Motor Learning

Question 1

What is motor control?

Answer 1

The way our neuromuscular system functions to activate and coordinate the muscles and the limbs involved in performing a skill

Question 2

What are our 2 basic forms of Long-term memory?

Answer 2

1. Non-declarative (implicit)
2. Declarative (explicit)

Question 3

What is declarative memory?

Answer 3

things we can consciously recall

Question 4

What is non-declarative memory?

Answer 4

• memory that we subconsciously remember
• shows up in performance and behaviour

Question 5

What are 2 subtypes of non-declarative memory?

Answer 5

1. Motor Memory
2. Procedural Memory

Question 6

What are the steps in Procedural learning?

Answer 6

• Stimulus occurs
• Sensory register stimulus
• Stimulus goes into short-term memory to be rehearsed
• Simulus gets consolidated into long-term memory

Question 7

True or False
If you try to learn skills that are very similar in 5-6 hours each, our brain cannot sort them out

Answer 7

True

Question 8

How do things get consolidated into memory?

Answer 8

through sleep and rehearsal

Question 9

Who will need more neurons firing to do a particular thing, a novice or an expert?

Answer 9

novice

Question 10

During motor learning, which 6 parts of the brain are active?

Answer 10

• Primary motor cortex
• Premotor cortex
• Somatosensory cortex
• Parietal regions
• Striatum
• Cerebellum

Question 11

What are the parietal areas important for?

Answer 11

• Sensing how we are positioned in the space around us
• Attention and seeing

Question 12

Parietal areas send it’s information where?

Answer 12

Lateral pre-motor cortex

Question 13

True or False
Damage to the Cerebellum leads to deficits in motor adaptations, aka cannot adapt to learning motor skills

Answer 13

True

Question 14

Afferents arrive where?

Answer 14

dorsal root ganglia - back door
*sensory info

Question 15

Efferents arrive where?

Answer 15

ventral horns - front
*motor info

Question 16

True or False
Lesioning of the dorsal roots of the spinal cord can prevent learning of new movements, but will not eliminate any well-learned movements

Answer 16

True

Question 17

What is Neural Plasticity?

Answer 17

A continuous change in neural organization and connections

Question 18

What are the 2 ways to cause Plasticity to strengthen a synapse?

Answer 18

1. Increase in neurotransmitters released - during learning
2. Increase the number of receptors on the postsynaptic region

Question 19

What are the structural changes that can cause plasticity?

Answer 19

Form new branches on either pre- or postsynaptic cell, resulting in more surface area

Question 20

Where do we see more structural changes?

Answer 20

In babies

Question 21

What is apoptosis?

Answer 21

Programmed cell death