Motor Learning Final

What is an example of internal force?

muscle contraction

What is the ability to adapt to different contexts, even with slight variations to the task itself?

Adaptability

What type of activity is it best to use the idea of whole task training?

Low complexity and high organization tasks

Mental practice in addition to physical practice is superior to what?

Physical practice alone

How does transfer of learning apply to practicing parts of a skill?

Positive transfer

What is the term referring to how body segments are aligned with each other and with the environment?

Postural alignment

What is the ability to maintain the desired alignment over a support surface to complete the task?

Postural stability

What is the practice described by "progressively adding each sequential part - progressive part method)"?

Segmentation

What is the general term given to movement problems when sensation is impaired?

Sensory ataxia

What are interdependent components of a task?

Things that HAVE to be together when practicing or completing that task

What are independent components of a task?

Things that can stand alone in terms of the completed motion/action

What is the Egress test used for?

This test was originally created as a screening tool to help staff assess a patient's gait and ability to safely transfer following bariatric surgery

During whole task practice, where is the attention directed?

To the key components of the movement

100% physical practice is far superior than what?

100% mental practice

Different combinations of mental and physical practice give results that are comparable to what?

100% physical practice

What is the duration of the working memory?

20-30 seconds

A goal for an open skill in the later stage of learning is __________.

Diversification

Should you have an internal or external focus?

External

When you cannot see a target, have impaired sensory pathways, or lack experience in how to interpret intact sensory processing what type of feedback is best?

augmented

What is a generic term used to describe information about a performance that supplements sensory feedback and comes from a source external to the performer?

augmented feedback

What law is related to the relationship of speed & accuracy?

Fitts Law

A goal for a closed skill in the later stage of learning is __________.

Fixation

What is performance outcome?

Focused on the goal and overall results (functional goals, scored points)

What is the practice that is described by "practicing the individual limbs with asymmetric and simultaneous coordination of limbs"?

Fractionization

It is essential that prehension practice of therapy strategies involving the components of reaching and grasping involve what?

Functional activities

When tactile sensation is removed you will typically see what?

Less accuracy with movements

Does performance outcomes or performance production matter more to our patients?

Performance outcomes

During locomotion, what type of vision provides info about spatial features of the terrain?

Peripheral

An example of water transitioning to boiling is an example of which motor theory?

dynamical systems theory

A change in the capability, or potential, of a person to perform a skill that must be inferred from a relatively permanent improvement in performance as a result of practice or experience is what?

learning

According to the ______________ theory, when conditions are right, identifiable movement patterns emerge.

Dynamical systems

Degrees of freedom closely relates to which motor theory?

Dynamical systems theory

What program is described as "complex interactions of many systems; nonlinear dynamics - things change dramatically"?

Dynamical systems theory

What is the capacity of the working memory?

7 items plus or minus 2

What occurs between the two stable phases as velocity increases?

A phase transition

What is an action or task with a goal or purpose?

A skill

What are the three levels for analyzing motor behavior?

Activities, movements & neuromotor processes

What order should we train our patient regarding action, movement pattern & neuromotor processing?

Activity goal -> movement -> neuromotor processing

What is a general trait or capacity of the individual that determines achievement potential with a specific skill?

An ability

What are states of coordinated movement that are more stable and more energy efficient?

An attractor state

What is a closed environment?

An environment where variables tend to stay the same

What is an open environment?

An environment with numerous variables and things that are constantly changing

Dependent on previous experience, neuromuscular synergies, and cognitive demand all impact which type of postural control?

Anticipatory control

What represents stable regions of operation around which behavior typically occurs when a system is allowed to operate in its preferred manner?

Attractors

What is the ability of maintaining your vertical center of mass over your base of support?

Balance

What is a good assessment of anticipatory postural control?

Berg

"Researchers have shown that the same areas of the brain are active when you imagine yourself doing an activity compared to when you physically do the same activity" is a good way to explain which hypothesis for success of mental practice?

Brain activity

During locomotion, what type of vision guides us to stay on the pathway?

Central

What type of vision and correlating stream recognizes slow speed object movement, including conscious description of what is being seen?

Central vision - ventral stream

What is the hypothesis that determines the best point to teach/learn a new skill based on the difficulty of the task and the level of the learner?

Challenge point hypothesis

Is accuracy more related to an open loop or closed loop?

Closed loop

"Your mind works extra hard to figure out "how" to do something in the early stages of learning a skill" is a good way to explain which hypothesis for success of mental practice?

Cognitive

What stage of learning is there a lot of mental practice?

Cognitive stage of learning

When is mental practice most effective?

Cognitive stages - early on

What has a greater variability early on from one performance to the next, though performance characteristics are becoming more similar over time with continued practice?

Consistency

Distributed practice is used for what type of task?

Continuous

What is the relationship of the body relative to the environment & the relationship of body segments relative to each other?

Coordination

What hypothesis is based on automatisms or background corrections between similar tasks?

Degree of kinematic similarity

Massed practice is used for what type of task?

Discrete (definitive end and start)

Is ankle strategy elicited proximal to distal OR distal to proximal?

Distal to proximal

T/F: Timing ability is NOT specific to the requirements of the skill being performed rather than a general timing ability.

False - it is specific to the task

How would you describe the cognitive hypothesis?

Finding out how to complete a task - cognitive stage of learning (mental practice can be huge here)

What is performance production?

Gives information related to the movement and underlying neuromotor processes (accuracy, balance and MMT)

What type of activity is it best to use the idea of partial task training?

High complexity and low organization tasks

What are two components of determining the complexity of a task?

How many parts it has & the attentional demand of the task

When instructing our patient to use mental imagery for a task what should we tell them?

If they should use internal or external imagery

What is external imagery?

Imaging yourself completing the action from a third person perspective

What is internal imagery?

Imagining yourself doing the action from a first person perspective

What is measured over time, because there are usually periods of plateaus and regressions over time during any skill acquisition?

Improvement

What are the 6 common performance characteristics of skill (task) learning?

Improvement, consistency, persistence, stability, adaptability, and reduction of attention demand.

How can you take out ankle strategy to immediately elicit hip strategy?

Increase velocity

A goal of acquiring a movement pattern that allows some success with the task & being able to discriminate between regulatory and non-regulatory conditions both occur in which stage of learning according to Gentile's two-stage of learning?

Initial stage

What happens to information that is not processed further or rehearsed?

It is lost

What are two things to keep in mind when coming up with activity-specific training?

Keeping it functional and task oriented

Which stage of Gentiles two-stage model is characterized by adaptability, consistency, and economy of effort?

Later stage

What types of tasks is mental practice good for?

Learning a new task or relearning a task

If someone is on a sports team and does not have the opportunity to practice with the team, then what type of practice would be good for them?

Mental practice

What would be good practice for a patient when they are not coming to therapy all the time?

Mental practice

What is the ability to complete a task using neuromuscular system, musculoskeletal system & coordination?

Motor control

What is the capability of the motor control system to enable a person to achieve an action goal in a variety of situations and conditions?

Motor equivalence

What is the ability to learn a task & needs to be able to transfer into a new environment than what you learn it in?

Motor learning

Reaction time is a measurement of what?

Motor performance

What program is described as "a memory representation for organizing, initiating, and carrying out a desire action"?

Motor program

What is the difference between movement and motor skills?

Movement refers to the components of the activity (how body segments relate to each other) Ex: walking is a skill, but the movement pattern will vary depending on the surface we are walking on

Should we practice the components of reaching & grasping separately?

NO

"Even though it's not enough to make the muscles of your leg move, when you imagine moving your leg, electrical activity increases in those same muscles" is a good way to explain which hypothesis for success of mental practice?

Neuromuscular

What are the three hypotheses for the success of mental practice?

Neuromuscular, cognitive, & brain activity

Do all people have the same imagery ability?

No

Does every patient you work with exhibit the same motor skill level?

No

If there is a performance plateau does this decrease their potential?

No

What is a condition that is not critical when completing a task?

Non-regulatory

Are complexity and difficulty the same thing?

Not necessarily - think about the jumping rope example in class

Is speed more related to an open loop or closed loop?

Open loop

Should your focus be on the movement or the outcome?

Outcome

When an activity is high in complexity and low in organization you use what type of practice?

Partial task

The behavioral act of executing a skill at a specific time and situation is what?

Performance

What type of vision and correlating stream detects high-speed movement info and control of the limbs?

Peripheral vision - dorsal stream

What is a relatively permanent improvement in performance?

Persistence

What is fractionization?

Practicing individual limbs with asymmetric and simultaneous coordination of limbs (practicing the guitar, but separating when you practice each arm because they both have different tasks)

What is segmentation?

Progressively adding each sequential part (progressive part method) *an example would be teaching a SCI patient how to log roll efficiently

Is hip strategy elicited proximal to distal OR distal to proximal?

Proximal to distal

How can we easily measure energy efficiency in a clinical setting?

RPE

What is simplification?

Reducing the task or components of the task difficulty (using a harness while walking - [balance tutor] so that the patient can focus on walking and not be worried about falling)

Reaction time and movement time combined is what?

Response time

When is vision essential during catching an object?

Right before the movement is initiated or caught

Automaticity of movements/actions are related to which brain structures?

SMA and putamen/globus pallidus

What hypothesis is related to progressively practicing as you will play/perform?

Similarity of cognitive processing

What is the practice that is described as "reducing the task or components of the task difficulty"?

Simplification

What should we think of regarding quality of a movement?

Skill

Why not use mental practice with everyone?

Some people do not have the mental capacity to complete imagery/mental practice

What is the hypothesis that maintains that the many motor abilities in an individual are relatively independent?

Specificity of motor abilities hypothesis

What is a behavioral steady state of a system that represents a preferred behavioral state and incorporates the notion of invariance by noting that a stable system will spontaneously return to a stable state after it is slightly perturbed?

Stability

What is related to consistency but refers to effect of internal or external perturbations?

Stability

Tactile sensation improves proprioceptive input when touching what points during a movement?

Starting and stopping points

What helps to resolve the degrees of freedom problem?

Synergies

What is an ideal way to instruct someone to complete a task to see where they need help/instruction?

Tell them to just "do it" and then you can modify their treatment based on what they actually need help with as opposed to instructing them how to do something from the beginning

In which stage of a manual aiming task is vision important for accuracy?

Termination phase

Why is it important to differentiate activities, movements and neuromotor processes?

The action goal may not be accomplished with the same movement patterns and neuromuscular processes for all people

What determines how and why we complete a task?

The goal

What phase of a manual aiming task is considered an open loop (fast) and without much sensory feedback, except for vision when getting closer to the target?

The initial flight phase

What is considered the emotional core of the brain?

The limbic system

How would you describe the neuromuscular hypothesis?

The muscles that would be active during the task are active, but they are at a sub-threshold level otherwise they would be moving

What are two things to consider when deciding to first start with whole or part practice?

The organization and complexity of the task

What are three things that impact a motor skill performance?

The person, skill and performance environment

Preparation phase, initial flight phase, and termination phase are all related to what task?

The phases of manual aiming tasks

What phase of a manual aiming task does visual assessment of the situation occur?

The preparation phase

What phase of a manual aiming task is just before contact is made with the target up to when the end point is reached?

The termination phase

Movement accuracy, consistency, timing, force adjustment and distance estimation are all movement characteristics influenced by what?

Touch

When the components of the skills and/or the context in which skills are performed are similar what happens?

Transfer of a skill

Hand-eye coordination, visual acuity, trunk control are all examples of ______________ for a given motor skill.

Underlying abilities

When does a skill (task) have a high level of organization?

When its component parts are spatially and temporally interdependent

What is a closed loop?

When there is constant feedback to help correct the movement as it is going on

What is an example of interdependent components within a task?

When you bend over to shoot a basketball - your knees and hips bend together when you bring your arm back to shoot (practicing these things separately wouldn't really make sense)

How would you describe the brain activity hypothesis?

When you imagine yourself doing something there are parts of your brain that light up & those same ones are active when you are completing the task, so there would be carry over with mental imagery

When an activity is low in complexity and high in organization you use what type of practice?

Whole task

How can classification of motor skills be helpful?

Will help with motor skill analysis and treatment progression

Should static and dynamic balance be considered as independent abilities?

Yes

Without ___________ you cannot have postural stability.

alignment

What type of vision allows for the 3D perception of the object (depth perception)?

binocular vision

Ongoing adjustments based on sensory feedback are associated with an open or closed loop system?

closed loop system

What are two things to be cautious of when giving concurrent augmented feedback?

dependency and negative learning

What memory is past experiences or events?

episodic

How do previously learning skills influence the learning of a new skill?

facilitate (positive transfer), impede (negative transfer), or have no effect (zero transfer)

What are the three theories for why distributed practice across sessions is better?

fatigue, cognitive effort, and memory consolidation

What is an example of external force?

gravity

What are the 3 common proprioceptors?

joint proprioceptors, GTOs, and muscle spindles

What are two types of augmented feedback?

knowledge of results and knowledge of performance

What are the practical benefits of mental practice?

low cost, ease of use, lack of risk

How should we progress contextual interference with children?

low to high

What type of vision affects movement preparation and execution, resulting in an underestimate of the distance to an object and the size of the object?

monocular vision

How do we know our patient is making progress?

outcome measures

What can overestimate or underestimate learning?

performance

Level of alertness, anxiety, fatigue and the setting of the situation are examples of what?

performance variables

The early stages of learning (before it is automatic) is related to what brain structure?

prefrontal cortex

What structure is mood and personality mediated through?

prefrontal cortex

What type of memory is "how to do something"?

procedural

What are the 3 types of memory stored?

procedural, semantic, and episodic

Direction, spatial orientation, velocity, and muscle activation are all movement characteristics that are affected by what?

proprioception

What are the three distinct components of prehension?

reaching, grasping, and object manipulation

What are two ways to access long-term memories to perform a task?

recognition and recall test

What is the ability to dual-task and what stage is it usually reached?

reduction in attention demand and during the autonomous or procedural learning

What is a condition that impacts a movement?

regulatory

How would you know if practice variability improves future performance more than constant practice?

retention and transfer tests

What test is used to determine how much you know, or how much has been retained?

retention test

What is the ability to focus visual attention on regulatory features in the environment which gives us more time to select and produce an action?

selective visual attention

What type of memory is recognizing what words mean - general knowledge?

semantic

What two components make up declarative memory?

semantic and episodic

Should we progress skills from complex to simple or simple to complex?

simple to complex

What type of feedback is sensory feedback that is naturally available while performing a skill?

task-intrinsic feedback

100% mental practice is better than what?

training on an unrelated task

What is the influence of prior learning on the learning of a new skill or the performance of a skill in a new context?

transfer of learning

What test is a novel variation of the same task with a change in the physical environment or personal characteristics?

transfer test

What is the capacity of long term memory?

unlimited

What is the duration of long term memory?

unlimited

What situation would your patient not need augmented feedback?

when a detectable external referent in the environment is required

What is an open loop system?

when all the information is processed at the beginning and there is no feedback throughout the movement