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Cienfuegos M, Maycock J, Naceri A, Düsterhus T, Kõiva R, Schack T, Ritter H. Exploring motor skill acquisition in bimanual coordination: insights from navigating a novel maze task. Sci Rep 2024; 14:18887. [PMID: 39143119 PMCID: PMC11324764 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69200-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 08/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024] Open
Abstract
In this study, we introduce a novel maze task designed to investigate naturalistic motor learning in bimanual coordination. We developed and validated an extended set of movement primitives tailored to capture the full spectrum of scenarios encountered in a maze game. Over a 3-day training period, we evaluated participants' performance using these primitives and a custom-developed software, enabling precise quantification of performance. Our methodology integrated the primitives with in-depth kinematic analyses and thorough thumb pressure assessments, charting the trajectory of participants' progression from novice to proficient stages. Results demonstrated consistent improvement in maze performance and significant adaptive changes in joint behaviors and strategic recalibrations in thumb pressure distribution. These findings highlight the central nervous system's adaptability in orchestrating sophisticated motor strategies and the crucial role of tactile feedback in precision tasks. The maze platform and setup emerge as a valuable foundation for future experiments, providing a tool for the exploration of motor learning and coordination dynamics. This research underscores the complexity of bimanual motor learning in naturalistic environments, enhancing our understanding of skill acquisition and task efficiency while emphasizing the necessity for further exploration and deeper investigation into these adaptive mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Cienfuegos
- Neurocognition and Action - Biomechanics Group, Bielefeld University, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | | | - Abdeldjallil Naceri
- Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI), Technical University of Munich, 80992, Munich, Germany
| | - Tobias Düsterhus
- Neuroinformatics Group, Bielefeld University, 33619, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Risto Kõiva
- Neuroinformatics Group, Bielefeld University, 33619, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Thomas Schack
- Neurocognition and Action - Biomechanics Group, Bielefeld University, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Helge Ritter
- Neuroinformatics Group, Bielefeld University, 33619, Bielefeld, Germany
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Buchanan JJ, Cordova A. Spontaneity competes with intention to influence the coordination dynamics of interpersonal performance tendencies. Hum Mov Sci 2024; 93:103160. [PMID: 38000349 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2023.103160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Research has shown that spontaneous visual coupling supports frequency entrainment, phase attraction, and intermittent interpersonal coordination when co-actors are switched from a no-vision (NV) to vision (V) context. In two experiments, co-actors started in a NV context while producing the same or different amplitude movements. The same amplitude resulted in similar self-paced frequencies, while different amplitudes resulted in disparate frequencies. In experiment 1, co-actors were instructed to maintain amplitude while receiving no instructions to coordinate their actions. Frequency and phase entrainment was limited in the V context even when co-actors started the NV context with the same amplitude. In experiment 2, co-actors were instructed to maintain amplitude and intentionally coordinate together, but not at a specific pattern. Significant frequency modulations occurred to maintain amplitude as the co-actors sought to coordinate their actions. With the open-ended instructions, co-actors produced in-phase and anti-phase coordination along with intermittent performance exhibited by shifts between a variety of stable relative phase patterns. The proposed hypotheses and findings are discussed within the context of a shared manifold representation for joint action contexts, with the coordination dynamics expressed by the HKB model of relative phase serving to conceptualization the representations in the shared manifold.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J Buchanan
- Texas A&M University, Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Perception-Action Dynamics Lab, School of Education and Human Development, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
| | - Alberto Cordova
- University of Texas at San Antonio, College for Health, Community and Policy, Department of Kinesiology, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
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Buchanan JJ, Cordova A. Individual goals interact with dyad goals to constrain and facilitate the formation of interpersonal patterns of coordination. Hum Mov Sci 2022; 83:102949. [DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2022.102949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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de Poel HJ, Roerdink M, Peper C(LE, Beek PJ. A Re-Appraisal of the Effect of Amplitude on the Stability of Interlimb Coordination Based on Tightened Normalization Procedures. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10100724. [PMID: 33066054 PMCID: PMC7601379 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10100724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 09/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The stability of rhythmic interlimb coordination is governed by the coupling between limb movements. While it is amply documented how coordinative performance depends on movement frequency, theoretical considerations and recent empirical findings suggest that interlimb coupling (and hence coordinative stability) is actually mediated more by movement amplitude. Here, we present the results of a reanalysis of the data of Post, Peper, and Beek (2000), which were collected in an experiment aimed at teasing apart the effects of frequency and amplitude on coordinative stability of both steady-state and perturbed in-phase and antiphase interlimb coordination. The dataset in question was selected because we found indications that the according results were prone to artifacts, which may have obscured the potential effects of amplitude on the post-perturbation stability of interlimb coordination. We therefore redid the same analysis based on movement signals that were normalized each half-cycle for variations in oscillation center and movement frequency. With this refined analysis we found that (1) stability of both steady-state and perturbed coordination indeed seemed to depend more on amplitude than on movement frequency per se, and that (2) whereas steady-state antiphase coordination became less stable with increasing frequency for prescribed amplitudes, in-phase coordination became more stable at higher frequencies. Such effects may have been obscured in previous studies due to (1) unnoticed changes in performed amplitudes, and/or (2) artifacts related to inappropriate data normalization. The results of the present reanalysis therefore give cause for reconsidering the relation between the frequency, amplitude, and stability of interlimb coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harjo J. de Poel
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), University of Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
- Correspondence:
| | - Melvyn Roerdink
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (M.R.); (C.E.P.); (P.J.B.)
| | - C. (Lieke) E. Peper
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (M.R.); (C.E.P.); (P.J.B.)
| | - Peter J. Beek
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, van der Boechorststraat 7-9, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (M.R.); (C.E.P.); (P.J.B.)
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Brakke K, Pacheco MM. The Development of Bimanual Coordination Across Toddlerhood. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 2020; 84:7-147. [PMID: 31162687 DOI: 10.1111/mono.12405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
As one of the hallmarks of human activity and cultural achievement, bimanual coordination has been the focus of research efforts in multiple fields of inquiry. Since the seminal work of Cohen (1971) and Kelso and colleagues (Haken, Kelso, & Bunz, 1985; Kelso, Southard, & Goodman, 1979), bimanual action has served as a model system used to investigate the role of cortical, perceptual, cognitive, and situational underpinnings of coordinated movement sequences (e.g., Bingham, 2004; Oliveira & Ivry, 2008). This work has been guided primarily by dynamical systems theory in general, and by the formal Haken-Kelso-Bunz (HKB; 1985) model of bimanual coordination, in particular. The HKB model describes the self-organizing relationship between a coordinated movement pattern and the underlying parameters that support that pattern, and can also be used to conceptualize and test predictions of how changes in coordination occur. Much of the work investigating bimanual control under the HKB model has been conducted with adults who are acting over time periods of a few seconds to a few days. However, there are also changes in bimanual control that occur over far longer time spans, including those that emerge across childhood and into adolescence (e.g., Wolff, Kotwica, & Obregon, 1998). Using the formal HKB model as a starting point, we analyzed the ontogenetic emergence of a particular pattern of bimanual coordination, specifically, the anti-phase (or inverse oscillatory motion) coordination pattern between the upper limbs in toddlers who are performing a drumming task (see Brakke, Fragaszy, Simpson, Hoy, & Cummins-Sebree, 2007). This study represents a first attempt to document the emergence of the anti-phase pattern by examining both microgenetic and ontogenetic patterns of change in bimanual activity. We report the results of a longitudinal study in which seven toddlers engaged monthly in a bimanual drumming task from 15 to 27 months of age. On some trials, an adult modeled in-phase or anti-phase action; on other trials, no action was modeled. We documented the motion dynamics accompanying the emergence of the anti-phase bimanual coordination pattern by assessing bout-to-bout and month-to-month changes in several movement parameters-oscillation frequency, amplitude ratio of the drumsticks, initial position of the limbs to begin bouts, and primary arm-joint involvement. These parameters provided a good starting point to understand how toddlers explore movement space in order to achieve greater stability in performing the anti-phase coordination pattern. Trained research assistants used Motus software to isolate each bout of drumming and to digitize the movement of the two drumstick heads relative to the stationary drum surface. Because we were primarily interested in the vertical movement of the drumsticks that were held in the child's hands, we relied on two-dimensional analyses and analyzed data that were tracked by a single camera. We used linear mixed effects analyses as well as qualitative analyses for each participant to help elucidate the emergence and stability of the child's use of anti-phase coordination. This approach facilitated descriptions of individual pathways of behavior that are possible only with longitudinal designs such as the one used here. Our analyses indicated that toddlers who were learning to produce anti-phase motion in this context employed a variety of strategies to adjust the topography of their action. Specifically, as we hypothesized, toddlers differentially exploited oscillation frequency and movement amplitude to support change to anti-phase action, which briefly appeared as early as 15 months of age but did not become relatively stable until approximately 20 months of age. We found evidence that many toddlers reduced oscillation frequency before transitioning from in-phase to anti-phase drumming. Toddlers also used different means of momentarily modulating the amplitude ratio between limbs to allow a change in coordination from in-phase to anti-phase. Nevertheless, these oscillation-frequency and amplitude-ratio strategies were interspersed by periods of nonsystematic exploration both within and between bouts of practice. We also observed that toddlers sometimes changed their initial limb positions to start a bout or altered which primary arm joints they used when drumming. When they enacted these changes, the toddlers increased performance of the anti-phase coordination pattern in their drumming. However, we found no evidence of systematic exploration with these changes in limb position and joint employment, suggesting that the toddlers did not intentionally employ these strategies to improve their performance on the task. Although bimanual drumming represents a highly specific behavior, our examination of the mechanisms underlying emergence of the anti-phase coordination pattern in this context is one of the missing pieces needed to understand the development of motor coordination more broadly. Our results document that the anti-phase coordination pattern emerges and stabilizes through modulation of the dynamics of the movement and change of the attractor landscape (i.e., the motor repertoire). Consistent with literatures in motor control, motor learning, and skill development, our results suggest that the acquisition of movements in ontogenetic development can be thought of as exploration of the emergent dynamics of perception and action. This conclusion is commensurate with a systemic approach to motor development in which functional dynamics, rather than specific structures, provide the basis for understanding developmental changes in skill. Based on our results as well as the relevant previous empirical literature, we present a conceptual model that incorporates developmental dynamics into the HKB model. This conceptual model calls for new investigations using a dynamical systems approach that allows direct control of movement parameters, and that builds on the methods and phenomena that we have described in the current work.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matheus M Pacheco
- Motor Behavior Laboratory (LACOM), School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, Brazil
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Kovacs AJ, Wang Y, Kennedy DM. Accessing interpersonal and intrapersonal coordination dynamics. Exp Brain Res 2019; 238:17-27. [PMID: 31754737 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05676-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Both intrapersonal and interpersonal coordination dynamics have traditionally been investigated using relative phase patterns of in-phase (ϕ = 0°) and/or anti-phase (ϕ = 180°). Numerous investigations have demonstrated that coordination tasks that require other relative phase patterns (e.g., 90°) are difficult or near impossible to perform without extended practice. Recent findings, however, have demonstrated that an individual can produce a wide range of intrapersonal bimanual patterns within a few minutes of practice when provided integrated feedback. The present experiment was designed to directly compare intra- and interpersonal coordination performance and variability when provided Lissajous feedback or pacing metronome. Single participants (N = 12) and pairs of participants (N = 24, 12 pairs) were required to produce relative phase patterns between 0° and 180° in 30° increments using either pacing metronomes or Lissajous displays. The Lissajous displays involved a goal template and a cursor providing integrated feedback regarding the position of the two effectors. The results indicated both single and pairs of participants could effectively produce a large range of coordination patterns that typically act as repellers after only 6 min of practice when provided integrated feedback. However, single participants performed the in-phase coordination pattern more accurately and with less variability than paired participants, regardless of the feedback condition. These results suggest an advantage for intrapersonal coordination when performing in-phase coordination, possibly due to the stabilizing effect occurring via the neuro-muscular linkage between effectors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yiyu Wang
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77802, USA
| | - Deanna M Kennedy
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77802, USA.
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7
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Bimanual coordination patterns are stabilized under monitoring-pressure. Exp Brain Res 2017; 235:1909-1918. [PMID: 28315944 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-016-4869-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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8
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Abramovich TI, Gorkovenro AV, Vereshchaka IV, Tal’nov AN, Mishchenko VS, Kostyukov AI. Peculiarities of Activation of Human Muscles in Realization of Cyclic Bimanual Movements with Different Organization of the Cycles. NEUROPHYSIOLOGY+ 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11062-016-9566-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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9
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Perception and action influences on discrete and reciprocal bimanual coordination. Psychon Bull Rev 2015; 23:361-86. [DOI: 10.3758/s13423-015-0915-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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10
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Bank P, Peper C, Marinus J, van Hilten J, Beek P. Intended and unintended (sensory-)motor coupling between the affected and unaffected upper limb in complex regional pain syndrome. Eur J Pain 2015; 19:1021-34. [DOI: 10.1002/ejp.668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- P.J.M. Bank
- Department of Neurology; Leiden University Medical Center; The Netherlands
- MOVE Research Institute; Faculty of Human Movement Sciences; VU University Amsterdam; The Netherlands
| | - C.E. Peper
- MOVE Research Institute; Faculty of Human Movement Sciences; VU University Amsterdam; The Netherlands
| | - J. Marinus
- Department of Neurology; Leiden University Medical Center; The Netherlands
| | - J.J. van Hilten
- Department of Neurology; Leiden University Medical Center; The Netherlands
| | - P.J. Beek
- MOVE Research Institute; Faculty of Human Movement Sciences; VU University Amsterdam; The Netherlands
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11
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Kennedy DM, Boyle JB, Wang C, Shea CH. Bimanual force control: cooperation and interference? PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2014; 80:34-54. [PMID: 25481636 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-014-0637-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2014] [Accepted: 12/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Three experiments were designed to determine the level of cooperation or interference observed from the forces generated in one limb on the forces exhibited by the contralateral limb when one or both limbs were producing a constant force (Experiment 1), one limb was producing a dynamic force while the other limb was producing a constant force (Experiment 2), and both limbs were producing dynamic force patterns (Experiment 3). The results for both Experiments 1 and 2 showed relatively strong positive time series cross correlations between the left and right limb forces indicating increases or decreases in the forces generated by one limb resulted in corresponding changes in the forces produced by the homologous muscles of the contralateral limb. Experiment 3 required participants to coordinate 1:1 and 1:2 rhythmical bimanual force production tasks when provided Lissajous feedback. The results indicated very effective performance of both bimanual coordination patterns. However, identifiable influences of right limb forces on the left limb force time series were observed in the 1:2 coordination pattern but not in the 1:1 pattern. The results of all three experiments support the notion that neural crosstalk is partially responsible for the stabilities and instabilities associated with bimanual coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deanna M Kennedy
- Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Jason B Boyle
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79902, USA
| | - Chaoyi Wang
- Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
| | - Charles H Shea
- Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA.
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Washburn A, Coey CA, Romero V, Richardson MJ. Visual multifrequency entrainment: can 1:2, 2:3, and 3:4 coordination occur spontaneously? J Mot Behav 2014; 46:247-57. [PMID: 24731065 DOI: 10.1080/00222895.2014.893980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Complex patterns of interlimb coordination, such as multifrequency relationships of 1:2, 2:3, or 3:4, are difficult to perform intentionally without extensive practice. The current study investigated whether these patterns might nonetheless occur spontaneously given an appropriate balance between the movement frequencies, or oscillatory periods, of an individual's movements and a visual-environmental stimulus. In order to test this, participants swung a fixed-period wrist-pendulum while observing an oscillating computer-generated stimulus. Results indicated that at given differences in period, 1:2, 2:3, and 3:4 coordination patterns emerged between the participant and stimulus. This suggests that large period differences do not altogether prevent the emergence of rhythmic visuomotor coordination, but instead provide the opportunity for complex patterns of coordination to emerge spontaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Auriel Washburn
- a Center for Cognition, Action and Perception, Department of Psychology , University of Cincinnati , Ohio
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13
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Flexibility in the control of rapid aiming actions. Exp Brain Res 2013; 229:47-60. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-013-3589-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2012] [Accepted: 05/19/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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