Lecture 42 - Motor Learning and Neuroplasticity Flashcards
Motor Control
Ability to regulate mechanisms essentail to movement
What are the 3 characteristics of the systems model of motor control
- Individual generates movement to meet demands of specific task performed with a special environment
- Individuals ability to meet demands of task and environment determines their functional capacity
- Movement is a product of interaction between the individual, task and environment
Summary of what will be learning in these flashcards in regards to motor control
What are the 3 individual constrainsts influencing motor control and describe them
- Action: Movement defined in terms of human actions or tasks (understanding of motor output from nervous system to muscles)
- Perception: Transformation of afferen input to psychological meaning information
-Peripheral/Higher-order processing provides interpretation of afferent information
-Sensory system provides information about state of body and features within the enviornment critcial to regulation of movement - Cognition
What are constraints of action
Muscle tone, strength, ROM, co-ordination, balance
What are constraints of perception
Impact registration or integration of sensory info:
-Decreased awareness of body in space
-Visual/touch deficits
What are constraints of cognition
Attention emotion and motivation issues such as:
-Fear of falling
-Ability to focus on environmental stimuli during task execution
-Ability to dual task
T or F: Clients need to develop movement patterns that meet demands of functional tasks while managing motor, perceptual, and cognitive impairments
T
What are 2 ways in which tasks can be grouped
- Functional category
-Bed mobility
-Transfer tasks
-ADL - Critical tasks attributes that regulate difficulty
What are 4 task attributes that regulate difficulty
- Discrete/Continuous Task
-Discrete: Clear beginning and ending (moving sit to stand)
-Continuous: End point is not inherent (eg. walking) - Base support is stable or mobile
-Stable = sitting or standing
-Mobile = walking - Manipulation component: Increases demands for stability (eg. walking while carrying tea)
- Open vs closed task
-Open = People adapt behaviour to constantly changing, unpredictable environment (playing soccer)
-Closed = Little variation and is relatively predictable environment (eg. golf swing)
Understanding attributes of task allows therapist to develop a taxonomy of tasks that provide a framework for
- Assessment
- Progression of training
What are 2 environmental constraints that influence motor control
- Regulatory features: Movements must conform to in environment to complete task (eg. size of cup to pick up
- Non-regulatory features: May affect performance but the movement DO NOT conform to these features (eg. background noise or lighting)
T or F: As therapists we need to prepare our clients to perform in a wide variety of environments. The types of environments may be unique to the client
T
Motor Learning
Acquisition or modification of movement
What are 4 concepts of motor learning
- Process of acquiring the capability for skilled movement
- Learning results from experience or practice
- Learning cannot be measured directly
- Learning produces relatively permanent changes in behavior’s (short term alterations not considered learning
What are the 3 stages of the Fitts and Posner 3-Stage Model of Learning
- Cognitive stage of learning
- Associative stage of learning
3.Autonomous stage of learning
Cognitive Stage of Learning (Posner) 3 characteristics
Associative Stage of Learning (Posner)
Autonomous Stage of Learning (Posner) 3 characteristics
Learning through the Fitts and Posner Model can be optimized by (4)
- Highly motivated person
- Able to fully attend to task
- Relate and integrate new info to what they already know about task
- Task is meaningful for the person
What are the basic principles of the challenge point theory (motor learning)
Practice is single most important factor for improvements in motor performance (practice is structured to maximize potential for learning)
What 2 factors do basic principle’s of the challenge point theory consider
- Task difficulty
- Skill Level of performer
Nominal Task Difficulty
Consistent task difficulty regardless of individuals skill level and task conditions
Functional task difficulty
How challenging task is relative to indibidual skill level and task conditions
Assumption of challenge point theory
Performance is a function of difficulty of task and skill level of performer
3 key features of challenge point theory
What are 2 sources of information for learning with challenge point theory
- Action Plan: Specific movement pattern for given performance
- Feedback :Information available to performer (Intrinsic = visual and kinesthetic info; extrinsic = mirror, coaching, video replay)
T or F: The challenge point theory states that increases in task difficult are accompanied by increases in potential information, but there is a limit to how much information is interpretable, resulting in overloading
T
What are additional motor learning princeples that can be used in clinical practice
- Organization of practice session
- Feedback
- Part task training
Practice sessions can be organized into
- Blocked: All trials of one task are completed before switching to other task (cognitive stage of learning -> acquisition phase = best to learn)
- Random: No task is repeated on 2 consecutive trials (associate and autonomous stage of learning -> retention and mastery phase)
Knowledge of results: Information about outcome
info about the outcome
Knowledge of performance
Info about how result was achieved
3 types of feedback
Part Task Training
Whole task is subdivided into parts and practiced for performance of the whole task (Task analysis -> Identify components of a skill and order into sequence)
Describe the break down of long term memory
Characteristics of learning using explicit memory
- Conscious - requires attention and awareness
- Can be expressed in declarative sentences
- Cant be used with patients with cognitive or language deficits that impair ability to recall and express knowledge
- Advantage is it can be practiced in many ways (eg. mental rehearsal)
- Requires intact sensory association areas (somatosensory, visual, auditory), medial temporal lobe and hippocampus
Ex. Teaching sit to stand: First I move to edge of chair, then i learn forward and then I stand up
Differences between classical and operant conditioning
- Classical Conditioning: Conditioned with stimulus
- Operant Conditioning: Trial and error learning
Characteristics of learning using implicit memory for procedural learning
- Learning tasks performed automatically without attention or thought (develops slowly through repetition and expressed improved task performance)
- Repeated practice under varied conditions typically leads to procedural learning (automatically learn movement itself)
Neuroplasticity 2 characteristics with motor learning
- Brain reorganizes throughout life and is capable of forming new connections even after damage and into older age (neuroplasticity)
- Neuroplasticity is experience dependent (can cause persistent-long last changes in synaptic strength)
What are 5 levels where plasticity occurs in the nervous system
What are 4 nervous system features that promote plasticity
- Redundancy: More than 1 brain area supports functional behavior’s so there are back-ups in case of damage
- Unmasking: Many synapses are unused and lie dormant and will be activated with learning, injury or disease
- Distributed Processes: Functions are not localized to one area (eg. motor learning is served by a distributed network)
- Dynamic Connectivity: Neurons capable of forming new connections (eg. increase or decrease dendrites, neurotransmitters, synaptic contacts)
What are 10 important characteristics of plasticity in clinical practice
Cognition
Mental activities involved in the acquisiton, storage, retrieval, and use of info
What are the 4 domains of cognition for motor learning
Executive Function 3 Characteristics
- High order cognitive process that enables independent, purposeful and goal-directed behavior’s
- Involve din control of attention and working memory
- Problems with executive function results in difficulty with self-correction and monitoring and difficulty applying info to unfamiliar situations
What are 3 types of attention and list a problem with attention
Memory
Ability to store experiences and perceptions for later recall
What are the 3 R’s of memory
What are 4 types of memory
Orientation
Knowledge related to person, place, or time
What occurs if there is a problem with orientation
Disoriented (person, place, or time)
What are 4 characteristics of screening measures for cognitive function
- Most common screening measures are the mini-mental state examination and Montreal cognitive assessment
- Measures of global cognition are done by evaluating multiple domains of cognition and providing summary score that is compared to normative values
- Screening measures are not diagnostic and people require further evaluation
- Provide valuable info that can be used by physical therapists (eg. degree or domain of impairment)
Describe 4 characteristics of the mini-mental state examination
What is the scoring of the mini-mental state examination
Describe Montreal Cognitive Assessment
