The relationship between motor representation and biomechanical parameters in complex movements: Towards an integrative perspective of movement science

Abstract

In this paper, I aimed at starting a systematical search for paths regarding biomechanical aspects and functional units of movement organization. There-fore, I developed methodical approaches to measure kinematic parameters and the structure of motor representations. A new experimental method was devel-oped to measure the structure of these representations in long term memory.Concerning the analysis of kinematics, I developed a system for computer-based three-dimensional analysis of complex movements. Altogether, I inves-tigated 5 groups with 6 subjects in each group (n = 30) with an increasing abilityto perform a special kind of rotational movements in gymnastics: the twistingsomersault. The maximum performance in these groups was ½, 1, 1½, 2, and 2½ twisting somersaults. The results of the experimental analysis show thatrepresentational frameworks were organized in a hierarchical tree-like struc-ture and matched the biomechanical demands of the task well. After measuringkinematic parameters, we investigated the relationship between structure ofmotor representation and the kinematic parameters of the twisting somersaultmovement. I found significant correlations (p < .00) between kinematic parametersof the movement and the accessory parts of motor representations. These results support the hypothesis that voluntary movements are planned, executed, and stored in memory directly by way of representation of their anticipated perceptual effects.