Lecture 8 - Stages of Motor Learning

Question 1

What is the Continuum for Motor Learning?

Answer 1

Early Learning -> Later Learning
Novice -> Expert
Changes in strategies and synergies

Question 2

Strategy vs Synergy
What does each do?

Answer 2

Strategy - Selects the way in which the CNS will respond to reach a goal
Synergy - the muscle activation patterns that the CNS uses to implement the selected strategy

Question 3

T.I.E.relationship -> Movement Goal
Recover balance when pushed. What are the different strategies

Answer 3

Fixed support strategy - Feet don’t move, hips, ankles flex to keep balance.
Change in support strategy - step/grab something to keep balance

Question 4

What does early learning look like?

Answer 4

Rigid, awkwardness, indecisive, inefficient

Question 5

What does Later learning look like?

Answer 5

Fluid, confident, efficient, few errors

Question 6

What are the 3 stages of motor learning?
What does each stage do briefly?

Answer 6

Cognitive Stage (verbal-self-talk stage)
- development of basic motor plan
Associative(motor) stage
- refinement of movement plan
Autonomous Stage
- performance of movement virtually automatically

Question 7

Cognitive stage of motor Learning - What are the learning experiences?

Answer 7

• Think about how to accomplish the goal
  - Learn to understand the movement, get the idea of the movement, trial and error
• learn how to allocate your attention
  - devote most of your attention resources to the mechanics of the movement(internal attention focus)
• use self-talk strategies
  - spend a lot of time thinking to yourself; verbally guide yourself through movements

Question 8

Cognitive stage of Motor Learning - What are the performance outcomes?
What is the rate of improvement like?

Answer 8

• Make many errors
• make big errors
• day-to-day variability in errors made
• response time is slow
• movements are jerky
• difficulty adapting to task and environment constraints
  BUT: Rate of improvement in performance is rapid

Question 9

Associative Stage of Motor Learning - Learning Experiences?

Answer 9

• Associate move with an outcome
• refine the skill; more efficient movement
• connect components of the skill together
• can start to correct errors on own
• can start to perform action with environmental constraints

Question 10

What are the 2 strategies for the associative Stage?
What do they do?

Answer 10

Fixation Strategy
- predictable environment (closed motor skill)
- make the movement pattern as consistent as possible
Diversification Strategy
- unpredictable environment (open Motor Skill)
- allows flexibility in the movement pattern to be ready for changing task and environmental demands

Question 11

Associative Performance Outcomes - What are the performance outcomes?
What happens to the rate of improvement?

Answer 11

• Make fewer errors
• smaller errors
• response time is faster
• smoother movements
• able to adapt to task and environmental changes
  BUT: rate of improvement in your performance slows

Question 12

Autonomous Stage of Motor Learning - What are the learner experiences?

Answer 12

• Able to allocate attention effectively; pay little to no attention to the mechanics of the skill
• internal attention focus will negatively affect performance; engage in little self-talk
• ability to detect errors is highly developed

Question 13

Autonomous Stage of Motor Learning - Performance outcomes
What is the Rate of improvement like?

Answer 13

• Make few errors
• response time is fast
• movements fully coordinated
• able to perform under a variety of task and environmental constraints
  BUT: Improvement in your performance are difficult to detect

Question 14

What is coordination in early stages of learning?
What is functional Synergy?

Answer 14

• Freeze degrees of freedom
• robotic-like movement
  Functional Synergy - release and re-organize degrees pf freedom (limb segments work together)

Question 15

What is Control in stages of learning?

Answer 15

Manipulate the functional synergy based on environmental and task constraints
- skill performers find the best solution to motor problems

Question 16

What are Performer and Performance Changes through learning?

Answer 16

1. Changes in the rate of improvement
2. Changes in Movement Coordination
3. Changes in muscles used to perform. skill
4. Changes in attention Needed for Motor Skill
5. Changes in Visual Selective Attention
6. Changes in Error detection/correction capability
7. Changes in Brain Activity
8. No change in use of sensory Information

Question 17

What is the change in rate of Improvement in Learning?

Answer 17

Rate of improvement decreases; negatively accelerating performance curve

Question 18

What changes in muscle selection between early and later learning?

Answer 18

Early -> more muscles used, incorrect timing of muscle activation, use more energy
Later -> # of muscles used decreases, correct timing, sequential contraction, use less energy

Question 19

What changes with attention when learning a skill?

Answer 19

Levels of attention required to perform the skill decreases over time when practicing

Question 20

What are the changes in Visual Selective Attention from early to later learning?

Answer 20

Early -> look at too many environmental cues, look at inappropriate cues, can not differentiate between relevant and irrelevant cues
Later -> Look at fewer and correct cues in the environment, look at cues earlier

Question 21

What changes in Error detection/correction from early to later learning?

Answer 21

Learner becomes more proficient in recognizing and correcting cues

Question 22

What could cause errors?

Answer 22

Faulty Movement selection(strategy) or
Improper execution of the skill(synergy)

Question 23

What are the change in Brain Activity from early to later learning?

Answer 23

Specific brain regions that are activated during early learning are not always activated during later learning

Question 24

Why is there no change in use of sensory information?

Answer 24

• sensory feedback becomes part of the integrated sensory component of the memory representation of the skill; which means you become dependent on this feedback
• if sensory information available in performance context is not equal to sensory information stored in memory = problems

Question 25

What are the neural loops that are used in early and later learning with regards to brain activity and attention?
What is different and why?

Answer 25

Early learning -> cortico-Cerebello-Thalamo-Cortical Loop
- used when figuring out what to do
Later Learning -> Cortico-Basal Ganglia-Thalamo-Cortical Loop
- Leads to less attention required for skill
WHY? -> When learning, the cerebellum is important as it is essential for coordination and comparing the motor plan to performance. The Basal Ganglia is for performing the sequence without comparing, therefore, using less resources when a skill is learned.

Question 26

What is Fixation Strategy?

Answer 26

Predictable Environment; make the movement pattern as consistent as possible