Information Processing in Motor Learning and Control

Question 1

OPTIMAL theory of motor learning

• what does it stand for?
• what are the implications?

Answer 1

Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning

• human (motor) behavior is embedded in a cultural context
• cognitions or mindsets can slow or speed motor learning
• intrinsic motivation
• choking vs. flow states

Question 2

OPTIMAL Theory of Motor Learning

-what type of factors affect performance and learning

Answer 2

factors that
-underlie intrinsic motivation
OR
-which satisfy fundamental psychological needs

Question 3

OPTIMAL Theory of Motor Learning

-we want our variables to… (this slide doesn’t make sense to me)

Answer 3

enhance expectancies for future performance success
promote learner autonomy
promote external focus of attention

Question 4

what factors affect enhanced expectancies

Answer 4

perceived task difficulty
-if told you should do well, you do better
definitions of success
-if “success” is too hard to achieve, they may do worse than someone with a more lenient definition
social-comparative feedback
-feedback better than nothing
-being told you are better than average better than being told you are worse than average

Question 5

enhanced expectancies

• what is its function
• why does it work?

Answer 5

serve a task-readying function - boost performance
expectations of positive outcome or experience (“reward”) trigger dopaminergic response
-facilitates short-term performance and long-term consolidation
-temporal pairing with task practice is key

Question 6

enhanced expectancies

-effect of success with challenge on dopamine levels

Answer 6

occasional risks to expected success may temporarily dampen dopamine levels, but amplify impact of subsequent success

Question 7

providing autonomy

• what does it do
• how does it work

Answer 7

enhances self-efficacy expectation; promotes task focus

• reduces concern about abilities and self-regulatory activities
• frees up attentional resources for performance
• reduces stress
• -cortisol down-regulated dopamine/motivation

Question 8

what are examples of providing autonomy

Answer 8

self-controlled use of assistive device
incidental choices
-allow patient to choose order of exercises

Question 9

effect of combining enhances expectancies, autonomy support, and external focus

Answer 9

combining all three leads to best results (practice and retention)

Question 10

OPTIMAL tips

• enhanced expectancies
• autonomy
• external focus of attention

Answer 10

expectancies
-intrinsic rewards (improved performace, feeling in control, social inclusion) > extrinsic reward
-quantitative metrics assist in goal setting
autonomy
-small incidental choices often more effective than major, task-central ones
-language matters
external focus of attention
-it’s all about the object or environment

Question 11

information processing model

-what is the metaphor

Answer 11

• sensory systems take in information from an external source
• perceptual process lead to creation of some form of symbolic representation of environmental and task information
• information is compared with existing memory stores and processed for meaning
• speed of processing determines when output occurs
• information output can result in various kinds and qualities of movement

Question 12

movement planning steps

Answer 12

stimulus identification (perception)
response selection (decision making)
response execution

Question 13

stimulus identification

-what happens

Answer 13

receptors transform stimuli into coding impulses

• frequency (or rate) coding
• temporal coding
• population

Question 14

stimulus identification: perception

• what is it
• what are its functions

Answer 14

meaning is assigned to stimuli

• pattern recognition
• stimulus features
• predictive capabilities

Question 15

response selection

-what do you do?

Answer 15

compare choices from existing motor memory stores

Question 16

response execution

• CNS may organize which details
• what is the output

Answer 16

CNS organizes
-muscles to perform the task
-temporal onset of muscle action (relative timing)
-muscle contraction force/duration
output is organized movement response

Question 17

movement preparation takes _____ time

-what do we call this

Answer 17

takes finite time

-reaction time

Question 18

reaction time

-what is it?

Answer 18

most common measure of cognitive performance/information processing with movement

• time period between onset of a signal and initiation of required movement
• signal may be an environmental cue that necessitates movement

Question 19

why use reaction time?

Answer 19

can be used to infer multiple characteristics of movement

• mental processing
• situation recognition - recognition of environmental hazards, interaction with the environment

Question 20

3 aspects of response time (think start of a race)

• what ones are involved in reaction time
• which ones are involved in movement time

Answer 20

"GO" signal
response initiation
response termination
reaction time
-go signal to response initiation
movement time
-response initiation to response termination

Question 21

types of reaction time

Answer 21

simple RT
choice RT
discrimination RT

Question 22

simple RT

-what is it

Answer 22

one signal, one movement

Question 23

choice RT

-what is it

Answer 23

greater than 1 signal, different response for each signal

Question 24

discrimination RT

-what is it

Answer 24

greater than 1 signal, one response

Question 25

which type of RT is the fastest

Answer 25

simple

Question 26

which type of RT is the slowest

Answer 26

choice

Question 27

which type of RT is the hardest

Answer 27

discrimination

Question 28

simple RT: how long does it take for -response selection -efferent processes (from time of sensation)

Answer 28

response selection: 100 ms | efferent processes: 200 ms

Question 29

where can the system of RT break down in patients | -example of each

Answer 29

``` perceiving sensation -lack of peripheral sensation - e.g. diabetic neuropathy -perception of sensation - parietal lobe lesions response selection -brain injury, vestibular lesions response execution -slowed movement - Parkinson's Disease -musculoskeletal pain ```

Question 30

stimulus identification: predictability: fore-period - what it is - RT improves with... - this effect is dependent on...

Answer 30

FT = time between warning signal and GO signal RT improves with -time predictability (optimal fore-period length = 1-4 seconds) -stimulus predictability (foot snap signals, orchestra downbeat) this effect is dependent on attention -if you divert attention between the pre-cue and the signal to move, the benefit of the pre-cue is lost

Question 31

response selection: number of choices - simple vs. choice

Answer 31

RT faster with one simple

Question 32

number of choices: Hick's Law | -what does it say

Answer 32

as the number of decisions increases, RT increases by about 150 ms RT increases nearly linearly as # of stimulus-response choices doubles

Question 33

response execution: accuracy demands

Answer 33

greater accuracy demands require increased required amount of preparation

Question 34

logarithmic speed/accuracy tradeoff | -what are the 3 interacting tradeoffs

Answer 34

how far you have to move how fast you move how accurate you need to be

Question 35

accuracy demands: Fitts' Law - equation - what are the components of the equation

Answer 35

MT = a + b log2(2D/W) - MT = movement time - D = distance moved - W = target size - a and b are constants

Question 36

Fitts' Law | -what are the implications

Answer 36

average movement time increases as movement amplitude increases and target width decreases

Question 37

log2(2D/W) | -what do we call this?

Answer 37

index of difficulty

Question 38

index of difficulty | -applies to...

Answer 38

aiming tasks reaching/grasping piano playing pegs into holes

Question 39

how does Fitts' Law apply to movement preparation?

Answer 39

``` need to prepare movement goal -do I go fast or do I try to be accurate need to select program for ballistic movement need to prepare how to stop -example of putting a key into a keyhole ```

Question 40

speed-accuracy tradeoff | -influence of instruction type

Answer 40

in speed emphasized, movement latency will decrease at the cost of accuracy if accuracy emphasized, latency will increase but accuracy improves

Question 41

performer characteristics influencing movement preparation - age - sleep - physical fitness

Answer 41

age -RT more variable with age -older adults more thorough with response monitoring -older adults tend to attend to one stimulus, ignore another sleep -deprivation causes longer RT and missing stimuli -RT gets longer with mental fatigue (but not muscular fatigue) physical fitness -more fit = faster RT (attributed to increased arousal)

Question 42

effect of distraction on RT

Answer 42

background noise increases RT by inhibiting parts of cerebral cortex

Question 43

multi-tasking - perception of increased productivity when multitasking is _____ - up to 50% of all motor vehicle accidents can be related to...

Answer 43

multitasking is a fallacy | MVAs can be related to driver inattention

Question 44

attention and cell phone use

Answer 44

85% of cell phone owners use while driving | 24% of people in MVAs used cell phone within 10 minutes of accident

Question 45

attention and cell phone use

Answer 45

no significant difference between hand-held and hands-free | accident risk when using cell phone while driving is 5.36x greater than undistracted driver