Intro to Motor Learning

Question 1

What are the two types of long term memory?

Answer 1

• Declaritive (explicit): Factual Knowledge; Can conciously be recalled
  – Ex: Nose over toes
• Non-declarative (implicit): Memory of skills and actions; Unconcious; Procedural (How to do it without being able to say every little step)

Often use procedural as basis for treatment but we can also incorporate declaractive for cues “noes over toes”

Question 2

Explicit can become ____ with practice

Answer 2

Implicit

Working through throught pattern can transfer over to the skill

Question 3

What systems are important for declarative memory?

Answer 3

Hippocampus and association corticies

These work together to give meaning to words

Question 4

What is chunking?

Answer 4

A point on short term memory
– Chunking (bring pieces of a task together)

If we can string different small pieces of the task short term allows us to gain more of an ability for long term memory.

Declarative Memory

Question 5

Procedural Learning

Answer 5

• Trial - Error Learning (Need to set challenges to make patients fail sometimes)
• Repetition of a movement leads to automatic learning of the moment itself
• Motor Circuits: Cerebellum (constantly changing connections), basal ganglia (imporant; dopamine; reward center), motor corticies

Primary mechanism for motor learning

Question 6

Why is trial and error learning important?

Answer 6

Error detection and correction is key! Memory and feedback are the basis of this

Question 7

Humunkulus

Answer 7

• Map of sensations or other body parts (motor) on the brain
• Constantly changing

Question 8

Motor Learning

Answer 8

• Process of acquiring a skills
• Results from practice
• Relatively permanent change
• Emerges from interaction between person, task and environment (movement in one environment may not be the same in another)
• Can never see motor learning occur. Occurs over time.

If someone performs something better in 30 minutes that is improvement in performance not motor learning. If they come back a few days later and can continue to with improve performance then you can say they experienced motor learning.

Question 9

Two theories of Motor Learning

Answer 9

• Schmidt’s Schema Theory
• Ecological Theory

Question 10

Schema Theory

Answer 10

• Rule or relationship that is developed
• Results from experience within a class of action
• Each movement attempt updates the rule (Movement will continue to be refined forever!)
• Examples:
  – Sensory feedback and motor output
  – Environment and motor output

Question 11

What is stored in short term memory

Schema Theory

Answer 11

Allows performer to identify some relationship among them

1. Initial movement conditions
2. Parameters
3. Sensory consequences
4. Outcomes (knowledge of results)

Leads to development of 2 schemas

Question 12

Recall Schema

Answer 12

• Responsible for organizing the motor program that initiates and controls movement

When we move, we
* Consider initial conditions and goals
* Select a recall schema
* Retrieve the general motor program
* Determine the needed parameters
* Execute

Question 13

Recognition Schema

Answer 13

Evaluates movement attempt

When we move, we
* Generate expected sensory consequences (wrist turn over, ball movement, hoping batter misses)
* Compare actual feedback to expected
* If a mismatch occurs, recall schema is updated

Cerebellum; knows what is suppose to happen then get feedback from senses feeds into sensory cortex and cerbellum! Cerebellum makes error and trial corrections.

Question 14

Schema Theory

Answer 14

Learning consists of ongoing updates to recall and recognition schema

Question 15

Clinical implications of Schema Theory

Answer 15

Practice under many conditions to develop a rule (recall schema); relearn rules of movement

Rule is more widely applicable if learned under wider circumstances.

Ex: Practice cutting on carpet; Practice cutting on playing surface; having someone practice on move variable conditions will be able to apply newly learned skills in different situations.

Patients are able to adapt this to unique situations.
- Ex: Snowboarder never done a move but do to other nowboarding experience was able to formulate and adapt to perform the movement.

Question 16

Ecological Theory

Answer 16

• Perception (adding meaning to sensory information from memory) and action coupling underlies motor learning
• Matching motor output and perceptual cues (specifically regulatory cues - cues in the environment that shape my movement)
• What sensory information in the environment is extremely important! This with motor output creates the best movement.
• Trial and error is important to enhance learning; allowing exploration is important (must take into account safety or other restrictions they have have

Question 17

How do the theories we have learning about fit together?

Answer 17

• Expanded IP, Generalized Motor Program, and Schema
• Ecological Dynamic Systems Theory, Ecological (sensory and motor happens naturally)
• Both: Learning is trial and error and it is a circular process

Question 18

Common themes of motor learning

Answer 18

• Explore various tasks/environment
• Trial and error with feedback to adapt movement; REPEAT

Question 19

Three things when considering to intervene with a patients technique

Answer 19

• Safety
• Motivation (60-75% success is sweet spot for task)
• Biomechanical (Based on research to know if it is linked to injury)

Question 20

Fitts and Posner - 3 Stages of Learning

Answer 20

Stage 1: Cognitive (lots of mental attention to perform task; Test strategies to move; Lots of trial and error; Lots of visual reliance)
Stage 2: Associative (Picked a strategy and now refine; less mental energy needed; less visual and now more proprioceptive)
Stage: Autonomous (Quick enough to divert attention elsewhere; things become more automatic, way less mental resources needed)

Can see changes of learning through facial expression for cognitive focus.

Question 21

Systems 3 Stage Model

Answer 21

Controlling degrees of freedom

• Novice (lock as many DOF)
• Advanced
• Expert (Release all DOF and control seamlessly; become for efficent with passive movement)

Ex:
- 12 month old: will lift legs with illiopsoas and quads
- Adults: use push out to help with flow and become for efficent

Ex:
- Novice: Barely move arms and no spine rotation to hit the ball
- Expert: Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist and Leg movement flows

Question 22

Psychomotor Skill Learning – 5 Stages

Answer 22

Stage 1: Acquiring knowlege (in what sequence and what it is)
Stage 2: Executing actions (step by step)
Stage 3: Transfer of control from eyes to other senses
Stage 4: Automatization of the skill (less concious attention and thinking through of the actions)
Stage 5: Generalization of the skills (greater application to a range of situations)