Imitation Of Movements Research Articles

More Than Movement: Exploring Motor Simulation, Creativity, and Function in Co-developed Dance for Parkinson's.

Dance is an enjoyable, non-therapy-focused activity that may provide a range of benefits for people with Parkinson’s. The internal simulation of movement through observation, imitation, and imagery, is intrinsic to dance and may contribute to functional improvements for people with Parkinson’s. This study explored the feasibility and potential benefits of a dance program designed by a collaborative team of dance artists, researchers, physiotherapists, and people living with Parkinson’s. The program incorporated motor simulation through observation, imitation and imagery of movement, supported by creative themes, expression, and music. A 6-week pilot trial of the program was conducted with 10 people with Parkinson’s. A focus group following the trial (N = 8) provided insights into the use of imagery, observation and imitation within dance, and the link between creativity and functional outcomes, as well as indicating multidimensional benefits of dance as reported in previous studies. Exploratory outcome measures also suggested potential effects on motor simulation, functional dexterity, and quality of life. The present study demonstrates the feasibility of a co-developed dance program for Parkinson’s and indicates how creative elements of dance may support functional outcomes. Future research should examine the role of motor simulation processes in dance for Parkinson’s, including the potential to develop transferable cognitive-motor skills. This study also highlights the value of collaborative partnerships in designing dance for health programs, which may optimise beneficial effects by using creative approaches to incorporate evidence-based elements, with guidance from individuals with lived experience to ensure the relevance to their goals.

La expresión corporal y el desarrollo motor de niños de 3 años

Body expression is a way of communication typical of each human being, it is accompanied by gestures, facial expressions, postures which represent feelings, emotions, thoughts and ideas. All these manifestations are permanently reflected and are associated with gross motor development, in which harmony and movement control dominates, achieving adequate motor synchronization and coordination. From this perspective, the study aimed to describe the relationship of body expression in gross motor development of 3-year-old children. Being a qualitative approach research, the information was collected through the application of an observation guide with skills related to body expression and gross motor skills, aimed at 32 3-year-old children. Obtaining as a result the following, that a good percentage of children is beginning their development in the management of basic articulatory movements, and imitation of movements in songs, following rhythms, as well as the identification of emotions and feelings of the people around them; and with regard to gross motor skills such as performing dynamic and static balance exercises with different forms of movement, walking, running and maintaining postural control that involves segmented movements of your body, head, trunk and extremities, as well , in a similar percentage of children are in the beginning of their development. Which leads us to establish that body expression is closely related to the development of gross motor skills and that these help children from an early age to achieve better communication and expression.

Comparison of muscle activity during swimming and on the Biokinetic simulator

Introduction: The aim of the study is to evaluate the coordination similarity ratio of involvement of selected muscles (m. pectoralis major; m. latissimus dorsi; m. obliquus externus abdominis; m. triceps brachii) during the crawl swimming cycle as a target movement with imitation movement act. The research set comprised 16 elite swimmers specializing in crawl sprint tracks. Methods: The key research method was surface electromyographic analysis synchronized with video recording. The study was based on a quantitative description of electromyographic recordings of the observed movement acts. The research study has the character of an intra-individual and inter-individual comparative analysis of the coordination characteristics of the movement system. This is a sequential triangulation of a quantitative-qualitative approach and an intragroup case study with an experimental way of obtaining data. Results: Muscle activation of selected muscles during the crawl did not show a significant difference in effect size compared to the imitation movements on the Biokinetic swimming simulator.

Neurokognitivna i bihejvioralna osnova izvođenja jednostavnih i složenih pokreta, imitacija i praksija kod dece sa poremećajem autističnog spektra

Imitation of simple movements is the basis for all kinds of learning. It is a necessary prerequisite for symbolic functioning and functioning in the social environment. The motor execution of imitation movements is at an unsatisfactory level, in children with an autistic spectrum disorder, especially in the domain of movement. By reviewing the relevant literature from both aspects: neurocognitive and behavioral, we get the data on the motor functioning of children with autism spectrum disorders. Based on the results of the research, children with autism spectrum disorders show reduced activity in certain regions, especially in the areas of the frontal and parietal lobes. When conducting motor tests of imitation and practice, children with autism spectrum disorders show more errors in performing repetitive movements. By looking at the overall functioning of people with autism, especially their neurocognitive functions and their behavior, we can discover new ways for interventions and for therapeutic work with these people.

Movement generalization of variable initial task state based on Euclidean transformation dynamical movement primitives

Robots need the ability to tackle problems of movement generalization in variable task state and complex environment. Dynamical movement primitives can effectively endow robots with humanoid characteristics. However, when the initial state of tasks changes, the generalized trajectories by dynamical movement primitives cannot retain shape features of demonstration, resulting in the loss of imitation quality. In this article, a modified dynamical movement primitives based on Euclidean transformation is proposed to solve this problem. It transforms the initial task state to a virtual situation similar to the demonstration and then utilizes the dynamical movement primitive method to realize movement generalization. Finally, it reverses the movement back to the real situation. Besides, the information of obstacles is added to Euclidean transformation based dynamical movement primitives framework to endow robots with the ability of obstacle avoidance. The normalized root-mean-square error is proposed as the criterion to evaluate the imitation similarity. The feasibility of this method is verified through writing letters, wiping whiteboard in two-dimensional task, and stirring mixture in three-dimensional task. The results show that the similarity of movement imitation in the proposed method is higher than dynamical movement primitives when the initial state changes. Meanwhile, Euclidean transformation based dynamical movement primitives can still greatly retain shape feature of demonstration while avoiding obstacles in an unstructured environment.

Design and implementation of computer aided resource management system for dance teaching

Traditional teaching methods are limited to time and place, and the performance of dance teaching resources management is poor. Design a computer-assisted dance teaching resource management system. The functional structure of the system includes core computer-assisted teaching and teaching management applications. The data management module is used to store the processed data in data files, and the dance teaching content release module retrieves requests and multimedia. The remote image resource location request of the management module responds to the feedback. In order to improve the management of computer-aided dance teaching resources, this article takes dance robots as the research object, takes dance video information as input, uses deep learning methods to estimate the human body posture in the video, and obtains the key point position coordinates of the human body; The inverse kinematics calculation of the robot obtains the angle values of each joint of the robot, and the angle values of the lower body joints are adjusted to maintain the balance of the robot. In addition, this paper also proposes a method to automatically generate robot dance sequence. Gated cyclic unit (GRU) network is used to learn the correlation between the global characteristics of music and dance gesture relationship characteristics, the correlation between music local characteristics and dance movement density characteristics, and then combine the dance movement graphs to sample and plan Robot dance moves synchronized with the beat. Experimental results show that whether it is robot dance movement imitation or dance movement generation, it can improve the computer-aided management of dance teaching.

The Novel Membrane-Type Micro-system to Assess the Bonus Effect of Physiological and Physical Stimuli on Bone Regeneration

The periosteal progenitor cell is suitable for bone tissue regeneration duo to its multipotent differentiation in osteogenesis and chondrogenesis. It was found that both physical and physiological stimuli can induce the differentiation of periosteal progenitor cells. However, the combined-effect of these two stimuli is not clear. The imitation of the nature movement—the cyclic tensile strain stimulation and the multiple growth factors producing cells—adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were used as physical and physiological stimuli to investigate the differentiation of rabbit periosteal cells in this study. For this, a new membrane-type micro-system was invented to provide a simple examination platform for both factors in one single system. The specific rectangular culture chamber not only provided two different types of cells to grow separately but also delivered the single axial tensile strain generated in the micro-system to the cells. It was found that application of either physical or physiological stimuli alone was sufficient to induce the differentiation of periosteal cells. The low tensile strain (4, 5, 6 kPa) led to osteogenesis whereas high tensile strain (7 kPa) induced chondrogenesis. Even though the co-culture of ADSCs only induced osteogenic differentiation of periosteal cells, the co-culture of ADSCs to tensile strain treated periosteal cells further strengthened the osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potent in low and high tensile strain, respectively. This study provided the pre-clinical evidence of the stem cell therapy and continuous exercise in cell level bone tissue regeneration.

Localization of Sources Generating the EEG α Rhythm during Observation, Performance, and Imitation of Operant Movements in Subjects with Different Intelligence Levels

Use of the sLORETA method in 62 adult subjects with different intelligence levels located sources generating rhythms in the frequency band 8–12 Hz during observation, performance, and imitation of circular movements with a computer mouse by the experimenter. A relationship between the level of intelligence and differences in the spatial patterns of cerebral cortex activation during performance and imitation of movements was seen. More marked and localized activation of neocortical structures was seen in adult subjects with high levels of general intelligence. Differences in the activation of cortical areas in groups with different general intelligence levels were largely mediated by structures in the right hemisphere, which is involved in processes of visuomotor coordination and the discrimination of own from others’ actions. The greater involvement of the precentral, cingulate, and postcentral gyri of the left hemisphere in the process of imitating the experimenter’s movements in the group with high intelligence may point to a higher level of activation of the mirror system of the brain.

Specific features of fluid image creation in primitive dance: symbolic and semantic aspect

The purpose of this article is to analyze a symbolic content of symbolic means of fluid medium and to outline a semantic aspect of dance images in the primitive dance. The methodology is based on the complex approach principles and applies analytical technique, historical, comparative, semiotic and unifying methods in order to create a holistic view of primordial and symbolic nature of primitive choreographic art. Scientific novelty. A complex analytical study of dance symbolism in the syncretic space of primitive culture has been conducted. The theoretical generalization of the fluid image semantics problem has been offered. The image of the dance is interpreted as a holistic phenomenon of being, as a bodily expression of thought and practical experience. Conclusions. The study of the specific features of the dance image creation reveals that the attributive characteristic of human essence and human worldview at an early stage of the society development is the fluid transformation potential. The dance image, created by expressive imitation movements and gestures, served as a symbol by which the idea of unity with nature, totemic protectors, ancestors, and deities became firmly established.

Differences in cortical activation patterns during action observation, action execution, and interpersonal synchrony between children with or without autism spectrum disorder (ASD): An fNIRS pilot study.

Engaging in socially embedded actions such as imitation and interpersonal synchrony facilitates relationships with peers and caregivers. Imitation and interpersonal synchrony impairments of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) might contribute to their difficulties in connecting and learning from others. Previous fMRI studies investigated cortical activation in children with ASD during finger/hand movement imitation; however, we do not know whether these findings generalize to naturalistic face-to-face imitation/interpersonal synchrony tasks. Using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), the current study assessed the cortical activation of children with and without ASD during a face-to-face interpersonal synchrony task. Fourteen children with ASD and 17 typically developing (TD) children completed three conditions: a) Watch-observed an adult clean up blocks; b) Do-cleaned up the blocks on their own; and c) Together-synchronized their block clean up actions to that of an adult. Children with ASD showed lower spatial and temporal synchrony accuracies but intact motor accuracy during the Together/interpersonal synchrony condition. In terms of cortical activation, children with ASD had hypoactivation in the middle and inferior frontal gyri (MIFG) as well as middle and superior temporal gyri (MSTG) while showing hyperactivation in the inferior parietal cortices/lobule (IPL) compared to the TD children. During the Together condition, the TD children showed bilaterally symmetrical activation whereas children with ASD showed more left-lateralized activation over MIFG and right-lateralized activation over MSTG. Additionally, using ADOS scores, in children with ASD greater social affect impairment was associated with lower activation in the left MIFG and more repetitive behavior impairment was associated with greater activation over bilateral MSTG. In children with ASD better communication performance on the VABS was associated with greater MIFG and/or MSTG activation. We identified objective neural biomarkers that could be utilized as outcome predictors or treatment response indicators in future intervention studies.

Psychological distance and imitation

AbstractImitation is a ubiquitous part of everybody's life. When imitating other people, a certain psychological distance is always involved—for instance, the imitator may be near to or distant from observed behavior in space (e.g., when one is learning a task face‐to‐face vs. by watching a video) or time (e.g., the behavior appears in a new vs. an old video). In this article, we review recent research that investigated the influence of psychological distance on imitation. In doing so, we differentiate between imitation of movements and imitation of goals. The reviewed research suggests that movement‐based (vs. goal‐based) imitation is stronger when the observed behavior is near than when it is distant. Additionally, the influence of psychological distance on imitation appears to happen already on an input level. That is, the level of construal guides observers' attention either to the observed movement or its goal, facilitating the imitation of the respective action feature. In addition, we review research demonstrating that psychological distance reduces goal contagion—a finding that seems to be at odds with studies showing that distance increases goal‐based imitation. We identify differences between the two lines of research (goal contagion vs. goal imitation) and discuss open questions and future directions that result from the reviewed findings.

Сенсомоторные ритмы ЭЭГ у детей с расстройствами аутистического спектра

One of the currently assumed causes of impaired social interaction exhibited by children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is dysfunction of the mirror neuron system (MNS), which is responsible for imitation, understanding the intentions and emotions of other people. Desynchronization of sensorimotor rhythms is considered to be the indicator of MNS activation. This study aimed to analyze the specific patterns of reactivity of the μ-rhythm in an individually determined frequency range and β-rhythm on the EEG in children with ASD during independent movements, observation, imitation and auditory perception of similar movements performed by another person. The data collected were compared to those describing normally developing children. The study involved right-handed children with ASD aged 5–10 (n = 10) and normally developing children (n = 10). In the independent movements exercise, β-rhythm desynchronization was more pronounced in children with ASD, with difference becoming significant in the P4 locus (p = 0.03). In the movements imitation exercise, the groups showed significant differences in the EEG μ-rhythm in the locus C3 (p = 0.03). Auditory perception of movements revealed significant differences in the ranges of both μ-rhythm (loci F3 and Fz (p = 0.02), F4 (p = 0.04), Cz (p = 0.009)) and β-rhythm (loci Fz (p = 0.01), F4 (p = 0.02)). In these situations, children with ASD exhibited synchronization of sensorimotor rhythms, while normally developing children showed desynchronization. The assumption is that the specific patterns revealed are the consequences of disruption of functions of MNS and anti-mirror system. The data obtained can be used in development of EEG biofeedback training protocols for children with ASD.

Character Synthesis of Ballet Archetypes on Robots Using Laban Movement Analysis: Comparison Between a Humanoid and an Aerial Robot Platform with Lay and Expert Observation

Imitation of human movement by robots is an important area of research to create expressive systems that are able to interact with humans in social settings. One lens through which imitation may be investigated is that of character archetypes, commonly found in human story-telling. Classical ballet, a form of story-telling through movement, makes extensive use of such archetypes. This paper reviews how Laban Movement Analysis creates a descriptive taxonomy in which features of interest may be identified and reported from human performers to robotic platforms, specifically for a BeBop aerial drone and a Nao humanoid platform. To determine the success of this approach, the paper also presents evaluation by lay human viewers that validates the character transfer. Moreover, this paper offers more nuance into this evaluation by querying two specialized groups of experts, which frequently deviated from lay ratings and, thus, offer deeper insight into both the success of the character transfer and the importance of prior training in movement perception. This work may be useful in human-facing scenarios where character archetypes facilitate engagement, identification, and understanding between robots and human counterparts. Further, it highlights nuances in working with expert artists to create broadly applicable designs.

Imitation of counter-goal behavior: The role of psychological distance and level of construal

Previous research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to engage in imitation of movements when the observed behavior is psychologically proximal. The present research tested whether movement imitation of proximal behavior is increased even when imitation is in conflict with own task goals. Participants completed a connect-the-dots task that was presented as either a speed task or an accuracy task. Additionally, participants watched a video of a person modeling the solution to the task in a way that contradicted the stated goal. Temporal distance to the model was manipulated in Experiment 1. Participants imitated the model's way to solve the task more when the model was proximal and followed the task goal comparably more when the model was distant. Experiment 2 replicated the effect with a direct mindset manipulation and additionally ruled out an alternative explanation (i.e., a stronger goal focus when thinking abstractly).

Stimulasi Kreativitas Gerak Anak Melalui Senam Si Buyung

In general, gymnastics is only imitation of movement from beginning to end but in this study gymnastics is combined with stories that are imagined by children, which are then realized into motion with the aim of stimulating the creativity of early childhood movements. In this research si buyung’s gymnastic modified to be warming up, creative movements, and cooling down. The research was quantitative quasi-experimental method with one group time-series design on 52 children aged 4-5 years in Yogyakarta. Data collection used interviews and observations, then analyzed with Kruskal Wallis. The results showed that implemented si buyung’s gymnastic effectively to increase the movement creativity of children aged 4-5 years is evidenced by the acquisition of asymp.sig p-value. 0,000 <0.05 which means there is a significant difference in the average ranking of children's creativity in each treatment.

Automatic Imitation in Comorbid PTSD & Alcohol Use Disorder and Controls: an RCT of Intranasal Oxytocin

IntroductionMimicking movements of others makes both the imitating and imitated partners feel closer. Oxytocin may increase focus on others and has been shown to increase automatic imitation in healthy controls (HC). However, this has not been replicated, and oxytocin’s effects on automatic imitation have not been demonstrated in clinical populations. This study attempts to replicate effects on HC and examine effects on people with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder (PTSD-AUD). MethodsFifty-four males with PTSD-AUD and 43 male HC received three intranasal treatment conditions (placebo, oxytocin 20 International Units (IU), and oxytocin 40 IU) in a randomized order, across three separate testing days, as part of a double-blind, crossover parent study. At 135 min post-administration, each performed the imitation-inhibition task, which quantifies automatic imitation as the congruency effect (CE). After exclusions, the final analyzed data set included 49 participants with PTSD-AUD and 38 HC. ResultsIn HC, oxytocin 20 IU demonstrated a statistically significant increase in CE, and 40 IU showed a trend-level increase. In PTSD-AUD, oxytocin did not significantly increase CE. Post-hoc analysis showed the PTSD-AUD group had higher CE than HC on placebo visits. DiscussionOur data suggest PTSD-AUD is associated with higher automatic imitation than HC in the absence of oxytocin administration. We successfully replicated findings that oxytocin increases automatic imitation in HC. This demonstrates an unconscious motor effect induced by oxytocin, likely relevant to more complex forms of imitative movements, which have the potential to improve social connection. We did not find a significant effect of oxytocin on automatic imitation in PTSD-AUD. Future research should examine imitation in both sexes, at peak oxytocin levels, and on increasingly complex forms of imitation.

Applying Machine Learning to Kinematic and Eye Movement Features of a Movement Imitation Task to Predict Autism Diagnosis

Autism is a developmental condition currently identified by experts using observation, interview, and questionnaire techniques and primarily assessing social and communication deficits. Motor function and movement imitation are also altered in autism and can be measured more objectively. In this study, motion and eye tracking data from a movement imitation task were combined with supervised machine learning methods to classify 22 autistic and 22 non-autistic adults. The focus was on a reliable machine learning application. We have used nested validation to develop models and further tested the models with an independent data sample. Feature selection was aimed at selection stability to assure result interpretability. Our models predicted diagnosis with 73% accuracy from kinematic features, 70% accuracy from eye movement features and 78% accuracy from combined features. We further explored features which were most important for predictions to better understand movement imitation differences in autism. Consistent with the behavioural results, most discriminative features were from the experimental condition in which non-autistic individuals tended to successfully imitate unusual movement kinematics while autistic individuals tended to fail. Machine learning results show promise that future work could aid in the diagnosis process by providing quantitative tests to supplement current qualitative ones.

Exploration of the Application of Virtual Reality and Internet of Things in Film and Television Production Mode

In order to reduce some of the problems of technological restructuring and insufficient expansion in the current film and television production mode, the application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and Internet of Things (IoT) in the film and television industry is introduced in this research. First, a topical crawler tool was constructed to grab relevant texts about “AI”, “VR”, and “IoT” crossover “film and television”, and the grasping accuracy rate and recall rate of this tool were compared. Then, based on the extracted text, the data of recent development in related fields were extracted. The AdaBoost algorithm was used to improve the BP (Back Propagation) neural network (BPNN). This model was used to predict the future development scale of related fields. Finally, a virtual character interaction system based on IoT-sensor technology was built and its performance was tested. The results showed that the topical crawler tool constructed in this study had higher recall rate and accuracy than other tools, and a total of 188 texts related to AI, VR, and IoT crossover television films were selected after Naive Bayes classification. In addition, the error of the BPNN prediction model based on the AdaBoost algorithm was less than 20%, and it can effectively predict the future development scale of AI and other fields. In addition, the virtual character interaction system based on IoT technology constructed in this study has a high motion recognition rate, produces a strong sense of immersion among users, and can realize real-time capture and imitation of character movements. In a word, the field of AI and VR crossover film and television has great development prospects in the future. Therefore, the application of IoT technology in building the virtual-character interaction system can improve the effect of VR or AI film and television production.

Surface barrier discharge pre-sowing treatment of winter wheat seeds in a three-electrode arrangement with dc bias

In the present work, the experimental results of reaction of morphological indicators (sprout and root length, number of roots, 3-day germination) of seedlings of high quality winter wheat seeds treated by plasma byproducts in the three-electrode system of surface dielectric barrier discharge with dc bias on the third electrode in humid air of atmospheric pressure at different polarity of the bias voltage are shown. The treatment was carried out for 15 min in a strip electrode system (eight 1 mm width strips with 4 mm distance between them, a sinusoidal voltage of 2.7 kV (rms) with a frequency 23 kHz) made on a corundum ceramic barrier (1 mm thickness) with the additional third electrode which is a stainless steel grid distant 10 mm from the surface of the dielectric barrier. Direct-current bias of 8 kV of positive or negative polarity was applied to the third electrode. Seeds were located on the surface of the third electrode. The treatment was also carried out with vibration of the system (the imitation of seeds movement along the third electrode). It is shown that the efficiency of treatment depends on the month of carrying it out. It was succeeded to get a reliable stimulation with weak control. With strong control (potential sowing months) it was not obtained. The imposing of dc bias in any considered case is less efficient than plasma products affection without bias. The vibration of electrode system leads to seeds damage during the treatment and notable germination reduction.

Реактивность μ-ритма ЭЭГ у детей при имитации движений визуальных образов биологического и небиологического происхождения

The development of brain-computer interfaces based on the use of EEG sensorimotor rhythms reactivity parameters and designed for the rehabilitation of people (including children) with impaired motor functions is currently relevant. The study was aimed to analyse the EEG μ-rhythm in the individual frequency range in children during imitation of biological and non-biological motion. EEG was recorded at frontal, central and parietal cortical regions in 136 normally developing right-handed children aged 4–15, at rest and during the execution and imitation of movements using the computer mouse. When the children moved the computer mouse on their own (F1, 132 = 31.17; p < 0.001) and executed the concentric moving of the coloured circle (F1, 132 = 90.34; p < 0.001), the μ-rhythm desynchronization developed in the frontal, central and parietal neocortical regions. The μ-rhythm synchronization was detected during the non-biologocal motion imitation (F1, 132 = 12.65; p < 0.001), compared to the task on the autonomous movement execution. The μ-rhythm desynchronization was observed during the biologocal motion imitation in relation to autonomous movement execution (F1, 132 = 9.58; p = 0.002). The described effects had their own features in the groups of children aged 4–6, 7–9, 10–12 and 13–15. The study results demonstrate the desirability of taking into account the μ-rhythm reactivity age-related features and the visual stimuli nature when developing software for the brain-computer interfaces.