Motor Control Mechanism of Soccer Ball Juggling Depending on Skill Level

The fine-tuning phase of aiming directly prior to trigger pull has been hypothesized to influence shot accuracy, however there is little research exploring and distinguishing the different phases of motor control during aiming. This analysis seeks to establish a baseline model for determining the duration of the fine-tuning stage of target acquisition, or the critical aiming window (CAW). The study uses data collected from United States Army Soldier volunteers in a simulated firing event from two different stationary shooting positions (standing and kneeling). The method of investigation included calculation of velocity, acceleration, and jerk of the target marker over the course of aiming to identify trends indicative of a transition between shooting phases. While acceleration and jerk yielded inconclusive results, a significant decrease in velocity was identified during specific shooting positions. This model uses a function of average velocity throughout the shooting trial to determine the CAW.

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Functional Variability in Team-Handball Players during Balance Is Revealed by Non-Linear Measures and Is Related to Age and Expertise Level

Entropy ◽

10.3390/e22080822 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

pp. 822

Author(s):

Carla Caballero ◽

David Barbado ◽

Tomás Urbán ◽

Juan Antonio García-Herrero ◽

Francisco J. Moreno

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Postural Control ◽

Sport Performance ◽

Skill Level ◽

Balance Performance ◽

Balance Assessment ◽

Team Handball ◽

Linear Approach ◽

Balance Task ◽

Non Linear

Postural control is considered a key variable in team sports, such as handball, which require abilities strongly related to balance. However, postural control and its relationship to the performance of handball skills according to the players’ skill level and age has not been evaluated to date. This study analyzes the relationship between balance ability and team-handball performance according to age and expertise, applying a non-linear approach to balance assessment. Postural control from 114 male team-handball players was analyzed through the center of pressure (COP) during a balance task. Sport performance was measured by the accuracy and speed in throwing. Expert players threw faster, but not more accurately than recreational players. Balance performance was better for 18+ players (older than 18 years old) than those U12 (under 12 years old), but no differences were found according to their skill level. Players who threw with less accuracy showed slower COP velocity during the balance task and their moves were less irregular. Players who threw faster displayed more irregular and less auto-correlated COP movements. In conclusion, experienced team-handball players exhibited better balance performance, and this seems to be related to the maturation of the motor system more than to sport performance level. Nevertheless, non-linear measures of COP excursion revealed an exploratory behavior during balance in expert players, exhibiting more motion adjustments to reduce motor output error. Traditional variables measuring balance performance did not show sensitivity to this motor control process. A non-linear approach to balance assessment revealed functional variability during balance as an intrinsic characteristic of individuals’ motor control according to age and skill level.

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On Control of Reaching Movements for Musculo-Skeletal Redundant Arm Model

Applied Bionics and Biomechanics ◽

10.1155/2009/498363 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 11-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Kenji Tahara ◽

Suguru Arimoto ◽

Masahiro Sekimoto ◽

Zhi-Wei Luo

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Numerical Simulations ◽

Inverse Dynamics ◽

Control Mechanism ◽

Reaching Movements ◽

Task Space ◽

Simple Task ◽

Muscle Dynamics ◽

Non Linear ◽

Internal Forces

This paper focuses on a dynamic sensory-motor control mechanism of reaching movements for a musculo-skeletal redundant arm model. The formulation of a musculo-skeletal redundant arm system, which takes into account non-linear muscle properties obtained by some physiological understandings, is introduced and numerical simulations are perfomed. The non-linear properties of muscle dynamics make it possible to modulate the viscosity of the joints, and the end point of the arm converges to the desired point with a simple task-space feedback when adequate internal forces are chosen, regardless of the redundancy of the joint. Numerical simulations were performed and the effectiveness of our control scheme is discussed through these results. The results suggest that the reaching movements can be achieved using only a simple task-space feedback scheme together with the internal force effect that comes from non-linear properties of skeletal muscles without any complex mathematical computation such as an inverse dynamics or optimal trajectory derivation. In addition, the dynamic damping ellipsoid for evaluating how the internal forces can be determined is introduced. The task-space feedback is extended to the ‘virtual spring-damper hypothesis’ based on the research by Arimoto et al. (2006) to reduce the muscle output forces and heterogeneity of convergence depending on the initial state and desired position. The research suggests a new direction for studies of brain-motor control mechanism of human movements.

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Hormonal acceleration of song development illuminates motor control mechanism in canaries

Developmental Neurobiology ◽

10.1002/dneu.20835 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 70 (14) ◽

pp. 943-960 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Jorge A. Alliende ◽

Jorge M. Méndez ◽

Franz Goller ◽

Gabriel B. Mindlin

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Control Mechanism ◽

Song Development

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Motor control mechanism by the cerebellum

The Cerebellum ◽

10.1080/14734220600776387 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 296-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tomoo Hirano

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Control Mechanism

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Tapping Behavior and Inter-Stimulus Interval in Isochronous Sound Sequence

International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering - Special Issue ◽

10.35940/ijitee.f4402.049620 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 1411-1415

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Control Mechanism ◽

Top Down ◽

Stimulus Interval ◽

Feed Forward ◽

Inter Stimulus Interval ◽

Sensory Motor ◽

Sound Sequence ◽

Healthy Participants

The main objective of this study is to examine anticipatory tapping and reactive tapping under two different inter-stimulus interval (ISI). Healthy participants (N = 30) aged from 18 to 35 years voluntarily participated in the study. The results show that the ISI plays an important role in sensory motor synchronization (SMS). The analysis of asynchrony revealed that two different type of tapping occurred under two different ISI. Under short ISI (1000 ms), participants executed their responses before the tone (i.e., anticipatory tapping driven by feed-forward motor control). Under long ISI (2000 ms), participants executed their responses after the tone (i.e., reactive tapping driven by feed-back motor control mechanism). In summary, participants showed anticipatory tapping in the absence of top-down attention and reactive tapping with the involvement of top-down attention.

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