Motor skill acquisition in a virtual world by older adults: Relationships between age, physical activity, and performance

This study investigated the effects of tension-control training by electromyographic biofeedback on learning and performance of a stabilometer balancing task. 30 young adult males were pretested for stabilometer balancing skill, ranked by performance scores, and divided into identical triplicates to form two experimental groups and a control group. All subjects were reevaluated on the stabilometer test following feedback training of the experimental subjects. Analysis of variance of difference means, scores representing performance and tension, indicated that the biofeedback training significantly reduced tension induced by the novel motor skill and significantly improved performance of the motor skill.

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Motor Skill Acquisition and Retention as a Function of Average Feedback, Summary Feedback, and Performance Variability

Journal of Motor Behavior ◽

10.1080/00222895.1994.9941683 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 273-282 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Wan-Xiang Yao ◽

Mark G. Fischman ◽

Yong Tai Wang

Keyword(s):

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

Performance Variability ◽

And Performance

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Emergence of perceptuomotor relationships during paleolithic stone toolmaking learning: intersections of observation and practice

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-02768-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kristel Yu Tiamco Bayani ◽

Nikhilesh Natraj ◽

Nada Khresdish ◽

Justin Pargeter ◽

Dietrich Stout ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Learning ◽

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Action Observation ◽

Performance Improvements ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

Gaze Patterns ◽

Archeological Evidence ◽

And Performance

AbstractStone toolmaking is a human motor skill which provides the earliest archeological evidence motor skill and social learning. Intentionally shaping a stone into a functional tool relies on the interaction of action observation and practice to support motor skill acquisition. The emergence of adaptive and efficient visuomotor processes during motor learning of such a novel motor skill requiring complex semantic understanding, like stone toolmaking, is not understood. Through the examination of eye movements and motor skill, the current study sought to evaluate the changes and relationship in perceptuomotor processes during motor learning and performance over 90 h of training. Participants’ gaze and motor performance were assessed before, during and following training. Gaze patterns reveal a transition from initially high gaze variability during initial observation to lower gaze variability after training. Perceptual changes were strongly associated with motor performance improvements suggesting a coupling of perceptual and motor processes during motor learning.

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The Effect of Kinesthetic Stimulation on Acquisition and Retention of a Gross Motor Skill

Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1177/000841749506200105 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 23-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tal Jarus ◽

Yael Loiter

Keyword(s):

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Task ◽

Movement Pattern ◽

Gross Motor ◽

Feedback Information ◽

Stimulus Group ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

Stable Representation ◽

And Performance

The role of kinesthetic stimulation in motor learning and performance of a gross motor task was investigated. Forty healthy female adult volunteers, ages 20 to 30 years old, were required to learn a gross motor task involving the kicking of a ball. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two training groups, a kinesthetic stimulus group or a non-kinesthetic stimulus group. Results indicated that kinesthetic stimulation during practice and retention phases seemed to enhance task acquisition. Kinesthetic stimulation may have provided important feedback information for the learners that might have enabled them to make the necessary adjustments during performance. In addition, it appears that the stimulation affected the motor memory processes and left a more stable representation of the movement pattern. The use of continuous pressure as a means of kinesthetic stimulation for the facilitation of motor skill acquisition is recommended, although further research is required in order to generalize these findings to the clinic.

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The Impact of Conceptions of Ability on Self-Regulatory Factors and Motor Skill Acquisition

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.13.3.213 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 213-226 ◽

Cited By ~ 62

Author(s):

Forest J. Jourden ◽

Albert Bandura ◽

Jason T. Banfield

Keyword(s):

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Acquisition Rate ◽

Subsequent Performance ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

Regulatory Processes ◽

And Performance ◽

High Level ◽

The Impact

This study tested the hypothesis that conceptions of ability affect self-regulatory processes and the acquisition rate of a perceptual-motor skill. Subjects performed a rotary pursuit task under induced cognitive sets that task performance reflected inherent aptitude or acquirable skill. Their perceived self-efficacy, affective self-reactions, and performance attainments were measured over a series of trials. Subjects who performed the task under the inherent-aptitude conception of ability displayed no growth in perceived self-efficacy across phases, negative self-reactions to performances, low interest in the activity, and a limited level of skill development. In contrast, those who performed the task under the conception of ability as an acquirable skill displayed growth in perceived self-efficacy, positive self-reactions to their performances, widespread interest in the activity, and a high level of skill acquisition. The stronger the positive self-reactions, the greater the subsequent performance attainments.

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Modeling Considerations in Motor Skill Acquisition and Performance

Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews ◽

10.1249/00003677-198900170-00016 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

pp. 475???514

Author(s):

PENNY McCUEEAGH ◽

MAUREEN R. WEISS ◽

DIANE ROSS

Keyword(s):

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

And Performance

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How Common Is the Exponential Decay Pattern of Motor Skill Acquisition? A Brief Investigation

Motor Control ◽

10.1123/mc.2020-0043 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Geneviève N. Olivier ◽

Christopher S. Walter ◽

Serene S. Paul ◽

Leland E. Dibble ◽

Sydney Y. Schaefer

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Parkinson Disease ◽

Skill Acquisition ◽

Exponential Decay ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Theoretical Understanding ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

Decay Pattern

Motor performance is classically described as improving nonlinearly with practice, demonstrating rapid improvements early in practice with stabilization later, which is commonly modeled by exponential decay functions. However, retrospective analyses of our previously collected data challenge this theoretical model of motor skill acquisition, suggesting that a majority of individual learners actually demonstrate patterns of motor improvement different from this classical model. A convenience sample of young adults, older adults, and people with Parkinson disease trained on the same functional upper-extremity task. When fitting three-parameter exponential decay functions to individual participant data, the authors found that only 13.3% of young adults, 40.9% of older adults, and 66.7% of adults with Parkinson disease demonstrated this “classical” skill acquisition pattern. Thus, the three-parameter exponential decay pattern may not well-represent individuals’ skill acquisition of complex motor tasks; instead, more individualized analysis methods may be warranted for advancing a theoretical understanding of motor skill acquisition.

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Black-box testing in motor sequence learning

10.1101/2021.12.01.470563 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pablo Maceira-Elvira ◽

Jan E. Timmermann ◽

Traian Popa ◽

Anne-Christine Schmid ◽

John W. Krakauer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Motor Cortex ◽

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Hierarchical Structures ◽

Motor Sequence ◽

Motor Skill Acquisition ◽

Spatial Features ◽

Motor Practice ◽

Speed Accuracy

During learning of novel motor sequences, practice leads to the consolidation of hierarchical structures, namely motor chunks, facilitating the accurate execution of sequences at increasing speeds. Recent studies show that such hierarchical structures are largely represented upstream of the primary motor cortex in the motor network, suggesting their function to be more related to the encoding, storage, and retrieval of sequences rather than their sole execution. We isolated different components of motor skill acquisition related to the consolidation of spatiotemporal features and followed their evolution over training. We found that optimal motor skill acquisition relies on the storage of the spatial features of the sequence in memory, followed by the optimization of its execution and increased execution speeds (i.e., a shift in the speed-accuracy trade-off) early in training, supporting the model proposed by Hikosaka in 1999. Contrasting the dynamics of these components during ageing, we identified less-than-optimal mechanisms in older adults explaining the observed differences in performance. We applied noninvasive brain stimulation in an attempt to support the aging brain to compensate for these deficits. The present study found that anodal direct current stimulation applied over the motor cortex restored the mechanisms involved in the consolidation of spatial features, without directly affecting the speed of execution of the sequence. This led older adults to sharply improve their accuracy, resulting in an earlier yet gradual emergence of motor chunks. The results suggest the early storage of the sequence in memory, largely independent of motor practice, is crucial for an optimal motor acquisition and retrieval of this motor behavior. Nevertheless, the consolidation of optimal temporal patterns, detected as motor chunks at a behavioral level, is not a direct consequence of storing the sequence elements, but rather of motor practice.

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