scholarly journals Reciprocal intralimb transfer of skilled isometric force production

2019 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikram A. Rajan ◽  
Robert M. Hardwick ◽  
Pablo A. Celnik
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skills ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Error Detection ◽  
Isometric Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Therapeutic Benefits ◽  
Error Detection And Correction ◽  
Potential Applications

Motor control theories propose that the same motor plans can be employed by different effectors (e.g., the hand and arm). Skills learned with one effector can therefore “transfer” to others, which has potential applications in clinical situations. However, evidence from adaptation suggests this effect is not reciprocal; learning can be generalized from proximal to distal effectors (e.g., arm to hand), but not from distal to proximal effectors (e.g., hand to arm). We propose that skill learning may not follow the same pattern, because it relies on multiple learning processes beyond error detection and correction. Participants learned a skill task involving the production of isometric forces. We assessed their ability to perform the task with the hand and arm. One group then trained to perform the task using only their hand, whereas a second group trained using only their arm. In a final assessment, we found that participants who trained with either effector improved their skill in performing the task with both their hand and arm. There was no change in a control group that did not train between assessments, indicating that gains were related to the training, not the multiple assessments. These results indicate that in contrast to adaptation, motor skills can generalize from both proximal to distal effectors and from distal to proximal effectors. We propose this is due to differences in the processes underlying skill acquisition as compared with adaptation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Prior research indicates that motor learning transfers from proximal to distal effectors, but not vice versa. However, this work focused on adapting existing behavior; we questioned whether different results would occur during learning of new motor skills. We found that the benefits of training on a skill task with either the hand or arm transferred across both effectors. This highlights important differences between adaptation and skill learning, and may allow therapeutic benefits for patients with impairments in specific effectors.

scholarly journals Symmetric Intralimb Transfer of Skilled Isometric Force Production

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikram A Rajan ◽  
Robert M Hardwick ◽  
Pablo A Celnik
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Error Detection ◽  
Isometric Force ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Visuomotor Adaptation ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Error Detection And Correction ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Asymmetric Learning

Motor control theories propose that the same motor plans can be employed by different effectors. Skills learned with one effector can therefore 'transfer' to others, which has potential applications in clinical situations. However, evidence from visuomotor adaptation suggests this effect is asymmetric; learning can be generalized from proximal-to-distal effectors (e.g. arm to hand), but not from distal-to-proximal effectors (e.g. hand to arm). We propose that skill learning may not be subject to this asymmetry, as it relies on multiple learning processes beyond error detection and correction. Participants learned a skill task involving the production of isometric forces. We assessed their ability to perform the task with the hand and arm. One group trained to perform the task using only their hand, while a second trained using only their arm. In a final assessment, we found that participants who trained with either effector improved their skill in performing the task with both their hand and arm. There was no change in a control group that did not train between assessments, indicating that gains were related to the training, not the multiple assessments. These results indicate that in contrast to visuomotor adaptation, motor skills can generalize from both proximal-to-distal and distal-to-proximal effectors. We propose this is due to differences in the processes underlying skill acquisition in comparison to visuomotor adaptation.

Learning, Forgetting, and Relearning: Skill Learning in Children With Language Impairment

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 696-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Adi-Japha ◽  
Haia Abu-Asba
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skills ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Retention Testing ◽  
Over Time

Purpose The current study tested whether the difficulties of children with specific language impairment (SLI) in skill acquisition are related to learning processes that occur while practicing a new skill or to the passage of time between practice and later performance. Method The acquisition and retention of a new complex grapho-motor symbol were studied in 5-year-old children with SLI and peers matched for age and nonverbal IQ. The children practiced the production of the symbol for 4 consecutive days. Retention testing took place 10 days later. Results Children with SLI began each practice day slower than their peers but attained similar levels of performance by its end. Although they increased their performance speed within sessions more than their peers, they did not retain their learning as well between sessions. The loss in speed was largest in the 10-day retention interval. They were also less accurate, but accuracy differences decreased over time. Between-session group differences in speed could not fully be accounted for based on fine motor skills. Conclusions In spite of effective within-session learning, children with SLI did not retain the new skill well. The deficit may be attributed to task forgetting in the presence of delayed consolidation processes.

scholarly journals Efficacy of Verbally Describing One’s Own Body Movement in Motor Skill Acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 356
Author(s):  
Tsubasa Kawasaki ◽  
Masashi Kono ◽  
Ryosuke Tozawa
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Body Movement ◽  
Upper Extremities ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Imagery Ability ◽  
Motor Skill Acquisition ◽  
Motor Error ◽  
And Control

The present study examined whether (a) verbally describing one’s own body movement can be potentially effective for acquiring motor skills, and (b) if the effects are related to motor imagery. The participants in this study were 36 healthy young adults (21.2 ± 0.7 years), randomly assigned into two groups (describing and control). They performed a ball rotation activity, with the describing group being asked by the examiner to verbally describe their own ball rotation, while the control group was asked to read a magazine aloud. The participants’ ball rotation performances were measured before the intervention, then again immediately after, five minutes after, and one day after. In addition, participants’ motor imagery ability (mental chronometry) of their upper extremities was measured. The results showed that the number of successful ball rotations (motor smoothness) and the number of ball drops (motor error) significantly improved in the describing group. Moreover, improvement in motor skills had a significant correlation with motor imagery ability. This suggests that verbally describing an intervention is an effective tool for learning motor skills, and that motor imagery is a potential mechanism for such verbal descriptions.

Serious Games and Motor Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 197-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Wiemeyer ◽  
Sandro Hardy
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skills ◽  
Error Detection ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Motor Skill Learning ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Body Movements ◽  
Motor Abilities ◽  
Computer Mouse

Digital games in general require fine motor skills, i.e., operating the computer mouse, the keyboard, the touch-screen, or a joystick. With the development of new gaming interfaces, the performance of whole-body movements became possible to control a game. This opens up new lines of application, e.g. improving motor skills and motor abilities. The most important question is whether and how virtual game-based perceptual-motor training transfers to real motor tasks. Theory distinguishes between specific motor skill learning and generic motor ability improvement. Existing evidence shows that the improvement of motor abilities (e.g., balance) is possible by particular exergames while the improvement of motor skills (e.g., basketball throw) depends on several moderators like accuracy of the interface and correspondence of virtual and real tasks. The authors conclude that there are two mechanisms of transfer, located at the elementary and fundamental perceptual-motor level and at the cognitive level. Current issues for technology comprise adaptivity, personalization, game mastering, accuracy of interfaces and sensors, activity recognition, and error detection.

scholarly journals Effects of tDCS on motor learning and memory formation: a consensus and critical position paper

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan R Buch ◽  
Emiliano Santarnecchi ◽  
Andrea Antal ◽  
Jan Born ◽  
Pablo A Celnik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skills ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Critical Position ◽  
Data Repositories ◽  
Motor Skill Acquisition

AbstractMotor skills are required for activities of daily living. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied in association with motor skill learning has been investigated as a tool for enhancing training effects in health and disease. Here, we review the published literature investigating whether tDCS can facilitate the acquisition and retention of motor skills and adaptation. A majority of reports focused on the application of tDCS with the anode placed over the primary motor cortex (M1) during motor skill acquisition, while some evaluated tDCS applied over the cerebellum during adaptation of existing motor skills. Work in multiple laboratories is under way to develop a mechanistic understanding of tDCS effects on different forms of learning and to optimize stimulation protocols. Efforts are required to improve reproducibility and standardization. Overall, reproducibility remains to be fully tested, effect sizes with present techniques are moderate (up to d= 0.5) (Hashemirad, Zoghi, Fitzgerald, & Jaberzadeh, 2016) and the basis of inter-individual variability in tDCS effects is incompletely understood. It is recommended that future studies explicitly state in the Methods the exploratory (hypothesis-generating) or hypothesis-driven (confirmatory) nature of the experimental designs. General research practices could be improved with prospective pre-registration of hypothesis-based investigations, more emphasis on the detailed description of methods (including all pertinent details to enable future modeling of induced current and experimental replication) and use of post-publication open data repositories. A checklist is proposed for reporting tDCS investigations in a way that can improve efforts to assess reproducibility.

scholarly journals Learning and transfer of complex motor skills in virtual reality: a perspective review

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle E. Levac ◽  
Meghan E. Huber ◽  
Dagmar Sternad
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Real World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Movement Variability ◽  
Complex Skill ◽  
Complex Skills ◽  
Motor Information

Abstract The development of more effective rehabilitative interventions requires a better understanding of how humans learn and transfer motor skills in real-world contexts. Presently, clinicians design interventions to promote skill learning by relying on evidence from experimental paradigms involving simple tasks, such as reaching for a target. While these tasks facilitate stringent hypothesis testing in laboratory settings, the results may not shed light on performance of more complex real-world skills. In this perspective, we argue that virtual environments (VEs) are flexible, novel platforms to evaluate learning and transfer of complex skills without sacrificing experimental control. Specifically, VEs use models of real-life tasks that afford controlled experimental manipulations to measure and guide behavior with a precision that exceeds the capabilities of physical environments. This paper reviews recent insights from VE paradigms on motor learning into two pressing challenges in rehabilitation research: 1) Which training strategies in VEs promote complex skill learning? and 2) How can transfer of learning from virtual to real environments be enhanced? Defining complex skills by having nested redundancies, we outline findings on the role of movement variability in complex skill acquisition and discuss how VEs can provide novel forms of guidance to enhance learning. We review the evidence for skill transfer from virtual to real environments in typically developing and neurologically-impaired populations with a view to understanding how differences in sensory-motor information may influence learning strategies. We provide actionable suggestions for practicing clinicians and outline broad areas where more research is required. Finally, we conclude that VEs present distinctive experimental platforms to understand complex skill learning that should enable transfer from therapeutic practice to the real world.

scholarly journals Changes in Performance Monitoring During Sensorimotor Adaptation

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 1868-1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin A. Anguera ◽  
Rachael D. Seidler ◽  
William J. Gehring
Keyword(s):  
Error Detection ◽  
Small Error ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Sensorimotor Adaptation ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Error Magnitude ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Error Detection And Correction ◽  
Adaptation Task

Error detection and correction are essential components of motor skill learning. These processes have been well characterized in cognitive psychology using electroencephalography (EEG) to record an event-related potential (ERP) called error-related negativity (ERN). However, it is unclear whether this ERP component is sensitive to the magnitude of the error made in a sensorimotor adaptation task. In the present study, we tested the function of error-related activity in a visuomotor adaptation task. To examine whether error size is reflected in the ERP, two groups of participants adapted manual aiming movements to either a small (30°) or large (45°) rotation of the visual feedback display. Each participant's trials were sorted into large and small error trials using a median split to examine potential error magnitude waveform differences. We also examined these trial types at the early and late stages of adaptation. There were no group differences for the behavioral or neural measures; however, waveforms from large error trials were significantly different from small error trials. The waveforms also changed as a function of practice as early adaptation waveforms were larger than late adaptation waveforms. The observed ERP component reflected differences in error magnitude with the amount of activity corresponding to the size of the error. Movement monitoring potentials likely affected the frequency and time course of the waveform so that it did not resemble the typical ERN; however, error-related activity was still distinguishable. The present findings are discussed in terms of current theories of the ERN as well as skill acquisition.

scholarly journals IMPROVEMENT OF THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER BY EXERCISE

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-285
Author(s):  
Weihua Jia ◽  
Jinghong Xie
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Exercise Intervention ◽  
Communication Disorders ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Experimental Group

ABSTRACT Introduction Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a typical neurological development disorder of the brain, exhibiting social communication and communication disorders, narrow interests, and repetitive, stereotyped behaviors. Movement development is an important evaluation index for the development of early motor function in children, so exercise intervention in children with ASD is of great significance. Objective This article conducts exercise intervention on children with ASD to stimulate their exercise ability and improve their self-care ability. Methods The article randomly grouped 24 children with an autism spectrum disorder. The experimental group received exercise intervention, and the control group had regular classes. After the experiment is completed, the influence of exercise intervention on children with autism is analyzed. Results The motor skills of the two groups of children were different after the intervention. The motor skills of the experimental group improved more significantly. Conclusion Exercise intervention can significantly improve the motor skills of children with an autism spectrum disorder. To evaluate whether the large-muscle motor skill learning of children with ASD and its influence on basic motor skills can be transferred to provide a reference for related motor intervention. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results.

The Effects of Augmented Auditory Feedback on Psychomotor Skill Learning in Precision Shooting

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niilo Konttinen ◽  
Kaisu Mononen ◽  
Jukka Viitasalo ◽  
Toni Mets
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Control Data ◽  
Feedback Group ◽  
Knowledge Of Results ◽  
Performance Outcome ◽  
And Control

This study examined the effectiveness of augmented auditory feedback on the performance and learning of a precision shooting task. Participants included Finnish conscripts (N = 30) who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: auditory feedback group (AFb), knowledge-of-results group (KR), and nontraining control group (Control). Data collection consisted of a pretest, a 4-week acquisition phase, a posttest, and two tests of retention. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated in terms of performance outcome, i.e., shooting result. Concurrent auditory feedback related to rife stability did not facilitate shooting performance in a practice situation. In the posttest and retention tests, the participants in the AFb group displayed more accurate shooting performance than those in the KR and Control groups. Findings suggest that a non-elite shooter’s performance can be improved with a 4-week auditory feedback treatment. Given that the learning advantage persisted for delayed retention tests, the observed improvement in skill acquisition was due to relatively permanent variables rather than to temporary effects.

scholarly journals Acquisition and consolidation processes following motor imagery practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Célia Ruffino ◽  
Charlène Truong ◽  
William Dupont ◽  
Fatma Bouguila ◽  
Carine Michel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Control Experiment ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Main Experiment ◽  
Imagery Training ◽  
Skill Performance ◽  
Speed Accuracy

AbstractIt well-known that mental training improves skill performance. Here, we evaluated skill acquisition and consolidation after physical or motor imagery practice, by means of an arm pointing task requiring speed-accuracy trade-off. In the main experiment, we showed a significant enhancement of skill after both practices (72 training trials), with a better acquisition after physical practice. Interestingly, we found a positive impact of the passage of time (+ 6 h post training) on skill consolidation for the motor imagery training only, without any effect of sleep (+ 24 h post training) for none of the interventions. In a control experiment, we matched the gain in skill learning after physical training (new group) with that obtained after motor imagery training (main experiment) to evaluate skill consolidation after the same amount of learning. Skill performance in this control group deteriorated with the passage of time and sleep. In another control experiment, we increased the number of imagined trials (n = 100, new group) to compare the acquisition and consolidation processes of this group with that observed in the motor imagery group of the main experiment. We did not find significant differences between the two groups. These findings suggest that physical and motor imagery practice drive skill learning through different acquisition and consolidation processes.

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