Week 2: Sensory Proprioception and Stages of Skill Acquisition Learning

Question 1

What is afferent (sensory) neural activity?

Answer 1

The process by which sensory information is transmitted from sensory receptors, through the spinal column, and back to the CNS

Question 2

What is efferent neural activity?

Answer 2

Involves signals originating from the CNS that are sent to muscles to produce movement

Question 3

Describe sensory poly-neuropathy

Answer 3

degeneration of large afferent fibers carrying proprioceptive and tactile inputs

Question 4

What are the (5) common properties of the afferent (sensory) system?

Answer 4

1. Modalities
2. Location
3. Intensity
4. Timing
5. Transduction

Question 4

Explain what a person with sensory poly-neuropathy experiences

Answer 4

No internal understanding of what is happening to limbs and body position during movement; starting and changes in movement are unknown

Question 5

What (4) sensors are involved with touch modality?

Answer 5

1. Meissner’s corpuscle
2. Merkel cells
3. Pacinian corpuscle
4. Ruffini endings

Question 6

How do Meissner’s corpuscles contribute to touch modality?

Answer 6

Meissner’s corpuscles are fast-adapting type 1 receptors that respond to dynamic changes in mechanical indentation, providing sensitivity to light touch and detecting changes in texture during movement across a surface.

Question 6

What role do Ruffini endings play in touch modality?

Answer 6

Ruffini endings are slow-adapting type 2 receptors that sense skin stretch and contribute to the detection of sustained pressure and the positioning of body parts in space, important for proprioception.

Question 7

What is the function of Merkel cells in touch modality?

Answer 7

Merkel cells are slow-adapting type 1 receptors that detect static pressure and fine spatial details, providing information about the precise location and texture of objects touching the skin.

Question 8

Out of the (4) touch receptors, which lie in the dermis (2) and epidermis (2)?

Answer 8

Dermis
1. Pacinian corpuscle (deep pressure)
2. Ruffini corpuscle (warmth)

Epidermis
1. Meissner’s corpuscle (light touch)
2. Merkel cells (touch)

Question 9

What is the primary function of Pacinian corpuscles in touch modality?

Answer 9

Pacinian corpuscles are fast-adapting type 2 receptors that detect rapid vibrations and deep pressure, providing information about mechanical changes in the environment over a larger area.

Question 10

What determines the sensitivity of touch perception in different areas of the body?

Answer 10

The spatial distribution and density of cutaneous receptors determine sensitivity. Areas with a higher density of receptors, like the fingers, toes, and mouth, have greater touch sensitivity.

Question 10

How is the location of a stimulus on the body determined through touch?

Answer 10

The precise location of a stimulus is conveyed by the spatial arrangement of cutaneous receptors, which send information about where contact is made on the skin.

Question 11

What test is commonly used to assess the sensitivity of touch (location) on the body?

Answer 11

The two-point discrimination test is used to determine how sensitive a specific body area is by measuring the minimum distance at which two points can be distinguished as separate.

Question 12

How does receptor density affect the resolution of touch location?

Answer 12

Areas with densely packed receptors, like the fingertips, can resolve finer details, while areas with fewer receptors, like the back, have lower touch resolution.

Question 13

What is meant by the “intensity” of a stimulus in sensory systems?

Answer 13

Intensity refers to how strong or weak a stimulus is, which is conveyed by the rate of neural firing. A stronger stimulus leads to a higher rate of afferent nerve firing.

Question 14

How is the “timing” of a sensory stimulus detected by the nervous system?

Answer 14

Timing is detected by when a stimulus starts, how long it lasts, and how quickly it changes. Different receptors respond at different rates to give precise information about the onset and duration of a stimulus.

Question 15

What role does “transduction” play in sensory perception?

Answer 15

Transduction is the process by which physical stimuli (e.g., pressure, heat) are converted into neural signals that can be interpreted by the central nervous system.

Question 16

How do fast-adapting receptors differ from slow-adapting receptors in timing?

Answer 16

Fast-adapting receptors respond quickly to changes in stimuli but cease firing when the stimulus is constant, while slow-adapting receptors continue to fire as long as the stimulus persists.

Question 17

How is stimulus intensity encoded by sensory receptors?

Answer 17

The intensity of a stimulus is encoded by the frequency of action potentials (neural firing). Stronger stimuli produce more frequent neural signals, giving the CNS information about the force of the stimulus.

It is detected in a 1:1 ratio of detection and perception of increasing signal

Question 18

What is static pressure in the context of touch proprioception?

Answer 18

Static pressure refers to the continuous or unchanging pressure applied to the skin, detected by slow-adapting receptors like Merkel cells and Ruffini endings, which provide information about constant touch or pressure.

Question 19

What is dynamic pressure in the context of touch proprioception?

Answer 19

Dynamic pressure refers to the changes in pressure or movement across the skin, detected by fast-adapting receptors like Meissner’s and Pacinian corpuscles, which respond to quick or varying stimuli like vibrations or brief touches.

Question 20

What are muscle spindles? (modality)

Answer 20

Muscle receptors that are responsive to stretch (lengthening and partial shortening) detecting the rate of change, and absolute muscle fiber length

Question 21

How is the sensitivity of muscle spindles adjusted according to the task being performed?

Answer 21

The sensitivity of muscle spindles is adjusted by fusimotor drive (GAMMA efferent neural signals), which changes the length of the muscle fibers to ensure that static or dynamic spindles are appropriately sensitive for the task, such as holding a position or reacting to rapid movements.

Question 22

Describe the non-uniform distribution of muscle spindles across the body (location)

Answer 22

There are large variances in muscle spindle distribution across the body. High concentrations are seen in the trunk, hip, head, neck, and large (but lesser) seen in joint areas

Question 23

What is the difference between static and dynamic muscle spindles in relation to timing?

Answer 23

Static muscle spindles provide information about muscle length during sustained positions or slow movements, while dynamic spindles are more responsive to rapid changes in muscle length, helping with quick adjustments.

Question 24

How do muscle spindles help in controlling dangerous movements?

Answer 24

Both static and dynamic muscle spindles are highly sensitive, providing rapid feedback to adjust or halt movement, thus preventing injury by detecting and responding to excessive stretch or force.

Question 24

How do muscle spindles contribute to movement intensity?

Answer 24

Muscle spindles adjust their firing rate in response to the intensity of muscle stretch. A more intense (greater) stretch causes a higher frequency of action potentials, informing the CNS about the force of the stretch.

Question 25

What is the first stage of motor skill learning?

Answer 25

The Cognitive Stage, also known as the “Understanding Stage,” where learners focus on what needs to be done. They establish task goals and action sequences, requiring conscious control and high amounts of working memory to solve the movement problem.

Question 26

What is the second stage of motor skill learning?

Answer 26

The Associative Stage, also called the “Practice Stage,” where learners work on refining the skill. Errors are identified and corrected, movements become more fluid, and there is a transition from declarative to procedural knowledge, where learners start recognizing environmental cues.

Question 27

What is the final stage of motor skill learning?

Answer 27

The Autonomous Stage, where learners perform the skill with minimal conscious effort. Movements are highly accurate, consistent, and efficient, and learners can focus on external cues, such as adapting strategies in dynamic environments.

Question 27

What are the characteristics of the Cognitive Stage in motor learning?

Answer 27

In the Cognitive Stage, movements are slow, inconsistent, and inefficient. There is heavy reliance on working memory, and performance gains are rapid yet inconsistent as learners acquire knowledge of the skill.

Question 28

How does skill execution change during the Autonomous Stage?

Answer 28

In the Autonomous Stage, skill execution is fluid and consistent across varying environments. Decision-making improves, errors are recognized quickly, and less cognitive effort is required to perform basic skill components​

Question 29

How do learners progress in the Cognitive Stage of motor learning?

Answer 29

Progress in the Cognitive Stage involves the rapid but inconsistent development of skill proficiency as learners acquire and apply declarative knowledge to solve the movement problem.

Question 29

What role does feedback play in the Cognitive Stage?

Answer 29

Regular feedback and explanation are crucial in the Cognitive Stage to build knowledge of critical skill elements and help learners understand where they are making errors.

Question 29

What is the impact of working memory on skill acquisition?

Answer 29

Working memory plays a crucial role in the early stages of skill acquisition. It is a limited cognitive resource that helps retain small amounts of information for immediate tasks. During the Cognitive Stage, learners rely heavily on working memory for focusing attention, decision-making, and processing task goals. As skill proficiency increases, the demands on working memory decrease, allowing movements to become more fluid and automatic​

Question 29

What is implicit learning in motor skill acquisition?

Answer 29

Implicit learning involves bypassing explicit (verbal-cognitive, declarative) knowledge, meaning that learners are typically unable to verbally describe the technical components of the skill. It skips over working memory and focuses on procedural learning.

Question 30

What are simple example of the difference between skill proficiency and skill automaticity? - not limited to these

Answer 30

• Good vs bad drivers i.e., automaticity in regards to driving, but bad skills
• Swimming i.e., floating vs Olympic level athletes

Question 30

How does the process of learning a new skill differ from an established skill?

Answer 30

Learning a new skill starts with the cognitive stage and requires more conscious effort. For an established skill at the autonomous stage, the learning gap is smaller, and a transfer of learning occurs. This transfer can be positive, negative, or zero, depending on how the previous skill influences the new one