SPEX202

information-processing approach

approach in which the brain receives, processes and interprets information in order to send signals to produce skilled co-ordinated movements

neuro-computational approach

approach which suggests we have more complex programming to cope with the 'messy'/ever-changing surrounding environment

sensory information, reaction time, arousal, attention

important considerations when preparing any motor response

selected, temporarily, rehearsed

in order to store information into long-term memory, it must be __________ from the sensory register, ___________ stored in short-term memory, and ___________.

3 constraints that influence movement patterns

individual, environment, task

degrees of freedom problem

investigates how the body is able to constrain certain degrees of freedom to produce a coordinated movement pattern

cutaneous receptors

involved in proprioception and are found in the dermis and epidermis

vestibular apparatus

involved in proprioception, in particular balance and spatial orientation

golgi tendon organ

involved in proprioception, in particular they sense changes in muscle tension

joint receptors

involved in proprioception, in particular, monitoring stretch in joints and joint position

muscle spindles

involved in proprioception, in particular, they detect changes in the length of a muscle

primary motor cortex

involved in the execution of movement

pre-motor cortex

involved in the planning of movement

multiple-resource theory

involves several attention mechanisms, each with limited capacity

working memory

involves temporary stores of recently presented material and retrieves information from long-term storage to influence current problem-solving, decision-making and movement production

two modes of control

open-loop control and closed-loop control

maturation

order of changes that occur via ageing to enable a person to progress to different levels of function

affordances/opportunities

perception (in order to move) is of _____________ rather than of properties

proprioception

perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body

proprioception

provides information about the state of the body itself, including the sense of movement and relationship of body parts to one another

motor development

study of underlying processes of motor behaviour changes across the life span

direct perception

the perception in which there is no intermediate stage between perception and action, unlike indirect perception i.e. the array of information from our sensory receptors is all we need to perceive anything

motor learning

study of the processes involved in the acquisition of a motor skill

Bernstein's learning stages

1. Freezing the limbs 2. Releasing the limbs 3. Exploiting the environment

gentile's learning stages

1. Getting the idea of the movement 2. Fixation/Diversification

serial order problem

Examines the sequencing and timing of movement behaviors

arousal

a general physiological and psychological activation, varying on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement

reflex

a simple, highly stereotyped and unlearned response to a particular stimulus within less than 30ms

memory

ability to recall things, which allows us to benefit from experience

perceptual- motor integration problem

addresses how perception and action are incorporated

type 1a primary sensory ending

aka anulospira ending with a large diameter, with axons that transmit rapid-conducting information from the CENTRAL portion of a muscle spindle (i.e. its wrapped around the muscle spindle)

type 2 secondary sensory ending

aka flower spray ending, with smaller diameter, with axons that transmit slower-conducting information from the ENDS of a muscle spindle

Hick's Law

as the number of stimulus alternatives increases, so too does the reaction time

procedural

as we learn a new skill it strengthens our ____________ memory

reflexive period of motor development

birth to two weeks where the newborn is adjusting to many sensory changes (bright lights and sounds)

hyperarousal

brings about the "fight or flight" response which can bring about superhuman levels of strength but can also lead to impaired performance

3 levels of skill progression

cognitive, motor, skilled

ontogeny

development of an individual over their lifespan

selective attention

due to limited attentional capacity we filter out less relevant information to prioritise the most relevant, this is called...

transducer

element of the closed-loop system that reduced the error between the output and desired goal by utilisation of additional feedback

Phylogeny

evolutionary development of a species that may take hundreds to thousands of years

width of attention

is the amount of information attended to by the individual (narrow or broad)

direction of attention

is the location of the focus (internal or external)

muscle spindles

length receptors that are involved in the stretch reflex, shortening of muscle and posture

open-loop control

mode of control that is used for movements that are more rapid and discrete such that the performer needs to preplan the movement by choosing a GMP and then executing the action

closed-loop control

mode of control used for long-duration, continuous activities that provide the opportunity to make corrections based on feedback received DURING the movement

difference score

measure of retention that gives the amount of loss in skill over the retention interval

percentage score

measure of retention that gives the amount of loss in skill over the retention interval relative to amount of improvement in original-learning score

absolute retention

measure of retention that provides the level of performance on the first trial of the retention test

long-term memory (semantic)

memory involving the capacity to recall words, concepts or numbers which is essential for understanding language

long-term memory (procedural)

memory that aids performance of particular tasks without conscious awareness of previous experiences

long-term memory (episodic)

memory that involves the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place

alpha motor neurons

motor neurons that control the main contractile fibres (extrafusal fibres) and initiates the contraction of skeletal muscles

action slip

movement error in sequencing due to inattention

choice RT

multiple stimulus-response alternatives

anxiety

negative emotional state in which feelings of nervousness, worry and apprehension are associated with activation or arousal of the body

upper motor neurons

neurons that originate in the motor region of the brainstem

lower motor neurons

neurons that receive impulses from the upper motor neurons and connect the spinal cord and brainstem to the muscle fibres

degrees of freedom

no. of independent elements or components of a system and they way in which they can act

chunking

one way humans memorise information involving sequences is by _____________ which helps overcome limitations of working memory

identical elements theory

one theory of transfer that suggests that the more identical elements shared by two skills, the greater the positive transfer from one to the other

development of fundamental motor patterns

occurs 1-7 years of age in which there is acquisition of locomotor and object control skills such as running and catching

skilfulness period of motor development

occurs 11+ years

context specific motor skills period

occurs 7-11 years where motor skills become more specific

simple RT

one stimulus, one response

negatively accelerating curve

performance curve in which there is a very rapid initial rate of improvement, followed by a gradual reduction in rate of improvement

preadapted period

period of early motor development in which infant develops motor milestones such as sitting, standing and walking

ecological perspective

perspective that suggests that movement is much more complex than a simple input-output relay of information from the brain to other systems and that actions are determined by a number of factors

inverted- U hypothesis

predicts that performance of a task should improve with increased emotional arousal up to a certain point, after which further increases in arousal become disruptive and performance deteriorates

exteroception

provides information about the external environment related to the body

response time

reaction time + movement time

automaticity of muscle memory

representations in the brain for certain body parts become stronger, where the brain adapts to a task such that it requires few mental resources to complete it

kinesthetic sense

sense of the location of body parts in relation to the ground and each other

muscles, tendons and joints

sensory feedback from _________, __________ and __________ monitors movement

invariant (unchanging) parameters of GMP

sequence of actions, relative timing and relative force

coarticulation

sequential movement of joints which enables you t articulate movement

theories of attentional capacity

single-channel filter theory and multiple-resource theory

closed skills

skills that are not affected by the environment and are usually self-paced in predictable situations

open skills

skills where the environment is constantly changing and so movements have to be continually adapted e.g. netball

short-term memory

stored for only 20-30 seconds unless rehearsed

generalised motor program (GMP)

stored representation of a pattern of movements that are modifiable and produce a movement outcome

motor control

study of the neural, physical and behavioural aspects of human movement

single-channel filter theory

system can only process one task at a time

golgi tendon organ

tension receptor involved in tension reflex, relaxation of muscles and protects from tearing

psychological refractory period (PRP)

the delay that occurs when 2 stimuli that each require a different response are presented in quick succession

negative accelerating curve

the most common type of performance curve

prenatal period of motor development

the period of pregnancy in which environmental exposures can negatively affect future development

prenatal period, reflexive period, preadapted period

the three early periods of motor development

transfer-appropriate processing theory

theory of transfer that suggests positive transfer would occur if practice conditions involved learners engaging in problem-solving processes that are similar to the criterion task

dynamic systems theory

theory that characterises movement as a self-organising process

schema theory of learning

this theory suggests that you can modify certain parameters of GMPs to perform certain movements

reaction time

time between the presentation of a stimulus and the initiation of a motor response

movement time

time from the initiation of a movement until it has been completed

related

to measure adaptability perform a test on a ____________ motor skill following a retention interval

retention test, retention interval

to measure learning, a _________ ______ must be administered following a break from practice (__________ ___________)

pretest, post-test

to measure performance changes, compare performance on a _____________ with a ______________

alpha and gamma

two divisions of the lower motor neurons

indirect perception (cognitive approach)

type of perception that suggests that when we first perceive information it is pretty much meaningless so we have to do something with the information in order to interpret it and understand it

motor behaviour

umbrella term for the 3 main motor subfields

anticipatory postural adjustment (APA)

when movements involve preparation in advance