Acquisition Of Motor Abilities Research Articles

A Repertoire of Virtual-Reality, Occupational Therapy Exercises for Motor Rehabilitation Based on Action Observation

There is a growing interest in action observation treatment (AOT), i.e., a rehabilitative procedure combining action observation, motor imagery, and action execution to promote the recovery, maintenance, and acquisition of motor abilities. AOT studies employed basic upper limb gestures as stimuli, but—in principle—the AOT approach can be effectively extended to more complex actions like occupational gestures. Here, we present a repertoire of virtual-reality (VR) stimuli depicting occupational therapy exercises intended for AOT, potentially suitable for occupational safety and injury prevention. We animated a humanoid avatar by fitting the kinematics recorded by a healthy subject performing the exercises. All the stimuli are available via a custom-made graphical user interface, which allows the user to adjust several visualization parameters like the viewpoint, the number of repetitions, and the observed movement’s speed. Beyond providing clinicians with a set of VR stimuli promoting via AOT the recovery of goal-oriented, occupational gestures, such a repertoire could extend the use of AOT to the field of occupational safety and injury prevention.

Kinematic analysis of the "attack to the legs" from wrestling: impact of prior judo expertise

Background and Study Aim: In the framework of motor skill learning and transfer, the objective of the present work is to highlight the kinematics during the technical execution of an "attack to the legs" in wrestling and compare expert wrestlers with wrestlers having a prior judo expertise. Moreover, this study aims to evaluate the effects of training on these characteristics. Material and Methods: 10 male subjects were divided in two groups of five: the first group contains wrestlers with at least 7 years of wrestling practice. The second group contains two-year practice wrestlers with 5-year prior judo experience. Subjects had to perform a movement of attack towards the opponent’s legs (free style wrestling). A three-dimensional analysis was carried, the displacement of seven passive markers placed over anatomical points was quantified (3-D motion analyzer, sampling rate 25Hz). The following parameters were calculated: angulation of the hip and of the knee, velocity and acceleration of the shoulder and of the wrist. The experiment was conducted twice: at the beginning of the wrestling training schedule and ten weeks later. Results: Results showed marked differences between the two groups in the kinematics of the movement. These results suggest interference between prior automatisms and learning new skill. The prior experience in judo would have influenced posture in this group. In the framework of skill transfer and dexterity, this study appears promising to investigate the processes involved in this motor control. Conclusions: Although wrestling and judo are two sport disciplines that belong to the same group of combat sport, this work underlines the specificity of learning and indicates that acquisition of motor abilities in a speciality is not transferred inevitably in a positive way in another speciality of the same group

Acquisition of motor abilities up to independent walking in very low birth weight preterm infants

To determine chronological and corrected ages at acquisition of motor abilities up to unaided walking in very low weight preterms and to determine up to what point it is necessary to use corrected age. This was a longitudinal study of preterms with birth weight < 1,500 g and gestational age < or = 34 weeks, free from neurosensory sequelae, selected at the high-risk infants follow-up clinic at the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) in Botucatu, Brazil, between 1998 to 2003, and assessed every 2 months until acquisition of unaided walking. Nine percent of the 155 preterms recruited were excluded from the study, leaving a total of 143 patients. The mean gestational age was 30+/-2 weeks, birth weight was 1,130+/-222 g, 59% were female and 44% were small for gestational age. Preterms achieved head control in their second month, could sit unaided at 7 months and walked at 12.8 months' corrected age, corresponding to the 4th, 9th and 15th months of chronological age. There were significant differences between chronological age and corrected age for all motor abilities. Preterms who were small for their gestational age acquired motor abilities later, but still within expected limits. Very low weight preterms, free from neurosensory disorders, acquired their motor abilities within the ranges expected for their corrected ages. Corrected age should be used until unaided walking is achieved.

Movimento humano no contexto do desenvolvimento: estudos de Judith Kestenberg

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi trazer para a discussão os estudos de Kestenberg abordando o movimento e o desenvolvimento humano. Estes estudos esmiúçam a complexidade destes fenômenos e explicitam como as aquisições de habilidades motoras e o desenvolvimento psicológico são interligados. A presente pesquisa foi baseada em publicações originais de Kestenberg. As fases do desenvolvimento são descritas por meio do uso do espaço e dos padrões de movimento característicos de cada fase, os quais são associados à construção da imagem corporal e ao desenvolvimento psíquico. São levantados dados relevantes para um aprofundamento psicológico na abordagem do movimento humano.

Programming to Influence Acquisition of Motor Abilities in Infants and Young Children

Programming to Influence Acquisition of Motor Abilities in Infants and Young Children