Information processing in motor control

Question 1

Information Processing in 3 Stages

Answer 1

Stimulus Identification
Response selection
Response Programming

Sequential way of processing information; Very small

Question 2

2 theoretical approaches to understanding information processing

Answer 2

• Expanded information processing model (Mulder, 1991)
  – Information processing is circular in nature; Things out out but new things come in
• Ecological Approach
  – Emphasis on perception versus sensation
  – Emphasis on idea of action being specific to the task and environment
  – Ex: Pain

Ecological photo

Question 3

Explain photo

Answer 3

• Need to be awake (arousal) to pick up cues from environment
• Need a goal in order to move.
• Sensory and Selection: Picks and chooses the information that we choose. When performing a movement need to consider different aspects such as somatosensory, vestibular and vision.
• Memory: In order to give information meaning we need to tie it to things we previously knew. Can’t have perception without memory.
• Perimetric specification: What body parts will be put into play. Need to specify how much force, what joint angles, left or right side
• Initiate movement: As movement progresses we get feedback and results in circular

Feedforward: Muscles that kick in first; Reaching to pick up water bottle.

Question 4

Anyone who comes in with pain will have?

Answer 4

Issues with perception

Question 5

Reaction/movement times to study info processing

Answer 5

Reaction Time:
- Premotor – stimulus onset to EMG activity onset (processing)
- Motor – EMG activity onset to observable movement initiation

Movement Time
- Time to complete a task

Reaction times are important into understanting information processing

Question 6

Response Time =

Answer 6

Reaction Time + Movement Time

Question 7

Interpret these data:

Answer 7

Central changes occur between 6 and 9 years old.
Not extra myelination or physiology of the muscle, physics doesn’t change.

Question 8

Factors that impact reaction time (premotor time/central processing)

Answer 8

• Ability to anticipate (expected/unexpected environment)
• Complexity of task (# of elements in a sequence; standing vs jumping)
• Accuracy of movement (threading a needle vs walking through a door)
• Learning stage of individual
• Attention (Where is your focus)
• Arousal state
• Number of choices (or things to process) - Hick’s law; The more information the longer it takes

MLB players are good because of speed of processing to be able to read a pitch.

Question 9

What gets processed (pre-planned) during goal directed movement prep time?

Answer 9

• Postural Preparation (What the task is, how to remain upright)
• Limb Movement Characteristics (limb in space)
  –Direction
  –Trajectory
  –Accuracy requirement (Coffee Cup vs water bottle with lid with coffee)
• Object Control
  –Force
  –End state comfort (In the blink of an eye, I am aware of the movement and the movement that should happen next; Piccking up water cup when upside down you adjust hand to then immediately pour into it; One task to another task different but need one before hand)
  –Sequence of movements (Dance step that has multiple sequence)
• Rhythmicity

Question 10

Age and Information Processing - Youth

Answer 10

• Youth reaction times
  – 6yr old 3x slower than 17 yr old
  – Great improvement for 6-15 years of age
  – Hick’s law applies, but slope is steeper, i.e. Increases in processing load really slow them down greater than an adult

Question 11

Age and Information Processing

Answer 11

• RT peaks around 20 yrs old, gradually declines until 60
• Steeper change from 60-80
• Hick’s law applies, but more steep with age
• Exercise in older adults helps preserve processing speed
  – Tasks that require executive processing related to fitness (e.g. racquet sports)

Question 12

Movement Time is impacted by..

Answer 12

• Impacted by task requirements (speed, accuracy, consequence)
• Fitts’ Law = Speed vs Accuracy Trade Off
• An increase in distance or decreased target size makes a task harder.

Question 13

Attention

Answer 13

• Cognitive effort
• Associated with consciousness
• Limited in capacity (can’t pay attention to everything)
• Multidimensional
  – Focused, sustained, selective, alternating, divided
• Studied with dual-task paradigms (multitasking)

People who play video games can pay more attention to moving things.

Concussion issues with multitasking. Can do one task fine but adding in an additional will make them fail to do it.

Question 14

Theories of Attention

Answer 14

Single Channel Theories: Can only focus on one thing at a time (Not Valid)
Single Resource Pool: Have one pool that we everything goes through.
Multiple-resource theory: Several attention resource mechanisms; Resource pools (motor processing, cognitive processing, vision/auditory); This is likely the theory

Question 15

Interference

Answer 15

Foot and finger: counterclockwise and drawing 6; Share the same pool which limits ability to do both.

Question 16

Factors influencing attention demands

Answer 16

Individual - Arousal, stage of learning (novice vs pro), age

Task - consequences, difficulty, complexity

Environment – busy/quiet, dangerous things in environment, etc

Question 17

Attentional Focus and Learning Tasks

Answer 17

Internal vs External: Someone who is learning a new task they need to focus on internal (muscles, joints moving). After they get good activation and general movement, we then shift their focus on a goal (focus is off of joint movements).

Question 18

Internal vs External; Broad vs Narrow

Answer 18

• Broad-External - required in order to rapidly assess environmental conditions. Complex sport situations such as a quarterback assessing situation on field and making a decision about an appropriate response; basketball point guard coming down the floor on a fast break, etc.
• Broad-Internal - needed when one analyzes and plans once relevant external information is gathered. Involves taking in current situation and using past experiences to come to a decision. May also involve assessing current levels of muscular tension, feelings about self-confidence, etc.
• Narrow-Internal - Used when one systematically mentally rehearses their planned performance - golf, weightlifting, gymnastics, track and field events, etc.
• Narrow-External - Attention required during a response, such as returning a serve (focus on ball), making a pass

Question 19

Arousal

Answer 19

Spectrum. Varies depending on task as well.
Ex: Commatose far left, manic break on far right.

Question 20

Why does performance change with arousal?

Answer 20

• Arousal heavily influences our ability to control attention
• At proper level of arousal are able to shift very quickly to adjust to improve performance in different instances. When things become less imporant allows you to shift.

Also known as cue shifting

Question 21

Clinical Implications of Arousal State

Answer 21

• Various clinical settings:
• Less issue in outpatient (but still relevant), e.g.:
  – Teenager with 7am appointment
  – Pharm effects (e.g. inhaler); Can make them aggravated
• Significant issue in other settings due to cognitive and pharmacologic factors