Motor Learning Brainscape

Question 1

What is Motor Learning?

Answer 1

• Neural adaptations associated with practice and experience that lead to a long term change in the ability to produce skilled movement
• The study of the acquisition or modification of movement with practice and experience

Question 2

Traditional Definition of Motor Learning

Answer 2

• Process of acquiring the ability to produce skilled movement
• Focus on individual

Question 3

Motor Learning: Current Definition (SC&W)

Answer 3

• Process of searching for task solution that emerges from an interaction of the individual with the task and the environment
• Includes central nervous system changes that are associated with practice.
• Depends on integration and communication among areas of the CNS including cortex, Basal Ganglia, Cerebellum, and the Spinal Cord.

Question 4

Motor Learning Entails

Answer 4

• Not merely the ability to perform a given task under certain circumstances (performance)
• Motor Learning or Acquisition of skilled movement involves:
o RETENTION
o GENERALIZABILITY
o ADAPTABILITY

Question 5

4 Concepts of Motor Learning

Answer 5

• Process of acquiring the capability for skilled movement
• Requires experience and practice
• Cannot be measured directly
o Inferred from behavior/performance
• Produces relatively permanent changes in movement

Question 6

Motor Performance vs Motor Learning

Answer 6

• Motor Performance
o Changes in behavior observed during a practice session (may or may not reflect learning).
• Performance may be affected by:
o Fatigue
o Motivation
o Anxiety

Question 7

Motor Learning and Motor Performance

Answer 7

• Abilities vary widely among individuals
• Variables that influence rate and degree of motor learning and motor performance learning fall into 3 major areas:
o Individual
o Task
o Environment

Question 8

Type of Learning and Memory

Answer 8

• Declarative (Explicit)

* Procedural (Implicit)

Question 9

Declaritive (Explicit)

Answer 9

• Conscious recall of facts and events
• Can be expressed verbally
• Awareness, Attention and reflection are needed
• Repetition can transform declarative into procedural knowledge
• Can be practiced in other ways then how it was learned
• Mental practice
• Includes input from medial temporal lobes, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus

Question 10

Procedural Learning (Implicit)

Answer 10

• Tasks that can be performed “automatically” (Habit)
• Does not require as much attention or conscious thought
• Develops slowly through repetition of a task under varying conditions
o Movement schema
o Rules for moving
• Involves basal ganglia (striatum) and cerebellum and sensorimotor cortical areas

Question 11

Fitts and Posner: 3 Stages of Motor Learning

Answer 11

• Cognitive Stage→experimentation stage, lots of variability, heavy reliance on vision, fast improvement
o Figuring out “What to do”
• Associative Stage
o Deciding “How to do”→less variability in performance, proprioception more important, errors more consistent, slower improvement
• Autonomous Stage→patient scans for obstacles that impede performance, very stable performance
o Knowing “How to succeed”

Question 12

Cognitive Stage

Answer 12

High Cognitive Demand with Variable Performance

Question 13

Associative Stage: “How to Do”

Answer 13

Less Cognitive Demand with Less Variability

Question 14

Clinical Implications of 3 stage Learning Model

Answer 14

• When first leaning the task, much attention and conscious thought is required. A lot of errors would be made and a lot of water would be spilled.
• In the 2nd stage the movement would become more effective and efficient as she developed an optimal strategy.
• Moving into the 3rd stage, she would be able to reach for the glass while carrying on a conversation.

Question 15

Factors that influence motor learning

Answer 15

• Instructions
• Practice
• Feedback
• Individual differences

Question 16

Instructions

Answer 16

• Demonstration
• Focus attention to specific aspects of movement
• Limit quantity and details of information to match cognitive abilities
• Factors that influence motor learning

Question 17

Practice

Answer 17

• Environmental factors
o e.g. open versus closed environments
• Blocked versus random
o Blocked: practice each task individually
o Random: practice the tasks in random order
• Part-Task versus Whole-Task
• Which best for learning?
Performance is better during the acquisition phase with the blocked or part task practice, but the random and whole task practice support long term learning*

Question 18

Feedback

Answer 18

• Intrinsic
o Sensory information
• Extrinsic (a.k.a. “augmented”)
o Supplements intrinsic
o Verbal, tactile, biofeedback, visual (mirror)
o Knowledge of results (KR)
• Terminal feedback about the outcome
o Knowledge of performance (KP)
• Feedback relating to the movement pattern used to achieve goal.

Question 19

Feedback Schedule

Answer 19

• For simple tasks, feedback after each trial improved performance early in learning.
• KR given less frequently produced the best results for long term learning and task transfer, particularly for more complex tasks
• Feedback schedule best given after 5 trials

Question 20

Best Feedback schedule

Answer 20

Delayed, summed, faded

Question 21

Individual Differences

Answer 21

• Age
• Cognitive Ability
• Motivation
• Physical Characteristics
• Motor Control

Question 22

Intervention Strategies: Cognitive Stage of Motor Learning - Use demonstration (modeling)

Answer 22

• Break task into parts, if amenable
• Use manual guidance-reduce as patient can safely control movements
• Stress use of vision
• Blocked practice schedule
• Give feedback on correct performance, not errors
o Variety of forms of feedback (visual, verbal, tactile)

Question 23

Associative Stage of Motor Learning

Answer 23

• Fade verbal and tactile feedback
• Practice tasks as a whole- increase complexity
• Give feedback early in movement or after movement
• Summary feedback, delayed feedback
• Identify consistent movement errors
• Allow “mistakes”
• Allow self-evaluation and problem solving

Question 24

Intervention Strategies: Autonomous Stage of Motor Learning

Answer 24

• Allow learner to correct own errors
• Vary environmental conditions
• Remove all verbal and tactile inputs
• Identify movement errors