Motor Learning Definitions Quiz

Defining and Assessing Learning

• Motor learning: Internal processes associated with practice, leading to relatively permanent changes in movement capability.
• Performance: Executing a skill at a specific time and in a specific situation.
• Improvement: Skill level is higher than in previous attempts.
• Consistency: Performance characteristics become more similar from one attempt to another.
• Stability: Performing the same skill in different contexts/environments, handling influences on performance.
• Adaptability: Skillfully performing a skill in changed circumstances, transferring knowledge to other situations.
• Persistence: Improved skill capability lasts a long time.
• Quick learner: Rapid improvement in performance.
• Normal learner: Slower improvement, eventually higher performance.
• Latent learning: Performance doesn't change, but learning still occurs.
• Retention test: Assessment of learning after a period of no practice.
• Transfer test: Assessing learning's generalization to different contexts.
• Retention test with a retention interval: Test after sufficient time between practice and assessment.

Sensory Contributions

• Exteroceptive: Information from outside the body (environment).
• Proprioceptive: Information from within the body (body parts' state relative to each other and the environment).
• Intrinsic feedback: Naturally available sensory information.
• Augmented feedback: Information not normally available.
• Tactile receptors: Merkel cells (slow-adapting), Meissner's corpuscles (fast-adapting), Pacinian corpuscles (fast-adapting), Ruffini corpuscles (slow-adapting).
• Visual receptors: M-pathway (visual control of action); P-pathway (object recognition).
• Optical Array: Information from light rays entering the eyes at specific angles.
• Optical flow: Changes in optical array information, providing movement information about a surrounding environment.
• Vestibular/audition receptors: Information about movements or orientation.
• Proprioceptive Receptors: Muscle spindles (rate of change in muscle length), Golgi tendon organs (tension), Joint receptors (Sensory information about joint position).

Motor Programs

• Generalized Motor Program (GMP): Set of parameters (e.g., force, angle) specified before a trial.
• Rapid movements: Organized and fast sequences of muscle movements.
• Response-chaining hypothesis: First muscle contraction requires more attention than subsequent contractions in a chain of movements.
• Drum theory: Sensory experience leaves an imprint.
• Reaction time: Time between a signal and completing an action.
• Open-Loop control system: Execution without modification and no feedback (e.g. traffic signals).
• Closed-Loop control system: Feedback loop continues until desired state is met (e.g. holding cup).
• Novelty problem: Difficulty creating new motor plans.
• Storage problem: Concern about how many motor plans the memory can hold.
• Invariant features: GMP characteristics remaining the same.
• Parameters: Characteristics of GMP that change and affect execution.
• Surface Features: Changes allowed by GMP parameters.
• Deep Features: GMP characteristics not subject to change.
• Motor Program: a set rule or plan of movements, before a skill trial.

Conditions of Practice

• Law of practice: Initial improvement is steep, followed by gradual lessening.
• Power Law of practice: Improvement is related to practice hours logged.
• Deliberate Practice: Activities designed to improve performance, effortful.
• Off-task practice: Learning when not actively engaged in the skill.
• On-task Practice: Learning when actively engaged in the skill.
• Part Practice: Separate drills for each part of a skill.
• Guidance: Assistance provided during skill execution.
• Variability of practice: Training in different contexts, and with variations.
• Contextual Interference: Multiple tasks influence each other; practice with multiple skills.
• Elaborative/Distinctive hypothesis: Comparing and contrasting tasks when learning.
• Forgetting-Reconstruction Hypothesis: Learning task A and then Task B requires "forgetting" task A
• Working memory: Short-term storage.
• Blocked Practice: Completing all trials of one task before moving on.
• Random Practice: Mixing practice order of tasks.
• Perceptual Learning: Skill improvement from demonstrations or observation.

Augmented Feedback

• Augmented Feedback: Additional information about the action, supporting natural feedback.
• Concurrent feedback: Provided during performance.
• Terminal feedback: Provided after performance.
• Immediate feedback: Provided immediately after performance.
• Verbal feedback: Spoken.
• Delayed feedback: Provided after a delay.
• Knowledge of Result (KR): Information about the outcome of the movement.
• Knowledge of Performance (KP): Information about the execution of the movement.
• Bandwidth KR: Errors tolerance levels for feedback.
• Temporal locus of KR: Timing of KR.
• Video feedback: Visual review of movement.
• Kinematic feedback: Measurement of movement (position, time, velocity).
• Biofeedback: Feedback about bodily functions.
• Kinetic feedback: Descriptors of forces.

Mental Practice

• Mental practice: Cognitive rehearsal without physical movement.
• Imagery: Visual and kinesthetic mental representations of actions.
• Aphantasia: Inability to form mental images.
• Motivational imagery: Mental images for goals and motivation.
• Cognitive imagery: Represents different skills and strategies.
• Neuromuscular hypothesis: Mental imagery influences neuromuscular activity similarly to physical movement.
• Cognitive hypothesis: Cognitive aspects of a task are mentally rehearsed before its physical execution.
• Internal Imagery: Individual experiences the sensation of executing the movement physically.
• External Imagery: Individual views themselves performing the movement from an outside perspective.
• Kinesthetic Imagery: Feeling the movement being performed.

Amount & Distribution of Practice

• Overlearning: Continuing practice beyond achieving the goal.
• Procedural Skills: Skills well suited for overlearning.
• Distribution of Practice: Amount of rest between practice trials.
• Massed practice: Short rest intervals.
• Distributed practice: Long rest intervals.
• Memory Consolidation: Process of long-term memory storage.
• Continuous skills: Skills involving a continuous sequence of movements.
• Discrete skills: Skills with distinct beginning and end points.
• Overlearning: Continuing practice beyond achieving the goal.

Test your knowledge on the essential concepts of motor learning through this quiz. Explore topics such as adaptability, retention tests, and the role of feedback in skill acquisition. Perfect for students or enthusiasts interested in understanding the dynamics of motor skills.