Lecture 17 - Taxonomy and Properties of Human Movements

Question 1

What are fine motor skills?

Answer 1

High accuracy, small, precise movements that involve the use of small muscles

Question 2

What are gross motor skills?

Answer 2

Large movements that require large muscles (often the whole body)

Question 3

Is threading a needle a gross or fine motor skill?

Answer 3

fine

Question 4

Is walking a fine or gross motor skill?

Answer 4

Gross

Question 5

What defines an open motor skill?

Answer 5

A skill that requires continous evaluation of task and environmental demands. the environment is variable and unpredictable

Question 6

What are some examples of open motor skills?

Answer 6

• football
• hockey
• tennis
• fighting

Question 7

What defines closed motor skills?

Answer 7

The performer can evaluate environmental demands and prepare motor actions in advance. Environment is stable and predictable.

Question 8

Is swimming a closed (in a lane, in a pool) or open motor skill?

Answer 8

Closed

Question 9

What type of skills would be in the middle of the open and closed skill continum?

Answer 9

Walking a tightrope
Steering a car
Playing chess

Question 10

What is the difference between discrete, continous and serial motor skills?

Answer 10

Discrete: Defined beginning and end
Continous: no clear beginning or end (repetitive and cyclical)
Serial: group of discrete skills strung together

Question 11

What are some examples of discrete motor skills?

Answer 11

• throwing a dart
• flipping a light switch
• shooting a rifle

Question 12

What type of skill is a gymnastics routine or assembly-line work?

Discrete, serial, continuous

Answer 12

serial

Question 13

What type of skill would running, swimming or rowing be considered?

Discrete, serial, continous

Answer 13

continuous (repetitive and cyclical)

Question 14

What are 2 ways we can measure and understand movements?

Answer 14

Robotics (kinarm), cameras and reflective markers

Question 15

What is the typical shape of hand speed profiles?

Answer 15

bell shaped

Question 16

What does a hand acceleration profile resemble?

Answer 16

A sin wave

Question 17

Do hand speed profiles change across movement amplitudes (distance)?

Answer 17

No

Question 18

On average, what % of the time do young adults spend in the acceleration and deccleration phase respectively?

Answer 18

Acceleration: 45-50%
Decceleration: 50-55%

Question 19

What phase do you spend more time in as you get older?

Answer 19

Decceleration

Question 20

In the current theory related to movement trajectory, what are the two processes?

Answer 20

1. Movement planning
2. Movement execution

Question 21

What does the serial processing framework imply?

Answer 21

That the nervous system explicitly computes and attempts to reinforce specific hand trajectories when moving to a spatial goal

Question 22

What 2 predictions does the apparent importance of hand trajectories lead to?

Answer 22

1. invariance of hand paths across movement amplitudes, directions, speeds etc
2. sensorimotor system should attempt to reinforce planned hand trajectories when the limb is unexpectedly disturbed