lecture 6-motor behaviour

motor learning

acquisition of skilled movements as a result of practice. (how we learn)

motor control

the neural, physical, and behavioral aspects of movement. (how we control)

motor development

developmental view of motor learning and motor control across a life span.

automatic movements are _____ skilled

highly

the responsibility of motor learning

responsible for shifting from poorly skilled to highly skilled movements.

When do we use motor control?

In every movement, poorly and highly skilled.

What do motor behaviorists do?

teach, research, service

5 themes of motor behavior research

1. Knowledge of results (feedback)

2. Distribution of practice

3. Transfer of training

4. Retention

5. Individual differences

distributed practice

practice that is spread over hours/days.

massed practice

cramming, doing it all at once.

transfer of training

Learning skill A will help you learn skill B.

individual differences

variations amaong people, not everyone will perform the same.

kinematics

the study of how things move

simple reaction time

1 stimulus, 1 response

recognition reaction time

a false stimulus mixed with a correct stimulus.

choice reaction time

multiple stimuli and multiple responses

what do novel learning tasks allow?

study improvement and how movements are learned.

What does studying expert performers allow?

help the understanding of how learning occurs across many other skills.

goal of motor behavior

to explain response selection and response execution

goal of motor learning

understand the role of practice, feedback (intrinsic and extrinsic), and individual differences

Dynamical Systems Theory

Theorists believe that a more direct link exists between perception and action.

motor programs

proposed memory mechanisms that allow movements to be controlled.

motor control areas of study

- Degrees of freedom: coordination of movement

- Motor equivalency

- Serial order of movements: coarticulation

- Perceptual integration during movement

- Skill acquisition

degrees of freedom/motor equivalence

infinite number of ways to perform a movement.

- understanding how our nervous system picks a specific way to perform a movement is a big focus in the field.