neuromotor theories and motor relearning

what is motor control

ability to initiate, produce, and regulate movement to make a desired goal-directed action that is predetermined by person, task, and environment factors

what are examples of person factors under the neuromotor theory of motor control

pathophysiology’s (strokes, tumors, TBIs), sensory impairments, cognition/behavioral deficits, motor impairments (weakness, hemiplegia, dysarthria), visual perceptual issues

how are sensory/perceptual, cognition, and motor deficits related?

usually person factors do not exist in isolation, a motor deficit usually will cause a pt to have a false sense of perception/sensation causing sensory/perceptual deficits in a cycle

what is the difference between a discrete versus continuous task factor

discrete tasks have a clear start and stop, and continuous tasks are unknown when exactly they will begin and end (like riding a bike)

what is the difference between stability versus mobility in a task

stability tasks hold something down in place, but a mobility means moving soemthing to do an action like opening a water bottle

what is manipulation continuum in a task

how much you are moving and how often (like holding a book versus flipping pages)

what is an open versus closed task

an open tasks are uncontrolled (like throwing a ball, you dont know where it will go), and closed tasks are controlled (we can control what is happening, you know what you want to do)

what is a closed environment

closed environments are predictable with objects that are not movable, where we should start working with out clients like a quiet therapy gym

what is an open environment

the environment is dynamic and unpredictable where objects move around, surface and other movements within the environment are not within the pts control. this is harder for pts bc it requires the ability to plan through changes (like a store)

what are regulatory features of an environment

characteristics of the environment that alters pts behavior and/or movements, movements must conform with this environment (could be stairs, distance apart, height of things)

what are non-regulatory features of an environment

characteristics of the environment that have no influence on pts behavior/movement to achieve goal (like wall color)

what are intertrial variability

changes of conditions of the task between attempts, the higher the intertrial variability the more frequently they can generalize their skills

what are the traditional motor control theories

reflex theory, reflex-hierarchal theory, neuromatural theory of development, and motor programming theories 

what are the modern/contemporary motor control theories

systems and ecological theory

what is reflex theory

reflexes are the basis of all movement, and all movements are reflexive based off of sensory stim

what is reflex-hierarchical theory

build off of the reflex theory, but control of movement follows a hierarchal level of control starting from the SC as primitive reflexes to the brainstem, subcortical, and cortical

neuromaturational theory of development

CNS matures as development occurs following the developmental continuum, like gross grasp comes before fine grasp and sitting comes before standing

what is motor programming theory

CNS develops motor programs that are organized, initiated, carried out by the central pattern generator, movement does not rely on reflexes but rather programs or “computer files”

what are invariant/fixed movement output features

timing, sequence of events, and force applied

what are movement variant/flexible features

movement size, movement speed, muscle activation patterns

what happens to motor programs as time goes on?

as practice and time go on, steps of a motor plan become quicker and more smooth

what is the ecological model

tells us that movement is not only dependent on person factors but also the environment, manipulation of the task and the environment play a role in evoking motor skills

what is the systems and dynamic action model?

movement complexity is based on person, environment, task. all of these factors impacts how we do things, like how we carry a cup versus carrying a cup of hot coffe

what is the attractor state in the systems and dynamic action model

attractor state is how movement occurs in its preferred, habitual patterns the same way each time, our brain like this as it makes things easier for us

what is the emergent state in the systems and dynamic action model

under unstable, dynamic conditions new movement patterns emerge. This si what happens after a client has a stroke lets say

how is the focus of treatment different in traditional versus contemporary motor theories?

traditional approaches are more bottom up focused on pathphysiology, contemporary approaches are top down focusing more on contextual factors 

how is the goal of intervention different in traditional versus contemporary motor theories?

traditional approaches diminish impairments by simply strengthening muscle or treating tone, in contemporary approaches we promote motor learning to diminish impairments

how is the type of intervention different in traditional versus contemporary motor theories?

for interventions under traditional theories active participation of typical movement patterns is used, for contemporary theories active engagement/practice in the tasks and environment are used as intervention

what is the role of the OT in traditional approaches versus contemporary approaches to motor control

in traditional approaches OTs are the source of intervention and diagnoser of impairments, in contemporary approaches OTs are coaches and active problem solvers

what is a motor skill

a learned sequence of movements that combine to make a smooth, efficient action of joints and body segments in order to achieve a goal (doing it the same way every time)

what is motor learning

the performance and learning of skilled movement and/or refinement of learned movement resulting in changes in the CNS that allow for the production of that skill

what are the 3 stages of motor learning under the Fitts and Posner model

1. cognitive stage (initial learning of a skill with frequent errors)

2. associative stage (skill becomes smoother and errors are reduced)

3. autonomous stage (timing is automatic and no conscious attention is needed)

what are the two stages of Gentiles 2 stage model

1) early practice- movement is acquired using trial and error

2) late practice- capable of adapting movement pattern with increasing consistency

what are assumptions of motor learning

motor learning is an active process that is goal-dependent reinforced by frequent practice. all because of our neuroplastic brains!

what are the two theories of motor learning?

schmidts schema (open loop) and Adams theory (closed loop)

what are the concepts of schmidts open loop theory of motor control

brain registers the movements specifications, sensory concepts, outcomes, and initial conditions of a movement and creates either a recall schema (maybe doing a STS from pts wheelchair), or recognition schema (building off of and adding new aspects beyond the recall schema)

what are the concepts of adams closed loop theory of motor learning

sensory feedback used for the practice of skilled movement over and over and over again. This is great to use in the beginning of therapy so pts can master the simplest and most basic version of the skill before generalizing to master in open loop