Intro to Motor Learning

Question 1

Gross and Fine motor skills

Answer 1

Fine motor skills involve the use of small muscles of the
hands, fingers , toes, wrists, lips and tongue to perform
small, precise movements
- picking up a coin, surgery

Gross motor skills are large movements that require the
use of large muscles in the arms, legs, torso and feet
- kicking, dancing, jumping

Question 2

Closed and open motor skills

Answer 2

In an open motor skill the environment is variable and unpredictable.
- football, rugby, soccer

In a closed motor skill, the environment is stable and predictable.
- running on a closed track, swimming in a lane

Question 3

Continuum of envn demands

Answer 3

Predictable - typing, archery, gymnastic

Semi - chess, walking a tightrope

Unpredictable - soccer, rugby

Question 4

Discrete
serial
continuous

Answer 4

Discrete motor skills are typically brief actions with a well-defined beginning and end. Pitching a baseball, kick a soccer ball

Serial motor skills are composed of a group of discrete skills strung together to make up a new, more complicated skill. Eating, cut(discrete), pull food up(discrete), chew(discrete). COMBO OF DISCRETE SKILLS. pouring milk, sipping coffee,

Continuous motor skills are repetitive and often cyclical with no clear beginning or end. Running, swimming

Question 5

Continuum of Task demands

Answer 5

distinct start and end - throwing a ball

serial skills - discrete actions linked together, hammering a nail, gymnastics routine

continuous skills - no start or end, running, swimming,

Question 6

what type of range of skills can humans perform

how are they classified, and why

Answer 6

Humans can perform a range of
motor skills. These skills can be classified into different
functional categories so we can study and understand them.

Question 7

Pertevation

Hand motion profile

Hand speed profile

Answer 7

change in movement or disturb movement

start of target to end of target

hand speed, accelerate halfway, decelerate the next half

Question 8

if a target is further away, what happens to velocity

hand speed profile

hand acceleration

doing behavioural tasks with limbs machines

average rate of acceleration and deceleration, what affects that

Answer 8

higher peak velocity, bell shaped curves,

similar speed and acceleration profiles across movement amplitudes

Acceleration into positive and then negative

similar hand motion profiles despite differences in amplitude of movement

On average, healthy young adults spend 45-50% of movement time in the acceleration phase and 50-55% in the deceleration phase of movement.
Aging and damage to the nervous system can increase movement time and the relative time spent in the deceleration phase.

Question 9

planning a movement
execution

putting pertevation while executing a task

Answer 9

Trajectory shows two processes, planning then execution

the nervous system computes then reinforces hand trajectories when moving to a target

while moving to a target moving the arm, pertervate it, hands returns to most efficient path.

Question 10

Slopes of y=ax+b

Answer 10

The slope (term a in equation) is the rate of change in
position (i.e., speed).
* slopes reveal differences in movement speed

The intercept (term b in equation) is the initial position
(i.e., starting position).
* intercepts reveal differences in starting positions