MIDTERM #1 Flashcards
Motor control is defined as?
the ability to regulate or monitor and direct and intiate the mechanisms essential to movement
What does motor control address?
How the CNS organizes individual muscles and joints into coordinated movements
How sensory information is used to select and control movement
How perception influences movement
How movement problems can be treated
How is movement generated?
Movement is generated by an individual to meet the demands of a specific task that is being performed in a specific environment
Factors that influence motor control?
Task
Individual
Environment
What is individual factors?
The interaction of structural (anatomy) and functional (physiology) processes within the individual influences the control of movement
What are the components of individual factors?
Perception (sensory): somatosensory, vestibular, visual
Cognition: problem solving, planning, attention
Action (motor): neuromuscular, biomechanical
“Perception” factors influence how?
how the individual integrates sensory information to regulate movement
e.g., body position, features of the environment
“Cognition” factors influence how?
how the individual establishes the intent or goals of movement
e.g., planning, problem-solving, motivation
“Action” factors influence how?
how the individual generates a motor output sent from CNS to muscles
e.g., size, strength, neural pathways
What is task factors?
The nature of the task regulates the neural mechanisms controlling movement
What are the components of task factors?
Discrete vs Continuous tasks
Closed vs Open tasks
Body Stability vs Transport/Mobility tasks
Object Manipulation tasks
Important to consider task factors when?
determining what tasks should be taught, in what order, and at what time
Important to consider task factors when?
determining what tasks should be taught, in what order, and at what time
How would you progress to moving out of bed into a chair for this hip surgery patient?
Move from supine to sitting, pivot legs, move to edge of bed and back, sit to stand, stand to sit
Recognize that this is a mobility task – gradually increase the mobility challenge
What are environmental factors?
The features of the environment regulate the neural mechanisms controlling movement
Regulatory features
Non-regulatory features
What are Regulatory features?
aspects of the environment that directly shape a movement (e.g., characteristics of a walking surface, size of an object)
What are Non-regulatory features?
aspects of the environment that may affect the performance of a movement (e.g., ambient light, distractions)
What are Theories of Motor Control?
A theory of motor control is a group of abstract ideas about how movement is controlled.
Ex. A pile of bricks alone is not of use, putting them together can create an organized and structured theory.
Many theories exist, each attempting to explain and interpret what is known about motor control processes
Motor control theories tend to vary based on?
The relative importance placed on various neural components (e.g., central, peripheral, supraspinal)
The relative importance of the environment in controlling movement
Generally, the theories are developed to try to solve the ?
“degrees of freedom problem”
What is the reflex theory?
Complex behaviour can be explained through the combined actions of individual reflexes
Each reflex in the chain is a consistent output in response to a specific stimulus
What is the limitations of the reflex theory?
Novel movements
Movements without a sensory stimulus
Rapid movements (processing time)
Same stimulus, different response (ability to override reflexes)
What is the hierarchical theory?
Motor control is organized such that higher centres (e.g., cerebral cortex) exert control over lower centres (e.g., spinal cord) – “top-down”
Maturation of reflexes is the basis of motor development and control
Reflexes controlled by lower centres are inhibited as higher centres emerge
Pathology in higher centres can lead to persistence or emergence of “primitive reflexes”
What is the limitations of the hierarchical theory?
Not all low-level behaviours are primitive (pain withdrawal), and not all high-level behaviours are mature