Chapter 4 - Motor Learning

The Vestibular Apparatus

A collective group of receptor organs in the inner ear that respond to changes in posture and balance.

Fovea

A small depression in the retina of the eye where visual acuity is at its highest. The center of the field of vision is focused in this region, where retinal cones are particularly concentrated.

Parallel Processing System

A type of information processing that allows people to handle two or more streams of information at the same time; usually occurs during the stimulus identification stage.

Cones

Also a photoreceptor, which operates best in bright light and are specialized for color vision and visual acuity (sharpness of vision). they are most concentrated in the fovea.

Absolute Gaze

An active scan that may land on numerous of objects.

Vision - Practical Implications

Be cautious when examining claims of visual-training programs. Develop effective visual-search strategies, pattern recognition, anticipation, and decision-making skills.

Efferent Nerve

Carrying away from; describes the part of the PNS that transmits impulses away from the CNS (brain and spinal cord) to the effectors (muscles and organs in the body).

Forgetting

Decay theory and interference theory

Sensory Receptors

Detect stimuli and provide information: exteroceptors, interoceptors, and proprioceptors. relay information to the CNS, where it is interpreted.

Optic Nerve

Each of the second pair of cranial nerves, transmitting impulses to the brain from the retina in the back of the eye.

Vision and Performance

Eye dominance, spotting, visual search, and locomotion.

Postural Control

Involves multiple sensory inputs that tell the CNS where the body is in space, and maintaining equilibrium requires postural adjustments: compensatory or anticipatory.

Spinal Nerve

Is a mixed nerve, which carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body. The human body has 31 pairs of spinal nerves, one on each side of the vertebral column.

Memory - Practical Implications

Keep instructions, cues, feedback short and simple, repeat key learning points, provide opportunities for physical rehearsal, relate new skill to previous learning skills, use meaningful labels and analogies, and group or "chunk" movements.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Nerves that link the body to CNS (afferent and efferent divisions).

Eye Dominance

One eye processes information and transmits it to the brain more quickly than the other (same-side vs. cross dominant).

Optic Chiasm

Point at which some fibers from each of the optic nerves cross, allowing visual signals to be processed by the opposite side of the brain.

Vision

Predominant sensory receptor: 70% of all sensory receptors located in the eyes and 40% of the cerebral cortex thought to be involved in processing visual information.

The Quiet Eye

The final fixation located on a specific target or object before the initiation of movement.

Time to Contact

The pattern of optical flow produced by an approaching object, such as a ball, indicates something about the time remaining until the object reaches the plane of the observer's eye. As the object approaches the retinal image expands.

Spotting

Used in rotational skills (dance, diving, gymnastics, figure skating). Rotation of the head delayed relative to the body's rotation.

Declarative

a type of long-term memory - facts or events (episodic and semantic).

Spinal Reflexes

an automatic, involuntary response to stimuli. Types include: monosynaptic and polysynaptic.

Main Parts of the Brain

brain stem, diencephalon, cerebrum, and cerebellum.

Damage to the Spinal Cord

can be complete or incomplete (effects of the the injury depend on the area of the spinal cord affected). In general, the higher up the spinal cord the injury occurs, the more serious the injury.

Traumatic Brain Injury

disruption of normal brain function as a result of an external mechanical force, and may result in temporary or lasting cognitive and/or motor impairments. Physical therapists: design programs to help restore motor function, strength, coordination, balance, endurance, and/or movement.

Sports Vision

focuses on investigating visual contributions to performance.

Optic Flow

how close we are to certain objects, and how quickly we're approaching them.

Basal Ganglia

important in the initiation and control of subconscious gross body movements, play a key role in regulating the intensity of movement parameters, and degenerative conditions of basal ganglia lead to movement problems.

Proprioception and Performance

makes the motor control system more efficient and flexible, provides information about initial body and limb position, and evaluates movement for correctness.

Cerebellum

monitors movement, plays key role in detecting and correcting errors, works with motor cortex to produce smooth, coordinated movements, and plays key role in maintaining posture and balance.

Motor (descending) Pathways

pyramidal and extrapyramidal pathways

Feedforward

sends information ahead; to prepare or adjust movement in advance.

Reflex Arc

simplest pathway by which a reflex occurs.

Sensory (ascending) Pathways

spinothalamic and posterior/dorsal column pathway

Proprioception

the continuous flow of sensory information from receptors regarding movement and body position. Types of receptors: Golgi tendon organs, Muscle spindles, Joint kinesthetic receptors, and Vestibular apparatus.

Locomotion

the use of optic flow and feedforward.

The Cerebral Cortex

three functional areas: sensory, motor, and association.

Autonomic Nervous System

A division of the peripheral nervous system, which is responsible for control of bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, heartbeat, and digestion.

Rods

A photoreceptor that is more numerous, does not detect wavelength (color), and is specialized for vision in dim light.

Nociceptors

A sensory receptor for a painful stimuli.

Golgi Tendon Organs

Proprioceptors located at the junction of the tendon with a muscle that indicate the level of tension development in a tendon.

Muscle Spindles

Proprioceptors located between the skeletal muscle fibers in the muscle belly that indicate how much and how fast the muscle's length is changing. They also can cause a reflective concentration known as a stretch reflex, which contributes to the contractile force that can be generated during a skill.

Visual Search Strategies

Quiet eye, targeting skills, interceptive skills, and tactical skills.

Exteroceptors

Receptors located ar or near the body's surface that detect stimuli outside the body and provide information about the environment. They include receptors for pain, pressure, touch, temperature, vibrations, hearing vision, smell, and taste.

Joint Kinesthetic Receptors

Receptors located in and around synovial joints that respond to pressure, acceleration and deceleration, and excessive strain on a joint.

Interoceptors

Receptors that detect stimuli from the internal viscera and provide information about the internal environment, leading to feelings such as hunger and nausea.

Proprioceptors

Receptors that provide information regarding body position and movement by detecting changes in muscle tension, joint position, and equilibrium.

Rehabilitation and Proprioception Training

Reestablishing proprioception: a primary concern for rehab programs. Not reestablishing proprioception: can result in instability and predispose an athlete/patient to recurrent injury.

Focal System

Visual system that fuctions to identify objects primarily located in the central region of the visual field (involves fovea). It is strongly linked to consciousness and, therefore, operates under voluntary control. Its function is hampered in low-light conditions.

Ambient System

Visual system that functions at a subconscious level and is thought to be responsible for spatial localization and orientation. It involves the entire retina, and serves both the central and peripheral visual fields, and is not affected by changes in light level.

Procedural

a type of long-term memory - skills, actions, and movements.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

brain and spinal cord, sensory information is integrated, and signals are generated and sent to effectors.