principles of motor learning

Question 1

define motor control vs motor learning

Answer 1

motor control: study of nature and cause of movement (how CNS produces a functional movement) motor learning: acquisition or modification of movement in healthy individuals (how do gymnasts learn to execute new movement or how stroke patient recovers function)

Question 2

what did woodworth say?

Answer 2

must trade off speed to increase accuracy and vice versa

Question 3

describe Fitt’s Law

Answer 3

• there is a relation of movement time and the index of difficulty (ie can’t have both speed and accuracy) - depends more on amplitude (movement distance) than on width (accuracy) - ie a small circle moved farther away = more corrections required to reach it, but if target is increased in size as it is moved further away, no change in number of corrections

Question 4

define learning vs memory

Answer 4

learning = acquiring knowledge or ability memory = the outcome of learning (retention or storage of that knowledge or ability)

Question 5

describe the diff types of memory

Answer 5

Question 6

describe shift from short to long term memory in terms of neural modifiability and the parallel continuum of learning

Answer 6

• short term changes are associated w an increased synaptic efficiency. when these chages persist, the give way to structural changes, which is the underpinning of long-term memory

Question 7

define spatial vs temporal sumation

Answer 7

spatial: progressively larger numbers of presynaptic neurons are activated simultaneously (represented by progressively larger arrows) until AP
temporal: a single presynaptic neuron is activated once, four times at a low frequency, or four times at a high frequency (arrows indicate timing of presynaptic potentials) - thereby summing until AP

Question 8

describe habituation vs sensatization

Answer 8

habituation: decreased responsiveness that occurs as a result of repeated exposure to non-painfu stimulus (non-noxious, learning over time decreased synaptic activity necessary btw neurons)
sensatization: increased responsiveness following threatening or noxious stimulus (a smaller stimulus makes bigger response)

*note: BOTH involve reflex pathways and are non-associative learning forms

*note: long term = change in synaptic structure

*Last figure: Cellular basis for long-term potentiation (LTP)

Question 9

describe declarative vs non-declarative learning

Answer 9

declarative memory (explicit): involves association of information related to people or things, places, and meanings ofthese bits of info

non-declarative memory (implicit): much of motor learning. includes procedural learning (tasks and habits), associative learning (classical and operant conditioning), and non-associative learning (habitualization and sensitization)

Question 10

what are the forms of associative learning?

Answer 10

classical and operant conditioning

• through this form of conditioning a person learns to predict relationships

Question 11

define classical conditioning

Answer 11

• pavlov’s experiment

Question 12

define operant conditioning

Answer 12

Question 13

describe procedural learning

Answer 13

• learning tasks that can be performed automatically without attention or conscious thought
• develops slowly (repeating an act over may trials)
• occurs in striatum of basil ganglia

Question 14

describe stages (process) of motor program formation

Answer 14

• compulsive handwashing

Question 15

describe declarative learning and what 4 trpes of processing it involves

Answer 15

• requires processes such as awareness, attention, and reflection
• involves: encoding, consolidation, storage, and retrieval
• with constant repetition, can become non-declaritive

Question 16

describe the nature of movement interaction

Answer 16

Question 17

describe individual factors involved in motor control (in terms of perceptual, action, and cognitive interactions)

Answer 17

Question 18

describe the classification scheme for diff types of moement tasks and environments

Answer 18

Question 19

schema that describes what influences movement

Answer 19

Question 20

describe the initial stages of skill acquisition

Answer 20

Getting the idea

Resolutions:

• Determine movement patterns that achieve action goal within environmental context
• Determine neuromotor constraints to permit generation of a particular pattern

Characteristics:

• Exploratory
• Trial and Error
• Cognitive: active problem-solving and resolving
• Freezing DOFs

Question 21

describe later stages of motor learning

Answer 21

Question 22

describe factors to consider for later stages of learning

Answer 22

• practice levels (distributive or mass)* most important!
• feedback
• knowledge of results
• practice conditions
• whole vs part training
• transfer
• mental practice
• guidance vs discovery learning

Question 23

describe the 3 stages of motor learning

Answer 23

Question 24

gentile’s multidimensional classification of motor skills

Answer 24

Question 25

gentile’s multdimensional classification of motor skills in terms of environmental context: task characteristics

Answer 25

• see lecture notes

Question 26

gentile’s multdimensional classification of motor skills in terms of function of the action: task categories

Answer 26

• see lecture notes

Question 27

what are key principles of intervention for re-learning?

Answer 27

Question 28

what are concepts related to recovery of function?

Answer 28

• function
• recovery
• recovery vs compensation
• sparing of function
• stages of recovery

Question 29

what are factors affecting recovery of function?

Answer 29

Question 30

decribe the process of plasticity and recovery of function

Answer 30

Question 31

describe when remapping occurs

Answer 31

Question 32

describe motor recovery vs motor compensation

Answer 32

Question 33

describe the 10 principles of experience-dependent neuroplasticity

Answer 33