Motor Learning/Control Flashcards
Motor Control
The ability to regulate or direct the mechanisms essential to movement
Movement emerges from the interaction of 3 factors
Individual, task, environment
Individual Constraints: Action
All muscles and joints must be controlled during the execution of coordinated, functional movement
Individual Constraints: Perception
-Integration sensory impressions into psychologically meaningful info
-Involves peripheral mechanisms and higher level processing that adds info to afferent info
Individual Constraints: Cognition
Attention, planning, problem solving, motivation, emotional aspects
-Single vs. dual task control
Task
Nature of it determines type of movement needed
Discrete Task
Definite beginning and end (sit to stand)
Continuous Task
No recognizable beginning and end, end is not inherent characteristic (walking, swimming)
Sequenced Task
Increase the demand for stability
Open movements
Constantly changing or unpredictable environments
Closed movements
Relatively fixed/predictable environment (on and off toilet)
Environment: Regulatory
Movement must conform to regulatory features to achieve task goal (different sized cups affect grasp)
Environment: Non-regulatory
Movement does not have to conform to the features, may or may not affect (lighting, background noise)
Systems theory
-Describes body as mechanical system with many degrees of freedom that needs to be controlled
-Higher levels of nervous system activate lower levels, which activate synergies that act together to solve degrees of freedom problem
Dynamic systems theory
-Like systems, but based on principle of self-organization
-When system of individual parts come together, elements behave collectively in ordered way
Main difference of systems vs. dynamic systems
De-emphasizing the notion of commands from CNS in controlling movement and seeking physical explanations
Attractor state:
A small amount of variability indicates a highly stable behavior or preferred pattern
Performance
Temporary change in motor behavior observed during practice
Learning
Relatively permanent change in behavior and involved in skill retention
Concepts of motor learning
-Process of acquiring capability for skilled action
-Results from experience or practice
-Cannot be measured directly, referred from behavioral changes
-Produces relatively permanent changes in behavior
Closed Loop Theory
Sensory feedback from ongoing movement is compared with the stored memory of the intended movement
Open Loop Theory
Execution of preprogrammed movements without perceptual feedback (“muscle memory”)
Fitts and Posner: Cognitive Stage
-What must be done?
-Large number or errors
-Lots of attention needed
-Large improvements
Fitts and Posner: Associative Stage
-How should it be done?
-Refining skill
-Small variability and slow improvements
