Lecture 17: Motor Learning Theory

What is the textbook definition of motor learning?

Relatively permanent change in the ability to execute a motor skill as a result of practice or experience

What are the four characteristics of motor learning?

• Motor learning is a process 

  • Changes in motor performance take time

• Motor learning requires practice 

  • Learning results from experience

  • Skill must be performed repeatedly to change motor performance

• Motor learning cannot be directly measured 

  • Learning processes are inferred from behavior and changes in motor performance 

• Motor learning produces relatively permanent changes in behavior

  • Observed changes in motor performance are consistent over time

What is the definition of motor performance?

• Ability of the neuromuscular system to perform specific motor tasks

• Instantaneous movement production

  • (e.g., what is TUG time?)

What is true of motor behavior during practice sessions?

• There are temporary changes in motor behavior seen during practice session

• Example:

  • Maybe during PT you practice for 30 minutes and take a measurement at the end of the session

  • You will see temporary change but not permanent 

  • Because when the patient returns the next week, the improvement is gojne

Motor performance ________ be measured objectively

Can
We can measure the degree of success during execution of the motor plan

What are some temporary factors that can alter performance?

• Motivation

• Fatigue

• Anxiety

• Stress

• Cognition

• Arousal

(can alter performance level even if they learned the skill)

According to Adam's Close Loop Theory regarding motor learning, how are motor programs stored?

• Motor programs are stored in the form of "perceptual traces"

• There is a memory of every action we have every done
  

According to Adam's Close Loop Theory, what is the goal with motor learning?

• Goal = perfect practice of the motor task

  •  Idea that perfect practice will promote better learning

• Errors interfere with learning

  • Practice conditions do not match perceptual trace
    

According to Adam's Close Loop Theory, what is essential for motor learning?

Sensory Feedback!
This is how we detect error, determine the environment, etc.

What are the constraints of Adam's Close Loop Theory?

• We actually learn from mistakes 

  • Cerebellum thrives off this

• Storage issue

  • We do not have the storage capacity to house every version / movement memory

According to Schmidt's Schema Theory regarding motor learning, how are movements stored?

• Movements are stored as general memories or rules = ""schema"" 

  • (OUTLINE OR INNATE MOTOR PLAN)

  • Schema can be applied to various situations 

  • Don't store details, store the outline (and add details when we actually want to perform it)

According to Schmidt's Schema Theory, how do errors affect motor learning?

• Errors can enhance learning 

• Need to determine relationship between movement parameters and the outcome

  • Example -- Babies use exploratory sway to find BOS (error) which leads to them being able to perform performatory sway

According to Schmidt's Schema Theory, how does variability affect motor learning?

• Variabiltiy of practice leads to optimal learning 

  • If you do/practice the the task in the same environment, it is then more difficult to apply to differing settings

• Improves the transfer of skill to novel situations

According to the Dynamic Systems Theory regarding motor learning, how is movement stored?

• Nervous system controls multiple degrees of freedom during every movement

  • Learning = ""solving/controlling the DOF problem""

• Compressed and stored into coordinated, preferred patterns to accomplish specific movement tasks

• Preferred patterns will emerge under proper conditions without conscious effort

According to the Dynamic Systems Theory regarding motor learning, how is movement generated?

• Multiple sub-systems cooperate in response to changing parameters

  • Movements occur from interactions among multiple neural areas

  • Change in current movement or generate new movement

  • Each area contributes to different aspects of control (basal ganglia = amplitude, cerebellum = coordination, etc.)

According to the Dynamic Systems Theory regarding motor learning, how does practice affect movement?

• Practice develops the proper interactions between the contributing systems

  • Progression through an unstable state may occur

  • Performance = deterioration --> rapid improvement

Preferred patterns for dynamic systems theory occur ________

Without conscious effort

OPTIMAL motor learning is focused on the ________ that enhance learning

External factors

What are the three characteristics/components of OPTIMAL theory?

• Enhanced Expectations

• Autonomy

• External Focus of Attention

Discuss the component of enhanced expectations in regards to OPTIMAL theory. Essentially, how does it contribute to motor learning?

• High expectations = improved goal action coupling

  • High expectations → increased motivation → increased performance

• Increased focus on task goal rather than self

• Success of a task signals dopaminergic reward systems (which helps us learn)

Discuss the component of autonomy in regards to OPTIMAL theory. Essentially, how does it contribute to motor learning?

• Autonomy enhances expectations for future success

• Giving a person autonomy helps them create a sense of agency (how much do I believe what I do matters)

  • This sense of agency increases dopamine release

  • This choice doesn't even have to be directly related to the task

• Controlling conditions (stress) inhibits learning processes

Discuss the component of external focus of attention in regards to OPTIMAL theory. Essentially, how does it contribute to motor learning?

• Attentional focus on task goal (rather than one's self) activates alternate neural circuits (which are needed for motor learning)

• Leads to greater automaticity, effectiveness, and efficiency

What are the three stages of the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages?

1. Cognitive

2. Associative

3. Autonomous

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, what does the cognitive stage require?

Requies a high degree of conitive attention (you must understand the task)

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, during the cognitive stage what does experimentation result in?

• Experimentation = high variability and error 

• Performance will reflect a lot of variability due to trying a lot of different strategies

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, in the cognitive stage what improvements in performance occur?

• Large improvements occur!

• You start (essentially) terrible and by the end you are not as terrible

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, what is crucial for skill acquisiton?

Cognition (or the cognitive stage) is crucial for skill acquisition

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, when do you progress to the associative stage?

Once you determine the best movement strategy (refinement of skill)

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, what changes in variability and improvement do we see in the associative stage?

• Less variability (now have refinement of skill)

• Slower improvements in motor performance

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, the associative stages require decreased ________ and ________ demands

Cognitive, Attentional
No longer focusing on trying to find the right strategy; looking to just make current strategy better

Considering the Fitts and Posner Motor Learning Stages, what characterizes the autonomous stage?

• Performance becomes automatic 

  • It has been practiced and refined so much that it is efficient, accurate, and adaptable 

• A low degree of attention is required → may focus on secondary tasks

If motor performance is considered to be automatic, this indicates that it is ________, ________, and ________

Efficient, Accurate, Adaptable

What are the three stages of the Systems Model?

1. Novice Stage

2. Advanced Stage

3. Expert Stage

Considering the Systems Model of Motor Learning Stages, what characterizes the novice stage?

• Decreasing the DOF = decreased level of task difficulty

  • We want to try to make it as easy as possible

• There is increased variability and decreased efficiency

Considering the Systems Model of Motor Learning Stages, what characterizes the advanced stage?

• Start to release additional DOF

  • Starting to get the 'gist' of the task in minimal complexity

  • So can make it slightly more difficult

• Movement is more adaptable and efficient

Considering the Systems Model of Motor Learning Stages, what characterizes the expert stage?

• All DOF have been released and maximum efficiency has been achieved
  

• Start to explore reactive phenomena

  • Example -- I can take advantage of passive tension in ligaments and tendons

What characterizes Stage I of Gentile's Motor Learning Stages?

• Goal is to develop an understanding of the task dynamics

• Individual learns to distinguish regulatory from non-regulatory factors

  • Determining what is important vs not important

What characterizes Stage II of Gentile's Motor Learning Stages?

• "Fixation / Diversification"

• Goal is to refine the movement

• We have the ability to adapt the movement to environmental and task demands

________ Learning is an explicit process

Declarative

What is Declarative Learning?

Factual knowledge that invovles the association of information related to people, things, and experiences

What does Declarative Learning require?

• Requires cognitive processes 

  • Arousal

  • Attention

  • Reflection

Declarative Learning uses information that is ________ available

Consciously
Verbal descriptons, visuospatial images, mental rehearsal

What stage of motor learning is declarative learning associated wth?

• Associated with earlier stages of motor learning 

• Initial, rapid changes in motor performance

What areas of the brain are most active with declarative learning?

• Amygdala

• Hippocampus

What area of the brain is most active with procedural processing/learning?

Basal Ganglia

What characterizes procedural learning/processing?

• Learned motor tasks that can be performed automatically (movement schema's)

  • Does not require conscious thought or attention

• Example -- why parents cannot really explain how to ride a bike to kids (it is automatic)

Procedural Processes do not require ________

Conscious thought or attention

What stages of motor learning is procedural learning/processing associated with?

Associated with later stages of motor learning

How is procedural learning/processing developed?

• Develops slowly through repetition

• Refines information acquired during explicit learning

• Leads to increased automaticity of movement = skilled performance

What brain area is most active during explicit processing that occurs early in learning?

Cerebellum

What are the neural correlates of the cognitive phase (acquisition stage) of learning?

• Frontoparietal Cortex 

  • Trying to figure out what to do

• Executive and Limbic Loops of the Basal Ganglia

What are the neural correlates of the associative phase (consolidation stage) of learning?

• Pre-Supplementary Motor Area

• Pre-Motor Area

• Basal Ganglia

• (some cerebellum, however, it has substantially decreased compared to cognitive phase)

What are the neural correlates of the autonomous phase (retention stage) of learning?

• Primary Motor Area

• Supplementary Motor Area

• Posterior Parietal Cortex

• Motor Loop of the Basal Ganglia

(the "do-ers")

As we learn, we transition from ________ to ________ processing

Explicit, Implicit

The transition from explicit to implicit reflects ________ and ________

Skill encoding, Consolidation

What is neural efficiency?

• The ability of the brain to use fewer neurons to accomplish a repetitive task

• A shift in the degree and location of cortical activation in early vs late learning
  

What areas of the brain are active when a task is novel?

• DLPFC

• ACC

• Pre-SMA

• SMA (proper)

• vPMC

• Precuneus

• Caudate

• Cerebellum (posterior)

"Don't really know what we need, so we activiate everything"

What areas of the brain are active when neural efficiency has been achieved?

• Primary Motor Area

• Posterior Putamen

• Cerebellum (anterior)

What three tests are used to assess motor learning?

• Acquisition Test

• Retention Test

• Transfer Test

What is required for the assessment of motor learning to be accurate?

Accurate assessment of learning needs to measure permanent effects of practice and performance

What is the Acquisition Test?

• Test performed at the end of a treatment session to assess short-term changes resulting from practice

• Measures if a person understands the task they are supposed to be doing

What is the Retention Test?

• Assesses how well an individual can perform a motor task after the temporary practice effects have subsided

• Example

  • Is performance at the end of a session on Monday the same as the beginning of the session on Wednesday

What is the Transfer Test?

• Measurement of transfer of motor skill from one condition to another condition or novel task variant

• Example

  • Can I do STS in the clinic to perform STS from the toilet

________ are used to frame long-term goals

Transfer Tests