Algorithm-Based Practice Schedule and Task Similarity Enhance Motor Learning in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Meysam Beik ◽  
Hamidreza Taheri ◽  
Alireza Saberi Kakhki ◽  
Majid Ghoshuni
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Practice Schedule ◽  
Task Similarity ◽  
And Task

Effects of practice schedule and task specificity on the adaptive process of motor learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 196-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Augusto de Camargo Barros ◽  
Go Tani ◽  
Umberto Cesar Corrêa
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Practice Schedule ◽  
Adaptive Process ◽  
Task Specificity ◽  
And Task

scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Motor Skill Learning Are Dependent on Both Age and Task Difficulty

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josje M. Bootsma ◽  
Simone R. Caljouw ◽  
Menno P. Veldman ◽  
Natasha M. Maurits ◽  
John C. Rothwell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Motor Practice ◽  
And Task

Although a general age-related decline in neural plasticity is evident, the effects of age on neural plasticity after motor practice are inconclusive. Inconsistencies in the literature may be related to between-study differences in task difficulty. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effects of age and task difficulty on motor learning and associated brain activity. We used task-related electroencephalography (EEG) power in the alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) frequency bands to assess neural plasticity before, immediately after, and 24-h after practice of a mirror star tracing task at one of three difficulty levels in healthy younger (19–24 yr) and older (65–86 yr) adults. Results showed an age-related deterioration in motor performance that was more pronounced with increasing task difficulty and was accompanied by a more bilateral activity pattern for older vs. younger adults. Task difficulty affected motor skill retention and neural plasticity specifically in older adults. Older adults that practiced at the low or medium, but not the high, difficulty levels were able to maintain improvements in accuracy at retention and showed modulation of alpha TR-Power after practice. Together, these data indicate that both age and task difficulty affect motor learning, as well as the associated neural plasticity.

scholarly journals Promoting Generalized Learning in Balance Recovery Interventions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 402
Author(s):  
Sara A. Harper ◽  
Anne Z. Beethe ◽  
Christopher J. Dakin ◽  
David A. E. Bolton
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Balance Training ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Specific Training ◽  
Balance Recovery ◽  
Parallel Streams ◽  
Postural Perturbations ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Recent studies have shown balance recovery can be enhanced via task-specific training, referred to as perturbation-based balance training (PBT). These interventions rely on principles of motor learning where repeated exposure to task-relevant postural perturbations results in more effective compensatory balance responses. Evidence indicates that compensatory responses trained using PBT can be retained for many months and can lead to a reduction in falls in community-dwelling older adults. A notable shortcoming with PBT is that it does not transfer well to similar but contextually different scenarios (e.g., falling sideways versus a forward trip). Given that it is not feasible to train all conditions in which someone could fall, this limited transfer presents a conundrum; namely, how do we best use PBT to appropriately equip people to deal with the enormous variety of fall-inducing scenarios encountered in daily life? In this perspective article, we draw from fields of research that explore how general learning can be promoted. From this, we propose a series of methods, gleaned from parallel streams of research, to inform and hopefully optimize this emerging field where people receive training to specifically improve their balance reactions.

scholarly journals Efficacy of Resistance and Task-Specific Exercise in Older Adults Who Modify Tasks of Everyday Life

2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 616-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Manini ◽  
M. Marko ◽  
T. VanArnam ◽  
S. Cook ◽  
B. Fernhall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Specific Exercise ◽  
And Task

Volunteering as Group Spokesman as a Function of Task Effectiveness, Leader Success, and Task Similarity

1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 911-917
Author(s):  
Jack M. Wright ◽  
Morgan Worthy
Keyword(s):  
Task Success ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Task Similarity ◽  
Type Apparatus ◽  
And Task

By reversing the procedure in a Crutchfield-type apparatus, the frequency of adopting the job of spokesman for one's group was studied as a function of the following variables: effectiveness of performance on a previous task, success in influencing the behavior of other group members; and task similarity. Results for 64 male Ss indicate that persons are most willing to function as spokesmen for the group when they have been effective on an earlier task. This is especially likely when the earlier task is similar to the task on which they volunteer as spokesmen or when Ss had been unable to influence other group members' judgments on the previous task. The interpretation is advanced that some types of leadership attempts occur more readily on the basis of feeling of adequacy on the task than on feelings of acceptance as leader (i.e., successful influence).

scholarly journals The Effect of External Attentional Focus and Self-Controlled Feedback on Motor Learning in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
Sima Razaghi ◽  
Esmaeel Saemi ◽  
Rasool Abedanzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
The Other ◽  
Acquisition Phase ◽  
Control Group ◽  
External Focus ◽  
Mixed Anova

AbstractIntroduction. External focus instruction and self-controlled feedback have beneficial effects on motor learning. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the benefits of combined effects of external focus instruction and self-controlled feedback on balance performance in older adults.Material and Methods. Forty older adults (mean age: 63.21 ± 3.6 years; all female) were selected and randomly divided into 4 groups: self-controlled feedback, external attention, external attention/self-controlled feedback and control group. The task of standing on the platform of the stabilometer device and trying to keep the platform horizontally as much as possible was performed in each 30-sec. trial. The participants of self-controlled group received feedback on the timing of balance after the trials. In the external focus of attention, participants noticed the signs that were located horizontally ahead of their feet. The test was conducted in two sessions. In the acquisition phase, 10 trials of 30 seconds were performed and the retention test was completed 24 hours later as 5 trials of 30 seconds.Results. The results of mixed ANOVA on time data as an indicator of balance in the acquisition phase showed that the mixed group of external focus of attention and self-controlled feedback had better performance than the other groups (p = 0.004). In the retention test, the results of mixed ANOVA showed that the participants in the combined group of external focus and self-controlled feedback had better performance than the other groups (p = 0.006). The external focus of attention and self-controlled feedback performed similarly, and both were superior to the control group (p < 0.05).Conclusions. The results of this study, supporting the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning in the elderly, showed that the combination of two factors of external focus and self-controlled feedback has a double advantage over the presence of each of the factors. Therefore, it is suggested that the combinations of external focus instructions and self-controlled feedback should be used to improve performance and motor learning in the classes of practical and clinical rehabilitation fields.

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