difference between blocked and random practice?

A
blocked = sequence where all trails on one tasks are done together, uninterrupted by other activities
Random = same task is never repeated on consecutive trails
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37
Q

What is better for learning and performance… random or blocked practice?

A
  • Better performance during practice in blocked condition
  • Reversed effect in retention
  • Always better to have practised under random conditions
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38
Q

Part vs whole practice. What is the problem with part practice?

A

taken in isolation, different parts do not constitute a motor programme, but different units of action

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39
Q

Effectiveness depends on the task. What is the difference between serial tasks and continuous tasks?

A
serial = complete isolation is not useful, but backward chaining (of at least 2 constitutive parts) is effective
Continuous = interaction of part has to be learned, and this can only be done when all parts are present
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40
Q

What are the 4 main types of feedback you can obtain from a motor programme?

A

Inherent and Augmented (intrinsic and extrinsic)
Knowledge of results
Knowledge of performance

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41
Q

What is knowledge of results?

A
  • post movement information. about the outcome of the movement, in terms of have you reached the intended goal?
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42
Q

what is knowledge of performance?

A

= post movement information, about the nature of the movement. did it feel right?

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43
Q

What are the different dimensions of augmented feedback?

A

Concurrent / Terminal (feedback before or after)
Immediate / delayed (after relevant action)
Verbal / Nonverbal (spoken, or visual, guided etc)
Distinct / Accumulated (feedback for each performance separately, or an accumulation of all past performances)

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44
Q

What are the 4 ways you can receive Knowledge of performance?

A
  • video feedback - with cues if more effective than just watching the video
  • Kinematic feedback - eg ‘you drop the elbow in the pull’… effectiveness depends on the nature of the task
  • Biofeedback - EMG and HR
  • Kinetic feedback - such as using force plates and power-meters. but this cant be used on all sports due to the nature of them, such as judo
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45
Q

How can knowledge of results impact learning?

A
  • Precision of KR can change the direction and magnitude of error, and precision and be quantitative or qualitative
  • learning is facilitated as the bandwidth becomes larger
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46
Q

What are the 2 ways of scheduling KR (knowledge of results) and how do these affect learning

A

Relative vs absolute frequency

  • Reduced relative frequency effects may be beneficial to learning
  • Too much knowledge of results and you lose your internal perception
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47
Q

How does augmented feedback work?

A
  1. Informational functions –> optimum when the learner is uncertain about the reliability of their intrinsic information.
  2. Motivational Functions
  3. Associational Functions - associations between stimuli + movements
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48
Q

How can augmented feedback degrade learning?

A

Blocking other processing activities

Inducing maladaptive corrections

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49
Q

What are the main stages to the initiation of a muscle contraction

A
  1. action potential stimulates release of neurotransmitter across the neuromuscular junction
  2. Action potential spread across the sarcolemma + into the muscle fibre via the t-tubules
  3. Calcium is released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum
  4. Calcium binds to the troponin to expose the myosin binding sites and cross bridges are formed
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50
Q

what is a twitch?

A

one action potential generates a single twitch

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51
Q

What is a tetanic force?

A

multiple action potentials generate a continuous force

52
Q

How can a muscle system generate extra force?

A

Recruiting more motor units

Increasing the frequency of firing

53
Q

twitch fusion causes what?

A

Continuous smooth muscle contraction

54
Q

Twitch properties can depend upon:

A

Fibre type
Fatigue
Temperature

55
Q

When more motor neurons are recruited, what does this mean for the movement?

A

finer force modulation, therefore better control

56
Q

If there is a lower innervation number, what does this mean for control?

A

more control

57
Q

what is the relationship between muscle activity and force?

A

the amplitude of the sEMG signal is proportional to the force produced by the muscle.
If there is a high frequency neural output, the force output is low frequency

58
Q

What is the EMG / force relationship?

A

EMG is generally proportional to force.

However some muscles how non-linear relationships

59
Q

Are the following higher or lower for fast twitch fibres compared to slow twitch:

  • resting membrane potential
  • Density of sodium
  • Speed of action potentials
  • size of electrical response
A
  1. Higher
  2. Greater
  3. Faster
  4. Larger
60
Q

Eccentric vs concentric muscle contraction.
1, Which has a higher muscle activation?
2. Which has a higher force?
3. The biggest EMG response

A
  1. Concentric contraction
  2. Eccentric
  3. Concentric
61
Q

How does fatigue affect neural control of a muscle?

compare 50% of max voluntary cont to 100% of max

A
  • At 50% - more motor units are recruited to compensate for failing contraction in other fibres, Force is maintains
  • At 100% there is no scope for further recruitment , therefore force drops off. “muscle wisdom”
62
Q

Muscle fatigue causes prolonged twitch duration, due to biochemical changes in the muscle.

A

Frequency of motor units firing falls over time to compensate for prolonged twitch time, This causes a drop in the EMG amplitude (both single units and also surface EMG)

63
Q

What are the possible mechanisms for how the nervous system knows when to reduce motor neuron firing rate

A
  1. peripheral detection of the build of metabolism (like lactate) and pain
  2. Spinal suppression of motor neuron firing rates
  3. changes in voluntary activiation
64
Q

Why would the nervous system reduce the motor neuron firing rate?

A
  • to reduce the likelihood of neuronal fatigue - like failure of neuromuscular transmission
  • more likely to maintain fine motor control
65
Q

What is high frequency fatigue caused by and how is it stopped?

A

caused by high frequency stimulation continuously and failure of the transmission along the muscle membrane
- stopped through muscle wisdom and immediate recovery after stimulation stops

66
Q

What is low frequency fatigue and how is it prevented/stopped?

A

occurs after mild muscle damage, and from intense exercise.
Takes hours, days to recover
Could be caused by a reduction in the calcium in the sarcoplasmic reticulum

67
Q

What are the 2 possible neural mechanisms for the loss of force in fatiguing contraction.

A
  • -> Central mechanisms

- -> Peripheral mechanisms

68
Q

What is a twitch torque (ITT)

A

Measure of the number of motor units that are not maximally recruited during voluntary contraction

69
Q

When you induce a twitch through stimulation, what occurs at:

a) before fatigue
b) During fatigue

A

a) low levels of contraction, there is a large twitch which indicates extra capacity in the muscle
b) Stimulation produces a greater twitch force.

70
Q

What are 2 alternative methods for measuring muscle activity

A

AMG - Acoustomyography –> muscles generate sound when they contract
Ultrasound –> tells is the muscle is lengthening or shortening in contraction

71
Q

The thalamus is the ‘gateway’ to what?

A

the cortex

72
Q

Which 2 parts of the motor system act upon the cerebral cortex via the thalamus?

A

Cerebellum and the basal ganglia

73
Q

What does the thalamus do?

A

Relays sensory information and acts as a relay between sub-cortical areas and the cortex

74
Q

What is the hierarchy of motor control in the brain and what does each do?

A

Motor Cortex –> Direct motor output
Cerebellum –> Modulates movement accuracy
Basal Ganglia –> Strategic aspects of movement

75
Q

What does the gray matter contain in the spinal cord?

A

cell bodies of neurons

76
Q

What does the white matter contain in the spinal cord?

A

axonal tracts

77
Q

Sensory information enters the spinal cord via which route?

A

Dorsal horn

78
Q

Motor neurons exit the spinal cord via which route?

A

Ventral horn

79
Q

what is the evidence for motor neurons exhibiting ‘somatotopy’

A

Proximal and distal muscles are represents in proximal and distal spinal cord.

80
Q

What are the 4 major descending pathways for movement?

A

Corticospinal - from motor cortex to spinal cord
Rubrospinal - From red nucleus to spinal cord
Vestibulospinal - From vestibular nuclei to spinal cord
Reticulospinal - From reticular formation to spinal cord

81
Q

which descending pathways fall into the medial system and which fall into the lateral system?

A
Medial = vestibulospinal and reticulospinal
Lateral = Corticospinal and Rubrospinal
82
Q

What is the role of the corticospinal tract?

A

Makes direct and indirect pathways for voluntary movements.

Right motor cortical areas mainly control the left side of the body and visa versa

83
Q

What is the role of the rubrospinal tract?

A

Controls the shaping of the hand during reach-to-grasp movements. Upper limb control
Can compensate for damage to corticospinal tract

84
Q

Where does the medial system travel?

A

in the ventromedial part of the spinal white matter

85
Q

in the medial system, what motor neurons are affected?

A

the motor neurons in the medial part of the spinal gray matter

86
Q

which tract originates in the vestibular nuclei and output is sent to the spinal cord and to the muscles that move the eyes?

A

Vestibulospinal tract

87
Q

What is the role of the vestibulospinal tract?

A

Contracts and relaxes muscles to maintain postural stability when the head moves

88
Q

which tract originates in the pontine and medullary reticular formations

A

Reticulospinal tract

89
Q

Which tract mediates the startle reflex?

A

Reticulospinal tract

90
Q

What are the 4 main parts of the Cerebral Cortex (Sub-cortical areas)

A

Frontal Lobe
Parietal Lobe
Occipital Lobe
Temporal Lobe

91
Q

Which part of the cerebral cortex is involved in visual processing

A

Occipital lobe

92
Q

Which part of the cerebral cortex is involved in learning and speech comprehension

A

Temporal lobe

93
Q

Which parts of the cerebral cortex junction to form the central sulcus

A

parietal ans frontal

94
Q

What is the somatotopy of the motor cortex

A

Leg area represented in the middle of the brain, arms are more lateral

95
Q

what is the function of the basal ganglia

A

strategic aspects of movement

96
Q

What is the gross anatomy of the basal ganglia

A

Striatum –> Caudate, Putamen
Globus Pallidus –> internal and external
Subthalamic nucleus
Substantia Nigra –> Pars compacta and pars reticula

97
Q

What are the input and the output nuclei of the basal ganglia?

A

Input - Striatum

Output - Globus Pallidus Internal and Substantia Nigra pars reticula

98
Q

What is the nature of the basal ganglia tonic output?

A

GABA inhibition of the thalamus

99
Q

what are the excitatory neurotransmitters for the pathways in the basal ganglia?

A

Dopamine

Glutamate

100
Q

What are the inhibitory neurotransmitters for the pathways in the basal ganglia?

A

Dopamine
GABA
Substance P
Enkephalin

101
Q

Which pathway does dopamine excite and which does it inhibit in the basal ganglia?

A

Excited the direct pathway

Inhibits the indirect pathway

102
Q

Basal ganglia movement disorders can be explained by and imbalance of what?

A

imbalance between direct and indirect pathways

103
Q

In Parkinsons disease which pathway is favoured and what does this do to movement?

A

Increased indirect pathway and decreased direct to cause movement suppression

104
Q

In Huntingtons disease which pathway is favoured and what does this do to movement?

A

Increased direct pathway and decreased indirect to cause movement being facilitated

105
Q

Explain how the basal ganglia goes wrong in Parkinsons disease

A
  • There is a loss of dopamine in the mid-brain, and an increase in inhibitory output from the basal ganglia. Movement is suppressed from an increase in indirect pathways.

This causes slowness of movement - Bradykinesia, inability to initiate movement - Akinesia, tremor, postural instability.

106
Q

Explain how the basal ganglia goes wrong in Huntington’s disease

A

Caused by a mutation of the Huntingtin gene. normal =15-34 CAG repeats, the mutation is 42-64 repeats.
Caused - increased direct pathways when compared to indirect pathways.

causes jerky and rapid motions with no clear purpose

107
Q

What are the functions of the cerebellum

A

continuously alters motor output based upon sensory feedback signals
Motor learning

108
Q

Damage to the cerebellum causes what?

A

Loss of coordination

109
Q

What are the 3 sections of the cerebellum? (gross anatomy)

A

Cerebrocerebellum
Spinocerebellum
Vestibulocerebellum

110
Q

What is the role of the cerebrocerebellum?

A

regulation of highly skilled movement

111
Q

What is the role of the spinocerebellum?

A

some eye movement

regulates movement of distal and proximal muscles

112
Q

What is the role of the vestibulocerebellum?

A

Regulation of balance

vestibulo-ocular reflex (eye movement)

113
Q

what is the somatotopy of the cerebellum

A

right side of the cerebellum controls the right side of the body - ipsilateral

114
Q

What are the inputs of the cerebellum?

A

peduncle, inferior olive, spinal cord, vestibular nuclei

115
Q

What are the outputs of the cerebellum?

A

Cerebro, and spino- cerebellum are via deep cerebellar nuclei
vestibulocerebellum are via vestibular nuclei

116
Q

What does damage to the vestibulo-cerebellum cause?

A

Lesion to the left side of the V-C prevents normal smooth pursuit to the left with eye movement

117
Q

What is the spinocerebellum compromised of? and what tracts to these act upon

A

Vermis (medial tracts) and the Intermediate Cerebellar Cortex (lateral tracts)

118
Q

what are the inputs of the spinocerebellum?

A

the Dorsal and ventral spinocerebellar tracts.

119
Q

what are the input and output of the cerebrocerebellum?

A

input = cerebral cortex

output - motor and premotor cortex areas

120
Q

What does damage tot he cerebrocerebellum cause?

A

causes ipsilateral appendicular ataxia & prolonged reaction time.

121
Q

Which fire more often? Climbing fibres or mossy fibres? (climbing = complex spikes, mossy = simple)

A

mossy fibres

122
Q

what is the somatotopy of the motor cortex

A

leg control to wards the middle. Arms to the outside. Right side controls left side of body

123
Q

the primary motor cortex encodes kinetics and kinematics depending on which cells are studied. But what do both mean?

A
Kinetics = movement force
kinematics = movement direction
124
Q

What is used to observe the motor cortex?

A

TMS

125
Q

Each neuron in the motor cortex has a ‘preferred direction’ when you combine info from lots of different neurons you can produce what?

A

A population vector which represents the direction of the movement that is occurring.

126
Q

How can you motor map?

A

Use of TMS - transcranial magnetic stimulation. Use hotspots to map which part of the brain controls which limb

127
Q

As stimulation strength is reduced in TMS, what occurs?

A

excitation changes to inhibition. so there is a suppression or cortical activity.