L1 - Principles of Motor Learning

Question 1

Why is motor control important?

Answer 1

It affects all areas of life, and therefore can easily reduce quality of life if impaired.

Question 2

Neurological conditions can affect the ______, ______, ______ and ______ of movement.

Answer 2

Neurological conditions can affect the speed, fluency, quality and ease of movement.

Question 3

What does optimal control theory assume?

Answer 3

You will optimise whatever aspect of movement you think is important, at the peril of remaining aspects of movement.

E.g. if speed is optimised, you will forget about fluency, ease and quality.

Question 4

What did Higgins (1991) suggest about the expectation of therapists?

Answer 4

Therapists should not expect that one way of performing a task is the most effective and efficient for all patients.

–> it doesn’t matter how people do it, just that it gets done.

Question 5

What are the two possible ways to focus therapy?

Answer 5

Either normalising patients by countering the deficiencies that drive their movement impairments (e.g. whether strength, flexibility, etc), or by ensuring they can carry out a particular task (function).

Question 6

Why is voluntary movement vulnerable to impairments?

Answer 6

Different areas are highly integrated to perform voluntary movements. Therefore, an impairment in one area could influence and impair the whole process.

Question 7

What is the goal of the brain in terms of action selection, according to the affordance model?

Answer 7

The most rewarding and least effortful task.

Multiple actions are initially specified and then gradually eliminated in a competition for overt execution, as more information accumulates.

Question 8

Which area of the brain is responsible for action selection?

Answer 8

Basal ganglia

Question 9

In PD patients, what are the features of their movements and what does this suggest?

Answer 9

Movements are slow, but remain accurate. Sign that there’s a problem with selection, and the integration and execution of movement is ok, it’s more high level processes that are impaired.

Fellows et al., (1998) - PD patients took longer to normalise grip forces and complete a lift, compared to controls. Suggested reduced effectiveness at the sensorimotor processing stage in PD (and perhaps communication between the BG and SMA, specifically abnormal signals from the BG).

Question 10

What does SMA stand for?

Answer 10

Supplementary motor area

Question 11

What does the SMA do?

Answer 11

Planning and executing complex actions.

Question 12

What do lesions to the SMA lead to?

Answer 12

Difficulties in completing sequential movements (and complex actions), i.e. picking up a cup will be challenging as it involves several processes - intention to pick it up, reaching the cup with the hand, grasping the cup, lifting it and then retracting the arm back.

Completing any one component of this action would be fine, e.g. just grasping the cup - its the combination and integration of all components that would be a problem.

Question 13

Damage to the cerebellum typically produces what?

Answer 13

Inaccurate movements

Question 14

What is the main role of the cerebellum?

Answer 14

Prediction

Question 15

What does PMD and PMV stand for?

Answer 15

Premotor area - dorsal and ventral

Question 16

What is the role of the premotor area?

Answer 16

Preparation of movement, response to external cues (e.g. traffic lights), grasp planning and action understanding.

Question 17

What does the PPC stand for?

Answer 17

Posterior parietal cortex

Question 18

What is the role of the PPC?

Answer 18

It estimates body, head, eye and arm positions in relation to the environment by integrating motor and sensory signals. It then sends this information to pre-motor areas to allow successful movement planning and execution.

Question 19

Where is the PPC located?

Answer 19

Between the visual and motor structures in the brain

Question 20

Which area controls the programming of movements?

Answer 20

Primary motor cortex (M1)

Question 21

What is M1 important for, and how does this relate to the organisation of its cortex?

Answer 21

Important for control of skillful movement, especially of hands, mouth and face.

Contralateral body represented spatially across the cortex.

The hands, mouth and face have the most representation in the cortex (as they are the most sensitive areas) and they therefore are controlled most by M1.

Question 22

What, generally, do efferent fibres do?

Answer 22

Carry impulses away from the CNS

Question 23

What, generally, do afferent fibres do?

Answer 23

Carry impulses to the CNS

Question 24

Brodmann area 3a and 3b receive inputs from where?

Answer 24

Receives sensory inputs from the thalamus.

Question 25

Where does Brodmann area 1 receive inputs from?

Answer 25

Mainly from Broadmann area 3b, and defines texture

Question 26

Where does Brodmann area 2 receive input from?

Answer 26

Mainly from Broadmann area 3b and defines shape and size

Question 27

What are upper motor neuron syndromes?

Answer 27

Syndromes characterised by damage above the level of motor neurons. E.g. Stroke, tumours - affect cortical areas.

Question 28

What are lower motor neuron syndromes?

Answer 28

Syndromes characterised by damage to alpha motor neurons, affecting either afferent or efferent information to muscles. E.g. Progressive muscular atrophy, bulbar palsy

Question 29

What are extrapyramidal disorders?

Answer 29

Disorders characterised by damage to the basal ganglia.

e.g. Parkinson’s, Huntington’s

Question 30

What are cerebellum disorders?

Answer 30

Disorders characterised by damage to the cerebellum.

e.g. cerebellar ataxia, etc.

Question 31

What did Haswell et al., (2009) find and conclude?

Answer 31

While controlling a novel tool, autistic children formed greater than normal associations between their self-generated motor commands and proprioceptive feedback (rather than external feedback). The strength of this association correlated with the individual’s social function and imitation impairments.

The neurons representing the internal model are located in M1, and proprioception takes place in the somatosensory cortex. Use of external (e.g. visual/imitation) cues takes place in PMA/PPC, which is further away from M1 than the sensorimotor cortex.

Suggests that, in autism, an overgrowth of short-range connections means they learn more through intrinsic coordinates than extrinsic coordinates, and that this could underlie the social deficits in ASDs.