Motor Control: Issues and theories

What are the 3 motor control tasks featured in the textbook?

-the individual

-the task

-the environment

Factors related to the individual

-action systems/motor: knowing how neuro and biomechanical systems contribute to functional movement

-perception systems/sensory: involves peripheral sensory mechanisms and higher level processing-->interpretation and meaning to afferent input

-cognition systems:attn, planning, problem solving, motivation, and emotional aspects of motor control

Factors related to task

-discrete v. continuous: does mvmt stop or is it continuous

-stability v mobility: non-moving BOS or moving BOS

-open v. closed: constant chgn, unpredictable environ or fixed and predictable environ

-manipulation v non-manipulation: mvmt of UE or not

-attention: walking and counting backward by 7 for example

Tasks can be divided into

-mobility: all mvmt

-postural control: balance COG over BOS

-UE functional: reach, grasp, maipulate (RGM)

Factors related to environ

-regulatory features: specify aspects of the environment that shape mvmt itself

-ex: size, shape, wt of cup to be picked up

-non-regulatory features: may affect performance, but mvmt doesn't have to conform to these features

-ex: background noise and distractions

Which motor control theory supports neuromaturation theory of neuromotor development?

-reflex/hierarchical theory of motor control

-attributes motor development to maturation of neural processes, including the progressive appearance & disappearance of reflexes

What do you understand by the term ‘synergy?

-synergies are groups of muscles that work together to create a mvmt.

-neural organization of muscles that organizes sharing of a task among a set of muscles and ensures covariation among muscles with the purpose of stabilizing performance variables

-basically synergies can be recruited to adapt to different conditions and allow for stability against perturbations and flexibility to solve concurrent tasks

What are critical concepts of Systems theory and why are they important?

-degrees of freedom: body is a mechanical sys with many degrees of freedom. Coordination of mvmt is the process of mastering many redundant degrees of freedom of the moving organism

-synergies: proposed as solution to DOF problem. Modified to reflect the flexible, adaptive nature of synergies rather than fixed stereotypical patterns of activity

-self-organization: found in nature, applied to motor control. DOF problem is solved through self-organization. Organization emerges from the interaction of elements and doesn't req central commands

-non-linear behavior: a behavior that transforms into a new configuration when a single parameter is altered and reaches a critical value (ex:walk>trot>gallop)

-variability: variability occurs out of necessity for optimal function

-variability increases just before a change to a new mvmt pattern

How does ecological theory explain the ability to use perceptual information from the environment to guide movement?

-you need more than just sensory and motor to create proper mvmt. You need perception of environmental factors to properly guide a task.

-allows for different ways to complete functional tasks

-effective motor control reqs the pt learn to perceive critical aspects of an environment that impact how mvmt is organized