Lecture 9 - Motor Learning Flashcards
What are the 5 characteristics of Skill learning?
Improvement (getting better), consistency (less variable), stability (perturbations have less influence on performance), persistence (retention of improvement), adaptability (different contexts)
How do you assess learning
performance curves, transfer tests (novel context or skill variation), retention tests
What are the different performance curves?
Negative acceleration, positive acceleration, linear, s-shaped
Assesses improvement and consistency
What do retention and transfer tests assess?
Retention: persistence
Transfer: adaptability and stability
How can practice performance misrepresent learning?
Low correlation between early and later practice
performance plateaus due to psychological factors, new strategy being developed
What are the two types of long term memory?
Procedural (learning new skills before consolidation creates interference) and declarative
Describe the 3 stages of Fitts and Posner
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
Describe Gentile’s two-stage model
Initial stage –> acquire movement coordination pattern, discover regulatory/non-regulatory environmental features
Later stage –> develop capability of adaptability, economy of movement, consistency
What are the different learner goals?
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)
What are the 4 types of info available to learner?
initial body conditions
parameters
augmented feedback about movement outcome
sensory feedback
What is the recall and recognition schema?
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
How does performance change in rate of improvement? what is the evidence for this?
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)
How does performance change in movement co-ordination
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
How does performance change in muscles used?
Originally very inefficient (co-contractors to solve DOF), timing off
Reorganize to take advantage of environment
How does performance change in energy cost
Eventually get to minimal energy expended
Evidence: metabolic consumption of O2 while walking (preferred frequency)
How does performance change in visual selective attention?
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
How does performance change in conscious attention demands
Over time, less conscious attention needed
How does performance change in error detection
with time, can detect and correct own errors (autonomous stage)
Understand why error occurred, not just that error occurred
How does performance change in brain activity? What is the evidence of this
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
What are the 3 types of transfer of learning?
Positive (learning of one skill improves learning of second) negative (learning previous skill interferes)
Zero (no benefit or interference)
What is transfer of learning used for?
skills performed in different environments, rehab, sequencing of learning, instructional methods, assessing effectiveness of practice
What is the identical elements theory
positive transfer due to similarity between task components or context
What is the transfer-appropriate processing theory?
Transfer occurs when the same cognitive processing resources used
When and why does negative transfer occur
When: need to learn new response to old stimulus (environmental context similar, movement contexts different), effects are temporary
Why: difficulty altering perception-reaction
What is bilateral transfer and why does it occur?
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
How does demonstration affect performance? Why does this occur?
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
How should demonstration be applied?
Should be demonstrated first, then interspersed as needed
Evidence: demo and practice blocks
jk;
Verbal instruction can hinder performance –> influences strategies, removes discovery learning
What are the different types of motor learning feedback?
Sensory (task-intrinsic) feedback
AUGMENTED FEEDBACK
Knowledge of results –> outcome of skill
Knowledge of performance –> movement characteristics that lead to performance outcome
When is augmented feedback useful?
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
Should you provide info about errors vs correct aspects, and qualitative vs quantitative?
Errors –> multiple correct ways to perform action, therefore point out things that are wrong
Qualitative better for beginners
When should you provide KP vs KR
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
What are the different types of KP?
Verbal –> descriptive vs prescriptive (better for beginners)
Video –> only if performance features easily visible
Computer modelling (Movement kinematics)
Biofeedback –> no retention
What is the up/down side of Concurrent feedback?
negative learning effect –> substitute feedback for sensory feedback
dual task effect
Point out sensory feedback features not easily available
What are the two time intervals of KR?
KR delay –> interval between skill completion and providing KR
post-KR interval –> between delivery of augmented feedback and initiation of next trial
How often should augmented feedback be provided and how can you reduce how often it’s provided?
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
What is the difference between variability and specificity?
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
How can practice be varied?
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
Why is random best?
More strategies learned, elaborate motor memory representation
Engage in more problem solving
How does schema theory discuss practice variability?
learn basic movement pattern first, then vary task to enhance parameters selected
How can practice be distributed? which is better?
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
What is the difference between complexity and organization?
Complexity = # of components of the skill, amount of info processing Organization = spatial and temporal interdependence of movement components
What is the difference between whole and part practice, and when should you use each?
Whole practice –> practice entire skill, use for low complexity, high organization
Part practice –> practice individual components –> use for low organization, high complexity
How can part practice be approached?
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)
How can motor learning be improved?
Exercise –> post exercise best (boosts plasticity, better consolidation)
Training –> slip perturbation
