Lecture 9 - Motor Learning

Question 1

What are the 5 characteristics of Skill learning?

Answer 1

Improvement (getting better), consistency (less variable), stability (perturbations have less influence on performance), persistence (retention of improvement), adaptability (different contexts)

Question 2

How do you assess learning

Answer 2

performance curves, transfer tests (novel context or skill variation), retention tests

Question 3

What are the different performance curves?

Answer 3

Negative acceleration, positive acceleration, linear, s-shaped
Assesses improvement and consistency

Question 4

What do retention and transfer tests assess?

Answer 4

Retention: persistence
Transfer: adaptability and stability

Question 5

How can practice performance misrepresent learning?

Answer 5

Low correlation between early and later practice

performance plateaus due to psychological factors, new strategy being developed

Question 6

What are the two types of long term memory?

Answer 6

Procedural (learning new skills before consolidation creates interference) and declarative

Question 7

Describe the 3 stages of Fitts and Posner

Answer 7

Cognitive –> figuring out what to do, how to do it. Large, variable, frequent errors
Associative–> associate environmental cues with movements required. fewer errors, refining
Autonomous –> after many years, expert. Can diagnose own errors. automatic, habitual, don’t consciously think about it, can dual-task, instruction important here

Question 8

Describe Gentile’s two-stage model

Answer 8

Initial stage –> acquire movement coordination pattern, discover regulatory/non-regulatory environmental features
Later stage –> develop capability of adaptability, economy of movement, consistency

Question 9

What are the different learner goals?

Answer 9

Closed skills –> fixation, repetition of basic movement coordination pattern correctly, consistently, efficiently (change parameters)
Open skills –> variation of basic movements, diversify to meet different environmental contexts (change parameters/invariant features)

Question 10

What are the 4 types of info available to learner?

Answer 10

initial body conditions
parameters
augmented feedback about movement outcome
sensory feedback

Question 11

What is the recall and recognition schema?

Answer 11

Recall: relationship between initial conditions, movement outcomes, and parameter
Learn if want this movement outcome, here are the parameters that should be selected
Recogntion: relationship between initial conditions, movement outcomes, and sensory feedback “given this sensory feedback, here’s what happened” use to learn what went wrong, what movement should feel like

Question 12

How does performance change in rate of improvement? what is the evidence for this?

Answer 12

slows down over time, negative acceleration usually seen
Split belt treadmill –> those with instruction given adapt fastest, those distracted slowest (attention plays role in rate of learning)

Question 13

How does performance change in movement co-ordination

Answer 13

Originally freeze segments, solve DOF problem
Determine appropriate muscle activation pattern, limb configurations, trajectories
Once expert, start to unfreeze segments to produce smooth, fluid motion

Question 14

How does performance change in muscles used?

Answer 14

Originally very inefficient (co-contractors to solve DOF), timing off
Reorganize to take advantage of environment

Question 15

How does performance change in energy cost

Answer 15

Eventually get to minimal energy expended

Evidence: metabolic consumption of O2 while walking (preferred frequency)

Question 16

How does performance change in visual selective attention?

Answer 16

Originally vision directed inappropriately, focus on non-regulatory features, fixate on wrong things, look at too many things
Learn to direct attention to regulatory features
Evidence: expert soccer goalkeepers fixate on ball longer

Question 17

How does performance change in conscious attention demands

Answer 17

Over time, less conscious attention needed

Question 18

How does performance change in error detection

Answer 18

with time, can detect and correct own errors (autonomous stage)
Understand why error occurred, not just that error occurred

Question 19

How does performance change in brain activity? What is the evidence of this

Answer 19

Brain plasticity increases
PPC active early (recognition of error) and cerebellum progressively increases activity (updating model)
Evidence: cerebellum stimulation improves adaptation during split belt (anodal or cathodal stimulation through tCDS)
PPC during reaching in force field shows no after-effect when blocked by TMS, therefore no transfer occurred so it wasn’t learned as well
Motor cortex shows worse retention when blocked during reach movement

Question 20

What are the 3 types of transfer of learning?

Answer 20

Positive (learning of one skill improves learning of second) negative (learning previous skill interferes)
Zero (no benefit or interference)

Question 21

What is transfer of learning used for?

Answer 21

skills performed in different environments, rehab, sequencing of learning, instructional methods, assessing effectiveness of practice

Question 22

What is the identical elements theory

Answer 22

positive transfer due to similarity between task components or context

Question 23

What is the transfer-appropriate processing theory?

Answer 23

Transfer occurs when the same cognitive processing resources used

Question 24

When and why does negative transfer occur

Answer 24

When: need to learn new response to old stimulus (environmental context similar, movement contexts different), effects are temporary
Why: difficulty altering perception-reaction

Question 25

What is bilateral transfer and why does it occur?

Answer 25

Better performance of skill after learning it in contralateral limb
Motor control hypothesis: skill is learned in non-specific way, can be applied to opposite limb
Cognitive hypothesis: applies knowledge acquired to opposite limb

Question 26

How does demonstration affect performance? Why does this occur?

Answer 26

Experts should correctly demonstrate skill, learners should watch other learners do it improperly (requires problem solving)
Due to mirror neurons, that activate in the same way that it would if learner was actually performing movement (simulation), encodes intentions and spatial positions
Evidence: observational learning in force field –> those who watch with correct force field do better, those who watch opposite force field do worst

Question 27

How should demonstration be applied?

Answer 27

Should be demonstrated first, then interspersed as needed

Evidence: demo and practice blocks

Question 28

jk;

Answer 28

Verbal instruction can hinder performance –> influences strategies, removes discovery learning

Question 29

What are the different types of motor learning feedback?

Answer 29

Sensory (task-intrinsic) feedback
AUGMENTED FEEDBACK
Knowledge of results –> outcome of skill
Knowledge of performance –> movement characteristics that lead to performance outcome

Question 30

When is augmented feedback useful?

Answer 30

When sensory feedback isn’t available, reliable, or can’t be used appropriately due to lack of experience
Use performance bandwidths –> only give feedback when performance outside certain range
Concurrent –> while person is performing skill
Terminal –> after skill completed

Question 31

Should you provide info about errors vs correct aspects, and qualitative vs quantitative?

Answer 31

Errors –> multiple correct ways to perform action, therefore point out things that are wrong
Qualitative better for beginners

Question 32

When should you provide KP vs KR

Answer 32

KR: confirm own assessments, when outcome can’t be determined, motivate, want learners to problem solve
KP: skills performed according to specific criteria, complex co-ordination must be improved, KR is redundant with sensory feedback

Question 33

What are the different types of KP?

Answer 33

Verbal –> descriptive vs prescriptive (better for beginners)
Video –> only if performance features easily visible
Computer modelling (Movement kinematics)
Biofeedback –> no retention

Question 34

What is the up/down side of Concurrent feedback?

Answer 34

negative learning effect –> substitute feedback for sensory feedback
dual task effect
Point out sensory feedback features not easily available

Question 35

What are the two time intervals of KR?

Answer 35

KR delay –> interval between skill completion and providing KR
post-KR interval –> between delivery of augmented feedback and initiation of next trial

Question 36

How often should augmented feedback be provided and how can you reduce how often it’s provided?

Answer 36

Not all the time –> guidance hypothesis: should be used to guide performance, not relied on
Performance bandwidths, only when learner asks, summary after certain number of trials

Question 37

What is the difference between variability and specificity?

Answer 37

Variability: variety of movement and context characteristics
Gentille –> learner needs to experience variations of reg/non-reg characteristics
Dynamic pattern –> explore perceptual motor workspace to discover optimal solution to DOF problem
Specificity –> similarity between practice situations and transfer test –> sensory feedback, performance context (environmental familiarity), cognitive processing
Variability = movement characteristics, specificity - practice/test context

Question 38

How can practice be varied?

Answer 38

Blocked, random, serial –> random is best
Has contextual interference effect during practice but better performance during test
Contextual interference –> memory/performance disruption from performing skill/variations of skill within context
Evidence: badminton serves

Question 39

Why is random best?

Answer 39

More strategies learned, elaborate motor memory representation
Engage in more problem solving

Question 40

How does schema theory discuss practice variability?

Answer 40

learn basic movement pattern first, then vary task to enhance parameters selected

Question 41

How can practice be distributed? which is better?

Answer 41

Massed –> amount of rest between trials/sessions very short
Distributed –> amount of rest relatively long (better)
Overlearning –> continued practice beyond amount for certain criteria, can lead to diminishing returns

Question 42

What is the difference between complexity and organization?

Answer 42

Complexity = # of components of the skill, amount of info processing
Organization = spatial and temporal interdependence of movement components

Question 43

What is the difference between whole and part practice, and when should you use each?

Answer 43

Whole practice –> practice entire skill, use for low complexity, high organization
Part practice –> practice individual components –> use for low organization, high complexity

Question 44

How can part practice be approached?

Answer 44

fractionization –> split up arm/leg
Segmentation –> practice one part, then put it all together, then practice next part
Attention focus –> practice entire skill, but focus on certain components
Simplification –> reduce difficulty of parts of skills (reduce object difficulty, attention demands, movement speeds, increase cues, sequence skill progression, use simulators)

Question 45

How can motor learning be improved?

Answer 45

Exercise –> post exercise best (boosts plasticity, better consolidation)
Training –> slip perturbation