Defintions Flashcards
Motor program
A plan for how to move that is created in advance, outlining what needs to happen for a skillful action.
Open loop
A way of moving where instructions are sent from the brain to the muscles without checking back for any feedback during the action.
open loop command are sent to the effector and executed without feedback
Degrees of freedom
The different parts of a movement system that can change on their own, which work together to create effective actions.
Deafferentation
A surgery that cuts off the nerves carrying sensory information to the brain, stopping signals from reaching the spinal cord.
CPG’s
central pattern generator
Built-in brain mechanisms that create repetitive movements, like walking or chewing, based mainly on our genetic programming.
Reflex-reversal phenomenon
A situation where the same trigger leads to different responses in reflex actions.
Reflexes
Quick, automatic reactions to certain stimuli that happen without thinking
Storage problem
The challenge of needing endless memory to save all the programs needed for every possible movement a person can make.
Novelty problems
The question of how to create a movement plan for an action you’ve never done before.
General motor problem
A basic movement plan that describes a type of movement instead of a specific one; it can be adjusted to fit different situations.
Parameters
The changing factors in a general movement plan that result in different types of movements.
Invariant feature
The consistent aspects of a movement that don’t change, even when other details about the movement do
Relative timing
The timing relationships between different parts of a movement that help define its overall timing pattern.
Fundamental timing structure
The order and timing of a movement that create its basic pattern.
Independent variable
The factors that a researcher changes or controls in an experiment.
Dependent variable
The factors that a researcher measures to see how they are affected
Spatial accuracy
How accurate quick movements are in terms of where they end up, which is important for doing the task well
Timing accuracy
How accurate quick movements are in terms of how long they take, which is important for doing the task well.
BImanual skill
Skills that require using both hands together in a coordinated way
Experimental method
Two groups 1 thing you can measure between them
Studying how different factors affect how people move, treating differences between individuals as random errors
Differential method
Focusing on the differences between people in their motor skills, considering those differences as the main subject of study
1 group, two things you want to compare across individuals in that group
Ability
A stable trait, mostly determined by genetics, that affects how skilled someone is at a task and doesn’t change much with practice
Skill
The ability to perform a task well, developed through practice.
Response orientation
How quickly you can decide what to do when faced with different options in a timed task.
Reaction Time
How fast you can start moving in response to a stimulus.
speed of movement
How quickly you can move after you’ve decided to respond (or when the decision time isn’t a factor)
Finger dexterity
The ability to control your fingers and hands finely.
Manual dexterity
The ability to control your hands and fingers in a more general way
Response integration
How well you can process different bits of sensory information to choose the best action.
Superability
A weak general factor underlying most movement skills
