Motor Learning: Motor Control and MCM Flashcards
Motor learning: Definition
Set of CNS processes w. practice and experience leading to permanent change in capability for skilled action.
Cook and Woollacott describe motor learning as…
Search for task solution when individual interact w. task and environment
3 Parts of Motor Learning!
Person, Environment, Task (PET abbrev)
Gentile taxonomies: Are skill’s regulatory features stationary or in motion: Examples
Walking on solid ground vs on moving bus
Catching a football vs catching a football with regulatory components like receivers and opponents.
Gentile taxonomies: Are skill’s regulatory features stationary or in motion: Closed vs open skills
Closed- achieve the same thing every time, like throwing a basketball from the free throw line (same distance)
Open- Everything is changing like playing in a soccer field with people
Gentile’s two other taxonomies
Is there inter-trial variability
Will an object be manipulated while performing skill
Explicit knowledge aka
Declarative- knowledge you can explain how to do, like a new skill you learned
Implicit knowledge aka
Non-declarative - something you know instinctual, like typing regularly and not thinking about where the G key is to type.
Fitt’s stages of motor learning
- Cognitive – many errors (errors to hit the ball right)
- Intermediate/associative – understand interrelatedness, modification, self-detection of error (modify until they can hit the ball right)
- Autonomous – consistency, learning slows, decreased attention demands (add distractors) (Hitting ball right regularly, learning slows, distractors can be added)
Gentile’s stages of motor learning
Gentile: 1. Getting idea of movement – learning regulatory features, getting idea of movement (baby rolling for first time, then knows what components of skill needed)
2. fixation/diversification (baby gets to roll the same way every time and diversify if it is an open skill like a change of the floor)
Bernstein’s stages of motor learning
- Novice stage- (freezing DOF) (baby stiff during walking w. big effortful movements)
- Advanced stage- (release and explore) (baby release DOF by twisting torso)
- Expert stage- (reorganize and manipulate; exploit passive forces) (Adjust DOF with different terrain, exploit passive forces like gravity to make walking easier!!)
Motor learning intervention: Similarity of practice conditions to real-world conditions: examples of a child learning to walk
- When you touch a child, you are in that child’s environment. You physically cue the child to walk, then get child to wean away from your physical aide.
- Child’s learning helps when watching another child learning to walk so that child can mimic and learn the problem solving process.
Verbal instruction: Internal focus
Telling a child a command, “lift your leg up”
Verbal instruction: External focus
Have the child try to ambulate steps by him/herself to problem solve.
Which is preferable, Internal or External Focus
External focus. Only use internal cues if child still struggles with problem solving.
Verbal instruction: visualization for children
Have children visualize for mental practice
Feedback: Knowledge of Results
Tell person how they did, “you are successful”
Feedback: Knowledge of performance
Tell child how to improve. Almost like internal cuing.
Who requires more feedback, children or adults
children!
Blocked vs random variability of practice
Contextual interference enhances learning
Practice specificity
Task specificity, avoid consistent modes of feedback to prevent reliance (mirrors)
Massed vs Distributed practice: which is preferable
More practice sessions, shorter duration (distributed) better than fewer sessions, longer duration (massed).
Massed vs Distributed practice: rest periods rely on what
fatigue factor- continuous vs discrete skills
Complexity includes…
parts of skills, amt attention demanded
Organization includes…
temporal and spatial relationship of skills
Whole practice
low complexity, high organization
Part practice
high complexity, low organization
Mental practice best when combined or performed preceding
physical practice
Pediatric rehab requires (4)
Practice, task-orientated training (top down), salience of task, opportunities for exploration (for problem solving)
Central Pattern Generators (CPGs): What are they?
Interneuronal networks in either the spinal cord or brain stem that can order the selection and sequencing of motor neurons independent of descending or peripheral afferent neural input
Central Pattern Generators (CPGs): How does it modulate movement?
Peripheral afferents give info to CPG to modulate output and adapt behavior to movement.
Central Pattern Generators (CPGs): Examples
Repetitive movments like Stepping reflex, writhing , walking
Central Pattern Generators (CPGs): How to use them in rehab?
Supported treadmill training to activate the CPGs.
Central Pattern Generators (CPGs): What happens when it doesn’t have external stimulus?
It returns to prior state.
Motor Programs
movement representation in brain: abstract rules that can be used to activate a given set of muscles/joints
Generalized motor programs: more flexible for adjustment based on (2)
environmental demands, feedback
Principle of Abundance: What is it?
Use and adjustment of all degrees of freedom for the most efficient solution with functional synergies.
Principle of Abundance: Good variability
Allows for flexibility based on varied environment
Principle of Abundance: Bad variability
Hinders coordination and renders quality as “clumsy”
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Motor weakness (paresis): Contributions (3)
- # motor units recruited
- Type of units recruited
- Discharge frequency (how frequent info is coming from peripheral nerve to muscle)
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Abnormal synergies
Loss of ability to selectively control movement- mass movement
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Co-activation: Co-activation
Primary/primitive form of coordination
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Abnormal Muscle tone: Spasticity causes
Damage to descending tracts leads to increased alpha motor neuron excitability
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Abnormal Muscle tone: Hypotonicity causes (3)
Cerebellar deficit, spinocerebellar lesions, syndromes
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Coordination deficits: Cause
Lack smoothness of movement, poor trajectory for accuracy (cerebellar)
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Sensory system Deficits (4)
Somatosensory, Visual, vestibular, Perceptual/spatial
Sensorimotor/Neural Variables: Developmental Consideration
– Differentiation and refinement of neural networks
– Changes in sensory perception, neural conduction characteristics,
motor unit properties, force producing capacity
Mechanical Variables: Characteristics of musculoskeletal system
- Elasticity, length, mass of muscle
– Fiber type composition
– Shortening, accumulation of connective tissue and fatty
deposits in tendons
– Bony changes, joint changes, joint capsular changes, fascial
changes
Mechanical Variables: Developmental Considerations
• Relative distribution of mass over development changes COM,
alters inertial forces
• Growing body
Cognitive/Psychological Variables: Conscious and subconscious
– Reasoning
– Memory
– Motivation
– Arousal
– Selective use of feedback, practice and memory
– Selectively attending to information in environment/task
Cognitive/Psychological Variables: Developmental Considerations:
• Cognitive stage of child
Task Requirements/Environment
Any variable that may contribute to or alter movement • Biomechanical requirements • Meaningfulness • Predictability • Physical properties • Distractors
Specific Recommendations To Focus: PT Examination (3)
1.Functional skill ability (postural stability, gait,
reach to grasp)
- Strategies used to achieve these goals
(organization of movement and perceptual
information) - Impairments constraining these strategies
Specific Recommendations To Focus: PT
Intervention (4)
- Goal directed, functional training
- resolve, reduce or prevent impairments limiting
function - Help patient develop effective strategies
- Help patient generalize strategies to different
tasks and environments: encourage variability in
solutions
MCM: Where in Movement Continuum Does Problem Interfere?: Initial conditions
environment, posture, ability to
interact (cognition)
MCM: Where in Movement Continuum Does Problem Interfere?: Preparation
movement organization: stimulus
identification, response selection, response
programming (if baby is trying to reach for the stimulus, or command like telling the baby to come to you)
MCM: Where in Movement Continuum Does Problem Interfere?: Initiation
timing, direction, smoothness
MCM: Where in Movement Continuum Does Problem Interfere?: Execution
amplitude, direction, speed, smoothness (baby is over or under reaching)
MCM: Where in Movement Continuum Does Problem Interfere?: Termination
timing, stability, accuracy (A child with bad termination is unable to stop itself from running from a wall)
MCM: Where in Movement Continuum Does Problem Interfere?: Outcome
Was the goal achieved?
