Spatial Movement Characteristics Research Articles

Interdependence of movement amplitude and tempo during self-paced finger tapping: evaluation of a preferred velocity hypothesis.

This study examined the relation between movement amplitude and tempo during self-paced rhythmic finger tapping to test a preferred velocity account of the preferred tempo construct. Preferred tempo refers to the concept that individuals have preferences for the pace of actions or events in their environment (e.g., the desired pace of walking or tempo of music). The preferred velocity hypothesis proposes that assessments of preferred tempo do not represent a pure time preference independent of spatial movement characteristics, but rather reflects a preference for an average movement velocity, predicting that preferred tempo will depend on movement amplitude. We tested this by having participants first perform a novel spontaneous motor amplitude (SMA) task in which they repetitively tapped their finger at their preferred amplitude without instructions about tapping tempo. Next, participants completed the spontaneous motor tempo (SMT) task in which they tapped their finger at their preferred tempo without instructions about tapping amplitude. Finally, participants completed a target amplitude version of the SMT task where they tapped at their preferred tempo at three target amplitudes (low, medium, and high). Participants (1) produced similar amplitudes and tempi regardless of instructions to produce either their preferred amplitude or preferred tempo, maintaining the same average movement velocity across SMA and SMT tasks and (2) altered their preferred tempo for different target amplitudes in the direction predicted by their estimated preferred velocity from the SMA and SMT tasks. Overall, results show the interdependence of movement amplitude and tempo in tapping assessments of preferred tempo.

Research on the movement law and traffic safety zoning of spalled blocks in the linings of high-speed railway tunnels

Recent years have brought to notice the spalling and falling off problem of the lining of high-speed rail tunnels, which is dangerous for traffic safety. In this study, a three-dimensional spalled block–train–tunnel–air gas–solid coupling calculation model was built using FLUENT numerical simulation software. This model was used to simulate the trajectory characteristics of the spalled blocks under the operating condition of a high-speed rail at a speed of 300 km/h. The spatial movement characteristics of the block falling from the lining under four influencing factors, namely, block's geometric size, density and positions and train's speeds were analyzed. During the operation of the train, the lateral displacement of the spalled block decreases with the increase of the density of the spalled block, increases with the increase of the vehicle speed, and first increases and then decreases with the increase of the geometric size of the spalled block. Considering the above influencing factors comprehensively, the safe area and dangerous area in the tunnel are divided depending on whether the traffic safety was threatened by the falling of the spalled blocks from tne tunnel lining. The results show that the area 4.5 m away from the ground is a dangerous area where the tunnel operation and maintenance need to be paid attention to. Meanwhile, it is recommended to install the auxiliary equipment in a safe area to avoid the peeling off of the surrounding lining and thereby threatening train-driving safety.

Monkey see, monkey tap: mimicry of movement dynamics during coordinated tapping.

Common social behaviors, such as having a conversation, dancing, or playing a team sport, require precise interpersonal coordination of action. One question that emerges in research on interpersonal coordination is to what extent individuals implicitly mimic the spatial characteristics of movements for tasks that emphasize movement timing. To investigate this question, we conducted two experiments using an interpersonal synchronization-continuation tapping paradigm in which pairs of individuals tapped with their index finger on a table in synchrony with an auditory metronome and then continued tapping at the same tempo when the metronome stopped. Pairs of individuals tapped either together with the instruction to maintain synchrony with each other (interpersonal tapping) or tapped alone (solo tapping). Solo tapping conditions either occurred with their tapping partner present in the testing room (Experiment 1) or absent (Experiment 2). We used motion capture to examine both the spatial and temporal aspects of movement dynamics during task performance. In both experiments, participants implicitly mimicked subtle aspects of spatial elements of their partner's movements. The extent of finger extension (tap amplitude) and, in Experiment 1, duration of finger contact with the surface (dwell time) were correlated between tapping partners when they tapped together. In some cases, this spatial mimicry extended to solo tapping conditions, but only during solo tapping conditions that followed the interpersonal tapping task, and, to a lesser degree, when solo tapping after having observed the other participant solo tapping.

Bubble Sweep-Down of Research Vessels Based on the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian Method

To explore the reason for the bubble sweep-down phenomenon of research vessels and its effect on the position of the stern sonar of a research vessel, the use of a fairing was investigated as a defoaming appendage. The separation vortex turbulence model was selected for simulation, and the coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian method was adopted to study the characteristics of the bubble sweep-down motion, captured using a discrete element model. The interaction between the bubbles, water, air, and hull was defined via a multiphase interaction method. The bubble point position and bubble layer were calculated separately. The spatial movement characteristics of the bubbles were extracted from bubble trajectories. It was demonstrated that the bubble sweep-down phenomenon is closely related to the distribution of the bow pressure field and that the bubble motion characteristics is related to the speed and initial bubble position. When the initial bubble position is between the water surface and the ship bottom, the impact on the middle of the ship bottom is greater and increases further with increasing speed. A deflector forces the bubbles to both sides through physical shielding, strengthening the local vortex structure and keeping bubbles away from the middle of the ship bottom.

The peculiarities of the formation of skills of boys of 9 years old to manage the basic characteristics of movements

The purpose of the study is to determine the features of the formation of skills of boys of 9 years old to manage the spatial, temporal and power characteristics of movements. The results of the study. There was established a significant positive dynamics of indicators that characterize the ability to manage the spatial characteristics of movements and the degree of influence of classes on the studied indicators.

ВИКОРИСТАННЯ МУЛЬТИМЕДІЙНИХ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ ДЛЯОПТИМІЗАЦІЇ РУХОВОЇ АКТИВНОСТІ ДІТЕЙ ДОШКІЛЬНОГО ВІКУ

The article analyzes psychological and pedagogical literature on the problem of optimization of the preschool children’s motor activity. It is noted that movements are just as necessary for the normal growth and development of a child as good nutrition. Physical exercise does not only develop and strengthen a child’s body, prevents various diseases, but also is one of the effective means of treating and restoring a child's strength after illness. Based on the analysis of modern scientific and methodological literature, it is found that a considerable part of the studies in the field of physical education is devoted to the creation of recommendations for physical exercises of schoolchildren and other segments of the population on the basis of computer technologies, control systems, assessment and accumulation of information on the physical fitness level and health status. It is established that the use of multimedia technology in the process of carrying out physical and health measures in the institution of preschool education helps to optimize the motor activity of preschool children. The specifics of the multimedia presentations usage in work with preschool children are characterized. It is noted that multimedia technologies allow solving the problem of finding and storing information, planning, controlling and managing physical education, diagnostics of health status and of children’s physical fitness level. The author notes that the presentation can also be used to explain to children the rules of sports games, tactical actions of players, vividly present historical events, biographies of athletes. It is noted that the creation of flash presentations and videos with complexes of developmental exercises is appropriate to use during the morning gymnastics. The use of multimedia educational tools allows to visualize clearly the spatial characteristics of movements, to calculate with high accuracy the kinematic parameters of the motor actions performing technique in the playing activities, which is of particular importance in the development of children’s spatial orientation. It is noted that the priority area in the work of each pre-school educational establishment is to improve the quality of education through the use of innovative technologies in physical education classes, in particular optimization of physical activity. The prospects for further research in this area, the need to use multimedia technologies in the process of preparing future caregivers for the implementation of the tasks in physical education of preschool children in the context of distance education which include the need to find and develop of science-based information and communication technologies in the preschoolers’ physical education are specified.

Temporal and spatial movement characteristics of the Altyn Tagh fault inferred from 21 years of InSAR observations

We use 21 years of interferometric synthetic aperture radar data obtained between 1996 and 2017 from three European Space Agency satellites, namely the European Remote Satellite (ERS), Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) and Sentinel-1, to estimate the present-day strain accumulation rate within the central segment of the Altyn Tagh fault (ATF) along the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau. We obtain the first Sentinel-1 line-of-sight velocity map, thereby revealing a velocity gradient across the main ATF. Due to significant near-fault deformation, which cannot be modeled by utilizing only the classic Savage deep slip model, a dislocation extending to a certain depth representing strain release by shallow creep is combined with a deep screw dislocation to model the observations. The best-fitting results are a 9.0 mm/year slip rate with a 20.0 km locking depth and a 2.0 mm/year creep rate with a 2.0 km creep extent for the ERS data, a 7.4 mm/year slip rate with an 18.0 km locking depth and a 1.8 mm/year creep rate with a 2.8 km creep extent for the ENVISAT data, and a 6.0 mm/year slip rate with a 21.0 km locking depth and a 1.5 mm/year creep rate with a 1.0 km creep extent for the Sentinel-1 data based on a single fault inversion. The slip rate decreases with time along this section of the ATF, while the creep rate varies around 1.8 mm/year, which does not constitute an obvious variation. In the spatial domain, the fault was divided into three segments, only Sentinel-1 data were used in the inversion, and the best-fitting values for the slip rate, locking depth, creep rate and creep extent are [7.4, 21.0, 1.8, 1.5], [6.8, 23.0, 1.5, 1.0] and [5.3, 20.0, 2.0, 1.1] for the Kuyake segment, Kulukuole segment and Aqiang segment, respectively. We conclude that deep slip motion within the ATF was variable in both the time domain and the space domain, whereas shallow creep, which must be accounted for using the Fattahi model considering both deep and shallow motions, was stable at ~ 2.0 mm/year with a creep extent of 1.0–2.0 km. The seismic moment release rate is less than 9.0% of the geodetic moment accumulation rate, which indicates a high seismic risk within the ATF.

Motor learning with fading and growing haptic guidance.

Haptic guidance has been shown to have both facilitatory and interfering effects on motor learning. Interfering effects have been hypothesized to result from the particular dynamic environment, which supports a passive role of the learner, and they should be attenuated by fading guidance. Facilitatory effects, in particular for dynamic movement characteristics, have been hypothesized to result from the high-quality information provided by haptic demonstration. If haptic demonstration provides particularly precise information about target movements, the motor system's need for such information should more likely increase in the course of motor learning, in which case growing guidance should be more beneficial for learning. We contrasted fading and growing guidance in the course of learning a spatio-temporal motor pattern. To stimulate an active role of the learner, practice trials consisted of three phases, a visual demonstration of the target movement, a guided reproduction, and a reproduction without haptic guidance. Performance was assessed in terms of variable duration errors, relative-timing errors, variable path-length errors, and shape errors. Motor learning with growing and fading guidance turned out to be largely equivalent, so that the notion of an increasing optimal precision of haptic demonstrations, which matches a demand of increasingly precise information on the target movement, found no support. Duration errors declined only with fading, but not with growing guidance. Relative timing revealed a benefit of immediately preceding haptic demonstration, but learning was not different between the two practice protocols. This contrast between absolute and relative timing adds to other evidence according to which acquisition of these two aspects of motor timing involves different learning mechanisms. Whereas relative timing gained from immediately preceding haptic demonstration, but revealed no practice-related improvement in the presence of haptic guidance, the opposite pattern of results was found for the shape error. This finding is consistent with the claim that haptic demonstration is particularly efficient with respect to relative timing, but not with respect to spatial movement characteristics.

Haptic guidance interferes with learning to make movements at an angle to stimulus direction

Haptic guidance has been shown to interfere with learning a novel visuo-motor rotation. Here, we ask whether this interference is specific to the learning of visuo-motor transformations or whether it is a more generalized phenomenon of learning spatial movement characteristics. Participants practiced to make movements at an angle of 75° relative to target directions with and without haptic path guidance. Test trials without guidance and without visual feedback revealed poorer performance after haptic guidance practice than in the no-guidance control group, even though during guided practice movement directions were more accurate than during unguided practice. The more precise directions during guided practice were associated with shorter movement latencies than in the control group, suggesting an incomplete rotation of the movement direction relative to the direction of the visual target. A detailed analysis of the first few millimeters of each movement revealed that the initial movement direction was indeed rotated too little, and the correct direction was adopted only gradually under the influence of haptic guidance. These findings support the perspective on motor learning as a process that is driven by consequent improvements of performance and that is compromised by factors that serve to improve performance even without learning. Haptic guidance is one such factor.

Robotic guidance benefits the learning of dynamic, but not of spatial movement characteristics

Robotic guidance is an engineered form of haptic-guidance training and intended to enhance motor learning in rehabilitation, surgery, and sports. However, its benefits (and pitfalls) are still debated. Here, we investigate the effects of different presentation modes on the reproduction of a spatiotemporal movement pattern. In three different groups of participants, the movement was demonstrated in three different modalities, namely visual, haptic, and visuo-haptic. After demonstration, participants had to reproduce the movement in two alternating recall conditions: haptic and visuo-haptic. Performance of the three groups during recall was compared with regard to spatial and dynamic movement characteristics. After haptic presentation, participants showed superior dynamic accuracy, whereas after visual presentation, participants performed better with regard to spatial accuracy. Added visual feedback during recall always led to enhanced performance, independent of the movement characteristic and the presentation modality. These findings substantiate the different benefits of different presentation modes for different movement characteristics. In particular, robotic guidance is beneficial for the learning of dynamic, but not of spatial movement characteristics.

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Rapid Finger Oscillations

Temporal and spatial movement characteristics are often seen as controlled separately, although they are not independent. Even in the case of simple oscillations mean frequency and mean amplitude covary when one or the other is changed intentionally. The present experiment revealed that in rapid finger oscillations there is also a cycle-to-cycle covariation so that smaller amplitudes are associated with locally increased frequency and (the associated) earlier electromyographic (EMG) bursts. Both globally and locally the observed covariations are consistent with modeling rhythmic movements as output of a driven damped oscillator. The existence of local spatio-temporal covariations suggests limitations for models of timing and reasons for the observation that spatio-temporal movement characteristics cannot be chosen arbitrarily even in uniarticular movements.

Directional variation of spatial and temporal characteristics of limb movements made by monkeys in a two-dimensional work space.

1. The directional variation of kinematic and electromyographic (EMG) characteristics of two-joint arm movements made to targets in a two-dimensional work space was studied in monkeys trained to make targeted arm movements under different behavioral conditions. 2. In each animal, kinematic measures of movement (movement amplitude, movement time, peak velocity, and trajectory curvature) and endpoint spatial position within the target zone varied as a function of the direction of the target from the starting position. Movements made toward the body into the ipsilateral hemispace generally had the smallest amplitude, lowest peak velocity, and longest movement time. 3. Although the directional variation in peak velocity could partially be accounted for by predicted anisotropies in the inertial load imposed by the arm, deviations from these predictions suggest that movement amplitude is controlled more rigorously by the CNS. Adjustments in movement time may be used to compensate for inertial anisotropies. 4. The spatial characteristics of movements (amplitude, trajectory curvature, or endpoint error) were influenced little by the visibility of the target during movement, the advanced knowledge of target location, or the presence or absence of an external trigger cue. However, temporal characteristics (movement time, peak velocity, and for some animals, reaction time) varied more as sensory cues were changed. 5. The time of initial EMG activity in muscles acting around the shoulder varied systematically as a function of target direction. A cosine model accounted for a large fraction of the variability in initial onset time, as determined in a trial-by-trial analysis. The amplitude of the EMG activity was more narrowly tuned, however. Muscles acting at the elbow showed less activity and more variable directional tuning. 6. We conclude that directional variations in the kinematic characteristics of movement, and thus, the dynamic force requirements of the task, must be taken into consideration as contributors to the apparent directional coding described for neuronal populations in different portions of the CNS.

Grooming in Norway Rats: the Development and Adult Expression of a Complex Motor Pattern

Abstract In two experiments detailed observations and quantitative analyses were made of the development and adult expression of grooming in laboratory rats. In the first experiment, 5 litters of rat pups were observed each day from 0-28 days of age, and grooming movements were recorded on paper. Forepaw wipes of the nose appeared by Day 3, followed by eye wipes (Day 6) and ear wipes (Day 8). These movements were integrated into normal-appearing head grooming on Day 11. The mouth was used to groom posterior portions of the body beginning on Day 14 with the belly, and continuing subsequently with hip (Day 15), back (Day 18), and the anogenital region and tail (Day 20). Thus, these aspects of grooming followed a general cephalocaudal progression. In contrast, the development of scratching of the head and body, which began on Day 6, did not follow a systematic order. In the second experiment, 5 adult male rats were observed in glass aquaria, which also served as their living compartments, and bouts of grooming were recorded on videotape for later analysis. Sequential and spatial characteristics of movements were determined by replaying the videotapes in slow motion, while temporal characteristics were determined by a frame-by-frarne analysis of the tapes. This experiment revealed a cephalocaudal progression of acts within bouts of grooming: grooming usually began with the paw-lick- nose-wipe sequence and progressed from there to eye wipes and ear wipes. Mouthing of the torso followed, usually beginning with more anterior portions and terminating with more posterior portions. Scratching with the hindpaws was unpredictably interpolated into the grooming sequence. The experiment also revealed that transitions between grooming different parts of the body were predictable from the spatial and temporal characteristics of the grooming. That is, the last stroke in chains of nose, eye, or ear wipes was reliably slower than previous strokes in the chain, and also tended to be incomplete. Thus, the order in which grooming of specific body areas emerges during early development follows an anterior-posterior progression, and this progression closely parallels the sequence in which body areas are groomed by adult rats. Furthermore, in adults these movements obey specific temporal and spatial rules which can be used to predict transitions of grooming from one body area to the next. This parallel between the ontogenetic and adult expressions of grooming may reflect, respectively, the maturation and activation of genotypically determined, functional units in the central nervous system. In addition, theories now being applied to the problem of transitions between different motive systems (e.g., eating and drinking), may be extended to account for transitions within a motive system (e.g., from grooming of one part of the body to the next).