Problem 7

Question 1

Skill

Answer 1

Refers to an ability that can improve over time through practice

Question 2

Perceptual motor skill

Answer 2

Refer to learned MOVEMENT patterns guided by sensory inputs

• -> depends on physical abilities/dexterity
• -> more likely to be learned implicitly

ex.: dancing, drinking out of a glass

Question 3

Cognitive skill

Answer 3

Refer to skills that require PROBLEM SOLVING or the application of strategies

–> depends on intellectual prowess

ex.: budgeting money, taking tests

Question 4

Skill memories

Answer 4

Are long lasting + can be improved by repeated experiences

• -> can’t always be verbalized
• -> nondeclarative/implicit memories

Question 5

Closed skills

Answer 5

Refers to a skill that involves performing predefined movements that, ideally, never vary

ex.: gymnastics/dance choreography

Question 6

Open skills

Answer 6

Refers to a skill that requires the individual to respond based on predictions about the changing demands of the environment

ex.: soccer players in a soccer match

Question 7

Which comes first ? Cognitive or perceptual-motor skill memory ?

Answer 7

Perceptual motor skill memories provide the foundation for learning cognitive skills

–> many cognitive skills are difficult/impossible to acquire without first learning basic perceptual motor skills

ex.: must learn how to produce speech before able to read

Question 8

Can Nonhumans have cognitive skill memories ?

Answer 8

There is evidence that animals in the wild can teach themselves to use tools

–> this is an ability which often involves perceptual motor + cognitive skills

BUT: Not all animals are equally capable of learning complex cognitive + perceptual motor skills

Question 9

Is Repetition/Practice sufficient to improve performance when it comes to skill learning ?

Answer 9

No, other important factors are

1. Knowledge of results
2. Observational learning
   - -> which overpowers the power law
3. Gradual + spaced training
   - -> takes more time + less effort = better results

Question 10

Knowledge of results

Answer 10

Refers to the FEEDBACK of performance, which is critical to the effectiveness of practice

• -> not all feedback is equally helpful
• -> one must therefore discover which kinds are helpful through trial + error

Question 11

Power law of practice

Answer 11

States that the degree to which a practice trial improves performance diminishes after a certain point

–> learning occurs quickly at first, then slows down

Question 12

Observational learning

Answer 12

By observing one forms memories of the observed performance techniques that one can later use to improve ones own performance

–> overpowers power law of practice

Question 13

Massed practice

Answer 13

Refers to a continuous + concentrated practice of skill

–> produces better performance in SHORT TERM

Question 14

Spaced practice

Answer 14

Refers to practice of a skill that is spread out over several sessions

–> often leads to better retention in the LONG RUN

Question 15

Constant practice

Answer 15

Consists of repeatedly practicing the same skill

–> involves a constrained set of materials + skills

ex.: repeatedly throwing dart at bulls eye under fixed lightening conditions

Question 16

Variable practice

Answer 16

Consist of practicing a skill in a wider variety of conditions

• -> involves more varied materials + skills
• -> leads to better performance in tests

ex.: throwing dart at different numbers under various levels of light

Question 17

Explicit learning

Answer 17

Refers to learning a skill consciously + being able to verbalize how the skills is performed/done

–> creates explicit memories

Question 18

Implicit learning

Answer 18

Refers to learning a skill unconsciously + not able to verbalize these skills

–> creates implicit memories

Question 19

Serial reaction time task

Answer 19

1. Participants are asked to press 1 of 4 keys as soon as a visual cue indicates which key to press
2. After a certain amount of time one begins to get a feel for the repeating SEQUENTIAL patterns
3. Therefore one anticipates which key to press next as reflected by FASTER reaction time

–> used to study implicit skill learning in people

Question 20

Motor programs/

Habits

Answer 20

Refer to sequences of movements that an organism can perform automatically + with minimal attention

• -> either inborn or learned
• -> reflexes can only be inborn !

Question 21

Paul Fitts 3 stages of skill learning

Answer 21

1. Cognitive stage
2. Associative stage
3. Autonomous stage

Question 22

Cognitive stage

Answer 22

The individual has to exert some effort to ENCODE the skill on the basis of info gained through

a) observation
b) instruction
c) trial + error

–> understanding + following instructions

Question 23

Associative stage

Answer 23

The individual begins USING STEREOTYPED ACTIONS when performing a skill + relies less on actively recalled memories

–> remembering + reenacting previously performed actions

Question 24

Autonomous stage

Answer 24

Skills or subcomponents of the skills have become MOTOR PROGRAMS

• -> thinking too much about skill might impair performance
• -> it is now impossible to verbalize them

Question 25

Talent

Answer 25

Refers to a persons genetically endowed ability to perform a skill better than most --> the more practice people have, the more performances differ due to genetic differences

Question 26

Transfer specificity

Answer 26

Refers to the restricted applicability of learned skills to specific situations --> not all learned skills can be applied to every situation

Question 27

Identical elements theory | Thorndike

Answer 27

States that the transfer of learned abilities to novel situations depends on the number of elements in the new situation that are identical to those in the original situation

Question 28

Learning set formation

Answer 28

Acquiring the ability to learn novel tasks rapidly based on frequent experiences with similar tasks --> generalizing learned skills depends on the similarity between the conditions during retrieval + conditions experience while learning the skill ex.: knowing how to a open a door due to previous encounters with doors

Question 29

Skill decay

Answer 29

Refers to a loss of skill because of non-use - -> is like learning the skill in reverse - -> occurs quickly at first then gets slower

Question 30

What will elicit retrieval interference of skills ? Why ?

Answer 30

1. Reviewing a recently learned skill before beginning to practice a new one 2. Practicing 2 skills on the same day --> there is an intimate relationship between skill acquisition + skill recall --> newly acquired memories are fragile

Question 31

Skill learning depends on 3 Brain areas. | Which are those ?

Answer 31

1. Basal ganglia 2. Cerebral cortex 3. Cerebellum --> modulate the control of movements by circuits on a) brain stem b) spinal cord

Question 32

Basal ganglia

Answer 32

1. Are critical to generate motor responses based on environmental cues (Perceptual-motor learning) 2. Controls the speed, amplitude + direction of movements - -> receives input from cortex (environmental cues) - -> sends output to thalamus + brain stem (generating motor responses) => close to hippocampus

Question 33

What does disruption of activity in the basal ganglia lead to ?

Answer 33

Impaired skill learning, as it is a key step --> however memories can still be formed + recalled

Question 34

T maze task

Answer 34

Experiment where the experimenter trains an animal to turn right or left in response to a particular sound cue that the animal hears just before reaching an intersection

Question 35

What kind of neural activity in the basal ganglia did the T maze task reveal ?

Answer 35

Four basic patterns, of neurons firing a) at the BEGINNING b) when the SOUND was broadcasted c) when they did the RESPONSE by turning left or right d) at the END

Question 36

In which way does the neural response patterns in the basal ganglia change during the learning of a perceptual motor skill ? Why does it change?

Answer 36

As learning progresses, there is increased activity in the beginning + end states during the maze task --> suggests that the basal ganglia DEVELOPS A MOTOR PLAN that is initiated at the beginning, then DIRECTS ones MOVEMENTS until the end of the performance

Question 37

What did the weather prediction task reveal ?

Answer 37

That the basal ganglia is also active when one learns cognitive skills

Question 38

Where does cortical expansion occur and why ?

Answer 38

Somatosensory cortex + Motor cortex will expand with practice => in general any cortical networks contributing to performance of a skill are likely to be modified as training improves

Question 39

What is the role of the cerebral cortex in skill learning ?

Answer 39

It is involved in CONTROLLING complex action sequences

Question 40

What is the role of the cerebellum in skill learning ?

Answer 40

1. Most critical for learning + performing movement sequences that require precise TIMING 2. Involved in forming memories of skill learning - -> inputs from spinal cord, sensory systems + cortex - -> outputs to spinal cord + motor systems ex.: dancing, competitive team sports

Question 41

Mirror tracing

Answer 41

Task that requires individuals to trace drawings by looking in a mirror to observe their hand + the figure to be traced, which are otherwise hidden from view - -> used to test perceptual motor skill learning - -> depends on cerebellum

Question 42

Mirror reading

Answer 42

Task that requires individuals to read mirror reversed texts --> cerebellar changes that occur during learning are lateralized (left hem. shows decreased activity, right high activity) --> used to test cognitive skill learning

Question 43

Parkinsons disease

Answer 43

Refers to a disorder resulting from a) disruptions in the normal functioning of the basal ganglia b) progressive deterioration of motor control + perceptual motor skill learning --> results in a reduction in the number of dopaminergic neurons in the SNc, which controls the activity in the basal ganglia

Question 44

Where does the reduction in dopaminergic neurons come from ? (Parkinsons disease)

Answer 44

Neurons in the SNc normally determine the levels of dopamine in the basal ganglia --> as those are gone, dopamine levels are greatly reduced

Question 45

Deep brain stimulation

Answer 45

Refers to a technique where an electrical current is delivered into a patients brain through 1 or more implanted electrodes => alleviates tremors + other motor symptoms

Question 46

How does Deep brain stimulation decrease the negative consequences of Parkinsons disease for skill performance ?

Answer 46

PROBLEM: Without dopamine the interactions between neurons in cortex + basal ganglia become locked into fixed patterns --> disrupts the control of movements SOLUTION: End of electrodes are placed near neurons that connect the basal ganglia neurons with critical circuits --> changes the activity in the basal ganglia

Question 47

Motor Prostheses

Answer 47

Refers to an electromechanical device that can help people recover lost abilities to learn and perform perceptual motor skill --> done by implanting electrodes in a persons NS

Question 48

Stimulus Onset Asynchrony

Answer 48

Difference between stimulus onset + mask --> the less time the harder the task

Question 49

Huntington's Disease

Answer 49

Refers to a gradual loss of motor abilities due to damage in the neurons in BG + Cerebellum --> death of GABA neurons, so inability of controlling/inhibiting movements