Specific movement exercises improve intermanual transfer of sensorimotor adaptation

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Specific movement exercises improve intermanual transfer of sensorimotor adaptation Monika Thomas1* 1 German Sport University Cologne, Germany Studies have shown that physical activity has a beneficial effect on motor performance. However, it is still unclear which functions are affected, and why. It also remains unknown what type of physical training is best suitable: previous studies concentrated on aerobic exercise. The present study focuses on coordinative aspects of movements which might enhance the functional integration of the right and left brain hemisphere. Based on Taylor and Heilman`s callosal access model we hypothesized that training of specific coordinative abilities can improve intermanual transfer of sensorimotor adaptation. Two groups of subjects (n = 32) participated in an intervention study with pre-post design. During pre- and posttest subjects of both groups were exposed to the same usual sensorimotor adaptation study design by executing center out pointing movements under distorted visual feedback conditions with their dominant and non-dominant arm to test for intermanual transfer. The intervention in both groups consisted of specified movement exercises with the right and left extremities which were instructed by video. Participants of Group 1 executed movements crossing the body midline (e.g. touching knee and elbow of the contralateral sides) and participants of Group 2 movements without crossing the body midline (e.g. touching knee and elbow of the ipsilateral side). Results show greater intermanual transfer for Group 1. We conclude that movements crossing the body midline might improve functional integration and therefore the access of both hemispheres to stored adaptive representations in the left hemisphere. Keywords: Functional integration, Information Processing Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Motor Information Processing Citation: Thomas M (2011). Specific movement exercises improve intermanual transfer of sensorimotor adaptation. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00087 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 16 Nov 2011; Published Online: 25 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Monika Thomas, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany, thomas@dshs-koeln.de Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Monika Thomas Google Monika Thomas Google Scholar Monika Thomas PubMed Monika Thomas Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.