Module 3 - Theories of Motor Learning

Define Motor Learning

A set of processes associated with practice or experience leading to relatively permanent changes in the capability for producing skilled action

Define recovery of function

Re-acquisition of movement skills list through injury

What are the 4 important components of motor learning?

Process of acquiring capability for skilled action

Results from experience or practice

Cannot be measured directly - instead is inferred from behavior

Produces relatively permanent change in behavior

True or false: Changes in motor performance that result from practice reflect motor learning

False; performance must be retained

Define attention

Cognitive process by which people can detect, select, sustain, or shift awareness among a myriad of relevant information and stimuli

What is an internal focus of attention

Focus on the movement itself

What is an external focus of attention

Focus on the movement outcomes

What is exogenous attention?

Externally driven attention from bottom up control (sounds or fast-moving or colorful objects)

What is endogenous attention?

Internally generated, top-down control and is goal oriented

What are the types of nondeclarative memory?

Nonassociative learning, associative learning, procedural learning

What is nonassociative learning?

Occurs when given a single stimulus repeatedly

Define habituation

Decreased responsiveness due to repeated exposure to stimulus

Define sensitization

Increased responsiveness following threatening or noxious stimuli

What is associative learning

Learning to predict relationships (Classical conditioning: Pavlov’s dogs, Operant Conditioning: trial-and-error learning, lever press → Food → Increased frequency of lever presses)

What is procedural learning?

Learning how to perform a task, develops slowly via repetition under varying contexts

What is declarative learning?

Ability to consciously recall factual knowledge

What are the 4 types of processing needed for declarative learning?

Encoding → Consolidation → Storage → Retrieval

Describe Schmidt’s Schema Theory of Motor Learning

Motor programs do not contain specifics of movements, but generalized rules for specific class of movements

What is a schema?

An abstract representation stored in memory following multiple presentations of a class of objects (dogs)

What is a recall (motor) schema?

Each time a movement is made, a movement parameter (force) is applied; then input received about movement’s accuracy, with repeated movements using different parameters with different outcomes, nervous system creates relationship between the parameter and movement outcome

What is a recognition (sensory) schema?

Sensory consequences and outcomes of previous movements are coupled with current initial conditions to create representation of expected sensory consequences, the representation is compared to sensory information from ongoing movement to evaluate efficiency of response

What does recall schema do?

Helps you produce the movement based on parameters and initial conditions

What does recognition schema do?

Helps you detect and correct errors based on previous experiences and results

Schmidt’s Schema Theory says motor learning is _____

An ongoing process of updating recall and recognition schemas with each movement that is made, states that variability of practice should improve motor learning, and that a movement could be produced accurately (even if never made before) if based on a rule that has been previously created

Describe the Ecological Theory of Motor Learning

Motor learning is a process that increases coordination between perception and action in a manner consistent with task and environmental constraints

Describe Fitts and Posner’s Three Stage Model of Motor Learning

Learning occurs over time, and as learning improves, the amount of attention needed to complete the task decreases

What are the three stages of learning in Fitts and Posner’s Model

Cognitive, Associative, Autonomous

Describe Bernstein’s Three-Stage Model of Motor Learning

When learning a new task, you are learning to control the degrees of freedom of the body segments involved in the movement

What are the three stages of Bernstein’s Three stage model

Novice, Advanced, Expert

Novice stage of Bernstein’s Three-Stage Model

In this stage you are freezing degrees of freedom (co-contraction to stiffen the joints and performing the task using minimum number of joints), not energetically efficient or flexible to changes in the environment

Advanced stage of Bernstein’s Three-Stage Model

Beginning to release additional degrees of freedom and allowing more movement at more joints involved in the task; creation of muscle synergies across multiple joints

Expert stage of Bernstein’s Three-Stage Model

Released all degrees of freedom necessary to perform task efficiently, taking advantage of mechanics of musculoskeletal system & environment allows for more efficient use of energy and reduces fatigue

Describe Gentile’s Two-Stage Model of Motor Learning

In first stage, patient is developing understanding of task dynamics (goal of task, movement strategies to achieve goal, distinguishing environmental features)

In second stage, patient is refining movement, with fixation (closed skill) performing consistently and efficiently, with diversification (open skill), adapting to changing task and environmental demands