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Pagano M, Danese F, Casadio M, Ranganathan R. Prior coordination solutions shape motor learning and transfer in redundant tasks. Neuroscience 2024; 560:158-166. [PMID: 39284437 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.09.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 09/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024]
Abstract
Motor learning does not occur on a 'blank slate', but in the context of prior coordination solutions. The role of prior coordination solutions is likely critical in redundant tasks where there are multiple solutions to achieve the task goal - yet their influence on subsequent learning is currently not well understood. Here we addressed this issue by having human participants learn a redundant virtual shuffleboard task, where they held a bimanual manipulandum and made a discrete throwing motion to slide a virtual puck towards a target. The task was redundant because the distance traveled by the puck was determined by the sum of the left- and right-hand speeds at the time of release. On the first day, 37 participants in different groups practiced symmetric or asymmetric solutions. On the second day, all participants transferred to a common criterion task, which required an asymmetric solution. Results showed that: (i) the symmetry of the practiced solution affected motor variability during practice, with more asymmetric solutions showing higher exploration of the null space, (ii) when transferring to the common criterion task, participants in the symmetric group showed much higher null space exploration, and (iii) when no constraints were placed on the solution, participants tended to return to the symmetric solution regardless of the solution originally practiced. Overall, these results suggest that the stability of prior coordination solutions plays an important role in shaping learning in redundant motor tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Pagano
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Federica Danese
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Maura Casadio
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering, University of Genova, Genova, Italy; RAISE Ecosystem, Genova, Italy
| | - Rajiv Ranganathan
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Deparment of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
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2
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Jensen RD, Brydges R, Grierson L. Re-examining the integration of routine and adaptive expertise: there is no such thing as routine from a motor control perspective. ADVANCES IN HEALTH SCIENCES EDUCATION : THEORY AND PRACTICE 2022; 27:1283-1291. [PMID: 36417040 DOI: 10.1007/s10459-022-10163-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The study of adaptive expertise in health professions education has focused almost exclusively on cognitive skills, largely ignoring the processes of adaptation in the performance of precision technical skills. We present a focused review of literature to argue that repetitive practice is much less repetitive than often perceived. Our main thesis is that all skilled movement reflects components of adaptive expertise. Through an overview of perspectives from the field of motor control and learning, we emphasize the interplay between the inherent noisiness of the human motor architecture and the stability of motor skill performances. Ultimately, we challenge the very idea of routine. Our goal is threefold: to reconcile common misconceptions about the rote nature of routine precision skill performance, to offer educators principles to enhance adaptive expertise as an outcome of precision skill training, and to expand the conversation between 'routine' and 'adaptive' forms of expertise in health professions education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rune Dall Jensen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus N, Denmark.
- Corporate HR, MidtSim, Central Denmark Region, Denmark.
| | - Ryan Brydges
- Professorship in Technology-Enabled Education, Allan Waters Family Simulation Centre, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- The Wilson Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Lawrence Grierson
- Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
- McMaster Education Research, Innovation, and Theory (MERIT) Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
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3
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Kamat A, Makled B, Norfleet J, Schwaitzberg SD, Intes X, De S, Dutta A. Directed information flow during laparoscopic surgical skill acquisition dissociated skill level and medical simulation technology. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2022; 7:19. [PMID: 36008451 PMCID: PMC9411170 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-022-00138-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) simulator has emerged as a laparoscopic surgical skill training tool that needs validation using brain-behavior analysis. Therefore, brain network and skilled behavior relationship were evaluated using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) from seven experienced right-handed surgeons and six right-handed medical students during the performance of Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) pattern of cutting tasks in a physical and a VR simulator. Multiple regression and path analysis (MRPA) found that the FLS performance score was statistically significantly related to the interregional directed functional connectivity from the right prefrontal cortex to the supplementary motor area with F (2, 114) = 9, p < 0.001, and R2 = 0.136. Additionally, a two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) found a statistically significant effect of the simulator technology on the interregional directed functional connectivity from the right prefrontal cortex to the left primary motor cortex (F (1, 15) = 6.002, p = 0.027; partial η2 = 0.286) that can be related to differential right-lateralized executive control of attention. Then, MRPA found that the coefficient of variation (CoV) of the FLS performance score was statistically significantly associated with the CoV of the interregionally directed functional connectivity from the right primary motor cortex to the left primary motor cortex and the left primary motor cortex to the left prefrontal cortex with F (2, 22) = 3.912, p = 0.035, and R2 = 0.262. This highlighted the importance of the efference copy information from the motor cortices to the prefrontal cortex for postulated left-lateralized perceptual decision-making to reduce behavioral variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anil Kamat
- Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Basiel Makled
- US Army Futures Command, Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center STTC, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Jack Norfleet
- US Army Futures Command, Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center STTC, Orlando, FL, USA
| | | | - Xavier Intes
- Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Suvranu De
- Center for Modeling, Simulation and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Anirban Dutta
- Neuroengineering and Informatics for Rehabilitation Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
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4
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Ranganathan R, Lin M, Carey S, Lokesh R, Lee MH, Krishnan C. Motor Variability Prior to Learning does not Facilitate the Ability to Adopt new Movement Solutions. Neuroscience 2021; 479:157-168. [PMID: 34718076 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2021.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Many contexts in motor learning require a learner to change from an existing movement solution to a novel movement solution to perform the same task. Recent evidence has pointed to motor variability prior to learning as a potential marker for predicting individual differences in motor learning. However, it is not known if this variability is predictive of the ability to adopt a new movement solution for the same task. Here, we examined this question in the context of a redundant precision task requiring control of motor variability. Fifty young adults learned a precision task that involved throwing a virtual puck toward a target using both hands. Because the speed of the puck depended on the sum of speeds of both hands, this task could be achieved using multiple solutions. Participants initially performed a baseline task where there was no constraint on the movement solution, and then performed a novel task where they were constrained to adopt a specific movement solution requiring asymmetric left and right hand speeds. Results showed that participants were able to learn the new solution, and this change was associated with changes in both the amount and structure of variability. However, increased baseline motor variability did not facilitate initial or final task performance when using the new solution - in fact, greater variability was associated with higher errors. These results suggest that motor variability is not necessarily indicative of flexibility and highlight the role of the task context in determining the relation between motor variability and learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajiv Ranganathan
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Marco Lin
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Samuel Carey
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Rakshith Lokesh
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Mei-Hua Lee
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Chandramouli Krishnan
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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5
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Pacheco MM, Santos FG, Tani G. Searching Strategies in Practice: The Role of Stability in the Performer-Task Interaction. ECOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/10407413.2021.1942877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matheus M. Pacheco
- School of Physical Education and Sport at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo
- Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Group KU Leuven
| | | | - Go Tani
- School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo
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6
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Ranganathan R, Lee MH, Newell KM. Repetition Without Repetition: Challenges in Understanding Behavioral Flexibility in Motor Skill. Front Psychol 2020; 11:2018. [PMID: 32903689 PMCID: PMC7438768 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A hallmark of skilled motor performance is behavioral flexibility - i.e., experts can not only produce a movement pattern to reliably and efficiently achieve a given task outcome, but also possess the ability to change that movement pattern to fit a new context. In this perspective article, we briefly highlight the factors that are critical to understanding behavioral flexibility, and its connection to movement variability, stability, and learning. We then address how practice strategies should be developed from a motor learning standpoint to enhance behavioral flexibility. Finally, we highlight some important future avenues of work that are needed to advance our understanding of behavioral flexibility. We use examples from sport as a context to highlight these issues, especially in regard to elite performance and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajiv Ranganathan
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Mei-Hua Lee
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Karl M. Newell
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
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7
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Levac DE, Huber ME, Sternad D. Learning and transfer of complex motor skills in virtual reality: a perspective review. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2019; 16:121. [PMID: 31627755 PMCID: PMC6798491 DOI: 10.1186/s12984-019-0587-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of more effective rehabilitative interventions requires a better understanding of how humans learn and transfer motor skills in real-world contexts. Presently, clinicians design interventions to promote skill learning by relying on evidence from experimental paradigms involving simple tasks, such as reaching for a target. While these tasks facilitate stringent hypothesis testing in laboratory settings, the results may not shed light on performance of more complex real-world skills. In this perspective, we argue that virtual environments (VEs) are flexible, novel platforms to evaluate learning and transfer of complex skills without sacrificing experimental control. Specifically, VEs use models of real-life tasks that afford controlled experimental manipulations to measure and guide behavior with a precision that exceeds the capabilities of physical environments. This paper reviews recent insights from VE paradigms on motor learning into two pressing challenges in rehabilitation research: 1) Which training strategies in VEs promote complex skill learning? and 2) How can transfer of learning from virtual to real environments be enhanced? Defining complex skills by having nested redundancies, we outline findings on the role of movement variability in complex skill acquisition and discuss how VEs can provide novel forms of guidance to enhance learning. We review the evidence for skill transfer from virtual to real environments in typically developing and neurologically-impaired populations with a view to understanding how differences in sensory-motor information may influence learning strategies. We provide actionable suggestions for practicing clinicians and outline broad areas where more research is required. Finally, we conclude that VEs present distinctive experimental platforms to understand complex skill learning that should enable transfer from therapeutic practice to the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle E Levac
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, 407c Robinson Hall, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Meghan E Huber
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Bldg 3, Rm 143, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Dagmar Sternad
- Biology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Physics, Northeastern University, 503 Richards Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
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Słowiński P, Baldemir H, Wood G, Alizadehkhaiyat O, Coyles G, Vine S, Williams G, Tsaneva-Atanasova K, Wilson M. Gaze training supports self-organization of movement coordination in children with developmental coordination disorder. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1712. [PMID: 30737438 PMCID: PMC6368583 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-38204-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) struggle with the acquisition of coordinated motor skills. This paper adopts a dynamical systems perspective to assess how individual coordination solutions might emerge following an intervention that trained accurate gaze control in a throw and catch task. Kinematic data were collected from six upper body sensors from twenty-one children with DCD, using a 3D motion analysis system, before and after a 4-week training intervention. Covariance matrices between kinematic measures were computed and distances between pairs of covariance matrices calculated using Riemannian geometry. Multidimensional scaling was then used to analyse differences between coordination patterns. The gaze trained group revealed significantly higher total coordination (sum of all the pairwise covariances) following training than a technique-trained control group. While the increase in total coordination also significantly predicted improvement in task performance, the distinct post-intervention coordination patterns for the gaze trained group were not consistent. Additionally, the gaze trained group revealed individual coordination patterns for successful catch attempts that were different from all the coordination patterns before training, whereas the control group did not. Taken together, the results of this interdisciplinary study illustrate how gaze training may encourage the emergence of coordination via self-organization in children with DCD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Słowiński
- College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
- Translational Research Exchange @ Exeter, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
| | - Harun Baldemir
- College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
| | - Greg Wood
- Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK
- School of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, L16 9JD, UK
| | | | - Ginny Coyles
- School of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, L16 9JD, UK
| | - Samuel Vine
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Genevieve Williams
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova
- College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
- EPSRC Centre for Predictive Modelling in Healthcare, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QJ, UK
| | - Mark Wilson
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK.
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9
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Variability in coordination patterns in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Hum Mov Sci 2018; 60:202-213. [PMID: 29957424 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2018.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2018] [Revised: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
High motor variability is an often-found characteristic of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Still, the role of high motor variability in DCD needs further examination. This study focused on variability in coordination patterns, which is essential considering that DCD is a coordination disorder. We examined variability in coordination patterns of the arm over repetitions of trials in goal-directed reaching movements. This variability was partitioned into variability that does not affect the index fingertip position (Vucm) and variability that does affect the index fingertip position (Vort). This study aimed to increase the understanding of motor variability in DCD by comparing Vucm and Vort between children with DCD and typically developing (TD) children in a goal-directed reaching task. Twenty-two children (eleven with DCD) ages 6-11 performed 30 reaching movements. The Uncontrolled Manifold method was used to quantify Vucm and Vort. Results showed that children with DCD had more Vucm than TD children while Vort was similar between groups, showing that coordination patterns in children with DCD are more variable, but interestingly, this higher variability does not affect performance. This study indicates that high motor variability in DCD is not necessarily negative. Possible roles of motor variability in DCD are discussed.
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10
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Pacheco MM, Newell KM. Transfer of a learned coordination function: Specific, individual and generalizable. Hum Mov Sci 2018; 59:66-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2018.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Revised: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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11
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Cardis M, Casadio M, Ranganathan R. High variability impairs motor learning regardless of whether it affects task performance. J Neurophysiol 2018; 119:39-48. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00158.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Motor variability plays an important role in motor learning, although the exact mechanisms of how variability affects learning are not well understood. Recent evidence suggests that motor variability may have different effects on learning in redundant tasks, depending on whether it is present in the task space (where it affects task performance) or in the null space (where it has no effect on task performance). We examined the effect of directly introducing null and task space variability using a manipulandum during the learning of a motor task. Participants learned a bimanual shuffleboard task for 2 days, where their goal was to slide a virtual puck as close as possible toward a target. Critically, the distance traveled by the puck was determined by the sum of the left- and right-hand velocities, which meant that there was redundancy in the task. Participants were divided into five groups, based on both the dimension in which the variability was introduced and the amount of variability that was introduced during training. Results showed that although all groups were able to reduce error with practice, learning was affected more by the amount of variability introduced rather than the dimension in which variability was introduced. Specifically, groups with higher movement variability during practice showed larger errors at the end of practice compared with groups that had low variability during learning. These results suggest that although introducing variability can increase exploration of new solutions, this may adversely affect the ability to retain the learned solution.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We examined the role of introducing variability during motor learning in a redundant task. The presence of redundancy allows variability to be introduced in different dimensions: the task space (where it affects task performance) or the null space (where it does not affect task performance). We found that introducing variability affected learning adversely, but the amount of variability was more critical than the dimension in which variability was introduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Cardis
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Maura Casadio
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Rajiv Ranganathan
- Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
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12
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Taheri H, Fazeli D, Poureghbali S. The Effect of Variability of Practice at Execution Redundancy Level in Skilled and Novice Basketball Players. Percept Mot Skills 2017; 124:491-501. [PMID: 28361655 DOI: 10.1177/0031512516684078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the effect of practice variability through execution redundancy in skilled and novice basketball players on free throw skills. Twelve skilled basketball players and 12 novices (mean age = 25.4 years, SD = 4.3) were divided into four groups (skilled constant, skilled variable, novice constant, and novice variable). After a pretest, participants practiced free throw action. The variable groups threw the ball over an obstacle of varying heights on each trial in random order, whereas the obstacle's height was fixed for the constant groups. After 7 and 14 consecutive days of practice, participants performed two posttests with constant and variable distances from the basket. The results showed that practicing different solutions of a task did not affect the performance of skilled players but had an immediate negative effect on the performance of novice players. Learning a complex task is the result of learning task-related parameters, and practice variability can create a mismatch between task difficulty and new learner skill levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamidreza Taheri
- 1 Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran
| | - Davoud Fazeli
- 1 Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran
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13
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14
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Pacheco MM, Newell KM. Transfer as a function of exploration and stabilization in original practice. Hum Mov Sci 2015; 44:258-69. [PMID: 26415094 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2015.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2014] [Revised: 09/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The identification of practice conditions that provide flexibility to perform successfully in transfer is a long-standing issue in motor learning but is still not well understood. Here we investigated the hypothesis that a search strategy that encompasses both exploration and stabilization of the perceptual-motor workspace will enhance performance in transfer. Twenty-two participants practiced a virtual projection task (120 trials on each of 3 days) and subsequently performed two transfer conditions (20 trials/condition) with different constraints in the angle to project the object. The findings revealed a quadratic relation between exploration in practice (indexed by autocorrelation and distribution of error) and subsequent performance error in transfer. The integration of exploration and stabilization of the perceptual-motor workspace enhances transfer to tasks with different constraints on the scaling of motor output.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus M Pacheco
- Motor Behavior Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, The University of Georgia, 339 Ramsey Center, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
| | - Karl M Newell
- Motor Behavior Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, The University of Georgia, 339 Ramsey Center, Athens, GA 30602, United States
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15
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Wu YH, Truglio TS, Zatsiorsky VM, Latash ML. Learning to Combine High Variability With High Precision: Lack of Transfer to a Different Task. J Mot Behav 2014; 47:153-65. [DOI: 10.1080/00222895.2014.961892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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16
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Seifert L, Komar J, Crettenand F, Millet G. Coordination pattern adaptability: energy cost of degenerate behaviors. PLoS One 2014; 9:e107839. [PMID: 25255016 PMCID: PMC4177880 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2014] [Accepted: 08/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated behavioral adaptability, which could be defined as a blend between stability and flexibility of the limbs movement and their inter-limb coordination, when individuals received informational constraints. Seven expert breaststroke swimmers performed three 200-m in breaststroke at constant submaximal intensity. Each trial was performed randomly in a different coordination pattern: 'freely-chosen', 'maximal glide' and 'minimal glide'. Two underwater and four aerial cameras enabled 3D movement analysis in order to assess elbow and knee angles, elbow-knee pair coordination, intra-cyclic velocity variations of the center of mass, stroke rate and stroke length and inter-limb coordination. The energy cost of locomotion was calculated from gas exchanges and blood lactate concentration. The results showed significantly higher glide, intra-cyclic velocity variations and energy cost under 'maximal glide' compared to 'freely-chosen' instructional conditions, as well as higher reorganization of limb movement and inter-limb coordination (p<0.05). In the 'minimal glide' condition, the swimmers did not show significantly shorter glide and lower energy cost, but they exhibited significantly lower deceleration of the center of mass, as well as modified limb movement and inter-limb coordination (p<0.05). These results highlight that a variety of structural adaptations can functionally satisfy the task-goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Seifert
- Centre d'Etude des Transformations des Activités Physiques et Sportives (CETAPS) - EA 3832, University of Rouen, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Mont Saint Aignan, France
| | - John Komar
- Centre d'Etude des Transformations des Activités Physiques et Sportives (CETAPS) - EA 3832, University of Rouen, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Mont Saint Aignan, France
| | - Florent Crettenand
- ISSUL Institute of Sport Sciences - Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Grégoire Millet
- ISSUL Institute of Sport Sciences - Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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17
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King AC, Newell KM. The learning of isometric force time scales is differentially influenced by constant and variable practice. Exp Brain Res 2013; 227:149-59. [PMID: 23625075 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-013-3446-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2012] [Accepted: 02/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This experiment was set up to investigate the influence of constant and variable practice on performance accuracy and the time- and frequency-dependent structure of the force output dynamics in the learning of an irregular isometric force pattern. Traditional approaches to the variability of practice hypothesis have demonstrated benefits of task-induced variability at the outcome level of behavior, but there have been limited investigations of the effect of practice conditions on movement execution and particularly the multiple time scale processes of force output. During the practice phase, variability was induced along the force-time dimension of the target pattern for the variable practice condition (different wave forms), but the wave forms exhibited the same distributional properties of the frequency content (1/f noise: β = -1.5) as the constant practice condition. The results showed that both practice conditions exhibited similar reductions in task error as a function of practice. However, constant practice produced greater changes in the time- and frequency-dependent properties of force output than variable practice, including a higher relative change in the contribution from faster (4-12 Hz) time scale mechanisms. Generalization tests to novel target patterns revealed that the task dynamics had a greater influence than the effect of practice conditions. Collectively, the findings support the adaptive nature of force output structure and the perspective that practice conditions can produce differential effects on the outcome and execution levels of motor behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam C King
- Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, 23 Rec Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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Hu X, Newell KM. Modeling constraints to redundancy in bimanual force coordination. J Neurophysiol 2011; 105:2169-80. [PMID: 21346203 DOI: 10.1152/jn.01086.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the interactive influence of organismic, environmental, and task constraints on the organization of redundant force coordination patterns and the hypothesis that each of the three categories of constraints is weighted based on their relative influence on coordination patterns and the realization of the task goal. In the bimanual isometric force experiment, the task constraint was manipulated via different coefficients imposed on the finger forces such that the weighted sum of the finger forces matched the target force. We examined three models of task constraints based on the criteria of task variance (minimum variance model) and efficiency of muscle force output (coefficient-independent and coefficient-dependent efficiency models). The environmental constraint was quantified by the perceived performance error, and the organismic constraint was quantified by the bilateral coupling effect (i.e., symmetric force production) between hands. The satisficing approach was used in the models to quantify the constraint weightings that reflect the interactive influence of different categories of constraints on force coordination. The findings showed that the coefficient-dependent efficiency model best predicted the redundant force coordination patterns across trials. However, the within-trial variability structure revealed that there was not a consistent coordination strategy in the online control of the individual trial. The experimental findings and model tests show that the force coordination patterns are adapted based on the principle of minimizing muscle force output that is coefficient dependent rather than on the principle of minimizing signal-dependent variance. Overall, the results support the proposition that redundant force coordination patterns are organized by the interactive influence of different categories of constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaogang Hu
- Departmetn of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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Ranganathan R, Newell KM. Motor Learning through Induced Variability at the Task Goal and Execution Redundancy Levels. J Mot Behav 2010; 42:307-16. [DOI: 10.1080/00222895.2010.510542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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