Types Of Motor Tasks Research Articles

Postural balance and cognitive functions: interaction and significance for rehabilitation (scientific review)

The study analyses the patterns of postural-cognitive interaction and their possible application in physical rehabilitation. The morphofunctional basis of the relationship between postural balance and cognitive functions is considered, particularly the role of the vestibular system in cognitive processes and the participation of cognitive functions in the regulation of equilibrium. The interaction patterns between postural balance and cognitive functions were analyzed, including the global nature of postural-cognitive interaction, influence of multitasking, and type of motor task (static or dynamic), its complexity, novelty and variability. The review presents the prospects and advantages of the practical application of the concept of postural-cognitive interaction in physical rehabilitation. These include the use of cognitive training methods in rehabilitation programs, which, due to the positive transfer of the effect of training, improves cognitive functions and postural stability and increases the ability to perform two or more tasks, including those related to activities of daily living. Vestibular training is another promising area of practical application of interaction between cognitive functions and postural balance; accordingly, vestibular–cognitive interaction contributes to the improvement of cognitive status. Considering the social significance of neurocognitive disorders and the importance of their early diagnosis, issues related to the identification of objective correlates and predictors of cognitive decline, particularly the basic spatial and spatiotemporal parameters of static posturography and stabilometric indices, are taken into account.

Differences in Brain Activity During Real and Virtual Reality Motor Tasks in Normal Healthy Individuals.

This study aimed to clarify the differences between brain activity during virtual reality and real motor tasks. Twelve healthy adults participated in this study. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to measure brain activity, and a total of 34 channels, 17 channels each, centred on the bilateral motor cortex, were used as measurement sites. Two types of motor tasks were used: a real Box and Block test (R-BBT) and a virtual reality Box and Block test (VR-BBT). In both motor tasks, an increase in oxy-haemoglobin (O2Hb) and a slight decrease in deoxy-haemoglobin (HHb) levels were observed in the central region of the participant's motor cortex. The O2Hb in the motor cortex during R-BBT increased at the beginning of the task, rapidly decreased, and remained at a low value. Conversely, the amount of O2Hb in the motor cortex during the VR-BBT remained high throughout the task. In addition, O2Hb in the dorsal prefrontal cortex during the VR-BBT was significantly higher than during the R-BBT. This study indicates that brain activity differs significantly between real and virtual reality motor tasks, even for similar tasks.

A Hierarchical Architecture for Multisymptom Assessment of Early Parkinson’s Disease via Wearable Sensors

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and the heterogeneity of early PD leads to interrater and intrarater variability in observation-based clinical assessment. Thus, objective monitoring of PD-induced motor abnormalities has attracted significant attention to manage disease progression. Here, we proposed a hierarchical architecture to reliably detect abnormal characteristics and comprehensively quantify the multisymptom severity in patients with PD. A novel wearable device was designed to measure motor features in 15 PD patients and 15 age-matched healthy subjects, while performing five types of motor tasks. The abnormality classes of multimodal measurements were recognized by hidden Markov models (HMMs) in the first layer of the proposed architecture, aiming at motivating the evaluation of specific motor manifestations. Subsequently, in the second layer, three single-symptom models differentiated PD motor characteristics from normal motion patterns and quantified the severity of cardinal PD symptoms in parallel. In order to further analyze the disease status, the multilevel severity quantification was fused in the third layer, where machine learning algorithms were adopted to develop a multisymptom severity score. The experimental results demonstrated that the quantification of three cardinal symptoms was highly accurate to distinguish PD patients from healthy controls. Furthermore, strong correlations were observed between the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores and the predicted subscores for tremor <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${(R = 0.75,\;P = 1.40e - 3)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , bradykinesia <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${(R = 0.71,\;P = 2.80e - 3)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , and coordination impairments <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${(R = 0.69,\;P = 4.20e - 3)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , and the correlation coefficient can be enhanced to <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${0.88}\,\,{(P = 1.26e - 5)}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> based on the fusion schemes. In conclusion, the proposed assessment architecture holds great promise to push forward the in-home monitoring of clinical manifestations, thus enabling the self-assessment of disease progression.

Corticospinal excitability of untrained side depends on the type of motor task and degree of improvement in motor function

Unimanual motor tasks change the corticospinal excitability of the trained and untrained side. However, whether the motor task type influences the modulation of the corticospinal excitability of the untrained side remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the effects of motor tasks on the corticospinal excitability of the untrained side and the relationship between the excitability and motor function. In Experiment I, we measured the corticospinal excitability of the untrained side and motor function after 10 min of motor training in two conditions (gripping task and ball rotation task). The gripping task decreased the excitability. In contrast, excitability remained unchanged after the ball rotation task; further, the modulation of excitability and motor function showed a correlation. In Experiment II, we measured the corticospinal excitability of the untrained side and motor function after two sessions of the ball rotation task. The excitability increased, but motor function remained unchanged after the first session, whereas the excitability decreased to the level observed before training, and motor function improved after the second session. We suggest that the training condition modulates the corticospinal excitability of the untrained side and that this is related to the modulation of motor function.

Beyond the Mini-Mental State Examination: The Use of Physical and Spatial Navigation Tests to Help to Screen for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.

Spatial navigation and dual-task (DT) performance may represent a low-cost approach to the identification of the cognitive decline in older adults and may support the clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). To assess the accuracy of different types of motor tasks in differentiating older persons with MCI and AD from healthy peers. Older adults aged 60 years or over (n = 105; healthy = 39; MCI = 23; AD = 43) were evaluated by the floor maze test (FMT), the senior fitness test, and DT performance. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the accuracy of the tests. We also performed principal component analysis (PCA) and logistic regression analysis to explore the variance and possible associations of the variables within the sample. FMT (AUC = 0.84, sensitivity = 75.7%, specificity = 76.1%, p < 0.001) and DT (AUC = 0.87, sensitivity = 80.4%, specificity = 86.9%, p < 0.001) showed the highest performance for distinguishing MCI from AD individuals. Moreover, FMT presented better sensitivity in distinguishing AD patients from their healthy peers (AUC = 0.93, sensitivity = 94%, specificity = 85.6%, p < 0.001) when compared to the Mini-Mental State Examination. PCA revealed that the motor test performance explains a total of 73.9% of the variance of the sample. Additionally, the results of the motor tests were not influenced by age and education. Spatial navigation tests showed better accuracy than usual cognitive screening tests in distinguishing patients with neurocognitive disorders.

Aging and the prevalence of 'ironic' action errors under avoidant instruction.

Action errors can put older adults at risk of injury. Our study is the first to investigate whether older adults are more prone than younger adults to making ‘ironic’ motor errors (i.e., actions they have been instructed not to perform), or over-compensatory motor errors (e.g., moving more to the right when instructed not to move to the left). We also investigated whether error patterns change under cognitive load, and assessed whether age effects in the ability to inhibit a prohibited action are comparable to the age decrements found in the ability to inhibit a natural perception-action coupling in the Simon task. Sixty-four older (Mean = 70.64 years, SD = 5.81) and 39 younger (Mean = 28.74 years, SD = 16.39) adults completed an avoidant instruction line-drawing task (with and without cognitive load), and the Simon task. Older adults showed significantly slower inhibition times than younger adults on the Simon task, as expected, and in line with previous research. Surprisingly, however, older adults outperformed younger adults on the avoidant instruction task, producing fewer ironic and over-compensatory errors, and they performed similarly to the younger adults under cognitive load. Age-related decrements on the Simon but not the avoidant instruction task suggests that the two different types of motor tasks involve different subtypes of inhibition which likely recruit independent cognitive processes and neural circuitry in older age. It is speculated that the older adults’ superior ability to inhibit a prohibited action could be the result of age-related changes in distractibility.

Effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on visually guided learning of grip force control.

Anodal transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to be an effective non-invasive brain stimulation method for improving cognitive and motor functioning in patients with neurological deficits. tDCS over motor cortex (M1), for instance, facilitates motor learning in stroke patients. However, the literature on anodal tDCS effects on motor learning in healthy participants is inconclusive, and the effects of tDCS on visuo-motor integration are not well understood. In the present study we examined whether tDCS over the contralateral motor cortex enhances learning of grip-force output in a visually guided feedback task in young and neurologically healthy volunteers. Twenty minutes of 1 mA anodal tDCS were applied over the primary motor cortex (M1) contralateral to the dominant (right) hand, during the first half of a 40 min power-grip task. This task required the control of a visual signal by modulating the strength of the power-grip for six seconds per trial. Each participant completed a two-session sham-controlled crossover protocol. The stimulation conditions were counterbalanced across participants and the sessions were one week apart. Performance measures comprised time-on-target and target-deviation, and were calculated for the periods of stimulation (or sham) and during the afterphase respectively. Statistical analyses revealed significant performance improvements over the stimulation and the afterphase, but this learning effect was not modulated by tDCS condition. This suggests that the form of visuomotor learning taking place in the present task was not sensitive to neurostimulation. These null effects, together with similar reports for other types of motor tasks, lead to the proposition that tDCS facilitation of motor learning might be restricted to cases or situations where the motor system is challenged, such as motor deficits, advanced age, or very high task demand.

Self-talk and softball performance: The role of self-talk nature, motor task characteristics, and self-efficacy in novice softball players

ObjectivesTo determine the effect of self-talk on softball throwing performance. Additionally, two moderators, nature of self-talk and type of motor task, as well as a potential mediator of self-efficacy were examined. DeignAn experimental, within-subjects, and counterbalanced design. MethodsForty-two senior high students (mean age = 17.48 ± 0.55) were instructed to use instructional, motivational, and unrelated self-talk with counterbalanced order prior to softball throwing for accuracy and distance tasks. ResultsBoth instructional and motivational self-talk conditions had better performance than unrelated self-talk on softball throwing accuracy, whereas motivational self-talk had better performance than both instructional and unrelated self-talk in softball throwing for distance. Results for self-efficacy were similar, with self-efficacy for accuracy performance higher in both instructional and motivational self-talk conditions than with unrelated self-talk, while self-efficacy was highest in the motivational self-talk condition and lowest with unrelated self-talk. Significant correlations between self-efficacy and motor performance were also found with both tasks. ConclusionThese findings partially support the task-matching hypothesis, confirm the moderator role of type of self-talk and task type, suggest that self-efficacy has a mediator role, and provide direction for self-talk effectiveness.

What Has Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Taught Us About Neural Adaptations To Strength Training? A Brief Review

The evidence for neural mechanisms underpinning rapid strength increases has been investigated and discussed for over 30 years using indirect methods, such as surface electromyography, with inferences made toward the nervous system. Alternatively, electrical stimulation techniques such as the Hoffman reflex, volitional wave, and maximal wave have provided evidence of central nervous system changes at the spinal level. For 25 years, the technique of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has allowed for noninvasive supraspinal measurement of the human nervous system in a number of areas such as fatigue, skill acquisition, clinical neurophysiology, and neurology. However, it has only been within the last decade that this technique has been used to assess neural changes after strength training. The aim of this brief review is to provide an overview of TMS, discuss specific strength training studies that have investigated changes, after short-term strength training in healthy populations in upper and lower limbs, and conclude with further research suggestions and the application of this knowledge for the strength and conditioning coach.

High-gamma coupling between and within human pre- and primary motor cortex during movements

High-gamma coupling between and within human pre- and primary motor cortex during movements

Interlimb coordination differentiates Brazilian children from two socioeconomic settings

The aim of the present study was to test the notion that Brazilian children entering private school have a motor function advantage over those entering their first year in public school. Four hundred and two children from the two cultural settings were examined for motor function in the first and 10th month of school (first grade). Participants were assessed based on age-level standards and by total score for all items for children 3 to 7 years of age. The private school group outperformed their public setting peers on the first and second assessment; both groups improved over the school year. The most interesting outcome was the type of motor task that most clearly differentiated the groups: activities requiring gross motor (interlimb) coordination. Among the recommendations given, it is suggested that motor skill activities, especially those involving interlimb coordination, be included with any type of motor programming for young children.

Changes in the reflex excitability of the soleus spinal center in humans performing various motor tasks

The reflex excitability of the soleus spinal motoneurons was assessed in healthy subjects performing different types of motor tasks: voluntary contraction of the flexor (dorsal flexion) and extensor (plantar flexion) muscles of the foot. The effect of the contraction strength of these muscles was also evaluated. During dorsal flexion of the ipsi-and contralateral feet, changes in the reflex ecitability of the soleus motoneurons were unidirectional: the excitability decreased. The decrease in the reflex excitability was more profound during dorsal flexion with the maximum strength than with the half-maximum strength. During the plantar flexion of the ipsi-and contralateral feet, the excitability of the soleus motoneurons changed in opposite directions: in some subjects it increased, while in the others it decreased. The reflex excitability of the soleus motoneurons changed to a greater extent during dorsal or plantar flexion of the ipsilateral foot. In the case of plantar flexion, the soleus motor center is possibly affected by a broader spectrum of influences than in the case of dorsal flexion, which can explain the variations in the reflex excitability changes during plantar flexion.

A Comparison of Limb Praxis Abilities of Persons with Developmental Dyspraxia and Adult Onset Apraxia

The purpose of this study was to determine whether gesture performance in developmental dyspraxia and adult onset apraxia are similar. The performance of children and adults with dyspraxia and adults with apraxia on similar tasks were compared. A convenience sample of six groups of participants were as follows: children with learning disabilities and dyspraxia, young adults with learning disabilities and dyspraxia, older adults with left hemisphere brain damage and apraxia, and three age-matched groups of control participants. There were 10 subjects in each group except the young adults with learning disabilities. Performance on two types of motor tasks was measured: item (transitive, intransitive) and mode (verbal command and imitation). A mixed-model analysis of variance showed significant main effects for Diagnosis, Item, Mode, and the interactions of Diagnosis X Item and Mode X Item. This study suggests that participants with developmental dyspraxia and adult onset apraxia exhibit similar performance deficits in gestural motor tasks. The children and young adults with dyspraxia also scored similarly implying that dyspraxic behaviors continue into adulthood. Application of the findings to intervention suggest that task performance may improve if therapists demonstrate motor tasks and eliminate or minimize tool use.

Motor learning in Ts65Dn mice, a model for Down syndrome.

Ts65Dn mice are a genetic model for Down syndrome. Both individuals with Down syndrome and Ts65Dn mice have reduced cerebellar volumes and the cerebellum is involved in motor learning. Conflicting results have been reported on the motor learning abilities of Ts65Dn mice, which may be related to procedural differences between the motor learning tasks used in different laboratories and/or variability in phenotype because of the segregating background on which the mice are maintained. In this study, we examined learning in three types of motor tasks (peg running, accelerating rotorod, and rotating rod) which were initially easy for mice and gradually increased in difficulty. Ts65Dn mice learned the peg running task as well as controls, and learned the accelerating rotorod and rotating rod tasks as well as, and even better than, controls. These data indicate that Ts65Dn mice are not impaired in motor learning.

Median nerve SEPs: Effects of ideation, sensory deprivation and different types of motor tasks on parietal and frontal components

Median nerve SEPs: Effects of ideation, sensory deprivation and different types of motor tasks on parietal and frontal components

踵部挙上動作時の姿勢調節にかかわる下腿筋群の活動様式

The purpose of the present study was to reveal the functional significance of the pretibial (TA) muscle EMG activities prior to voluntary soleus (Sol) contraction while standing. In addition, we have tried to improve understanding of segmental mechanisms involved in the anticipatory postural adjustment by means of H reflex technique. The results obtained from the present study were as follows: 1) The TA activities preceding voluntary Sol contractions were highly reproducible. 2) If the subject performed forward lean of his body voluntarily during the foreperiod, the TA activity were reduced or almost ceased according to degrees of forward lean of the body. This result was thought to indicate that the TA activities are related to the anticipatory postural adjustment and the lean of the body forward direction. 3) We compared the differences between two types of motor tasks. One of them was required to contract the Sol in a few seconds (UH task), and the other was required to relax the Sol as soon as possible after rising on their toe tips (UD task). In the UH task, the duration of the TA activities increased and the appearance of the Sol activities delayed. 4) The TA and the Sol H reflexes were changed in amplitude parallel according to the EMG activity of the homonymous muscles. Thus, they were reciprocally organized such as facilitation of TA H reflex and inhibition of the Sol H reflex were observed during TA activity, and vice versa during Sol activity. These results strongly suggest that the organization of the segmental motor systems during driving phase of the postural adjustment were reciprocally controlled. 5) The peak times of TA facilitation and Sol inhibition were differentially appeared, and the latter always preceded.

Effects of expected perturbations on the velocity control of fast arm abduction movements

A triphasic electromyographic pattern of sequential activation of agonist, antagonist, and again agonist muscles underlies rapid or ballistic limb movements in humans. The first agonist burst reflects muscular force accelerating the limb, the antagonist burst is mainly related to the braking process of movement, while the second agonist burst is considered a reactive adjustment to the deceleration. The duration of the first agonist burst has been reported to be constant for movements of different amplitudes, thus suggesting that only changes in its amplitude contribute to the velocity control of movement. The present research has been undertaken to investigate the strategy whereby the nervous system increases agonist impulsive force for ballistic performance in response to experimental conditions requiring perceptual and/or previsional processes related to expected changes in load or accuracy constraints. The effects of expected perturbations of different strengths on some kinematic and electromyographic variables of fast arm abduction movements performed in a step-tracking task and in an outer-stop terminated task were analyzed in normal subjects. All motor performances were characterized by triphasic electromyographic patterns. In the absence of expected perturbations, the mean velocity of the movements was markedly higher in the outer-stop terminated task. Correspondingly, greater amplitudes and durations of the first agonist burst were observed. In both types of motor tasks, when expected perturbations were inserted, the velocity of the movement increased as well as the amplitude and the duration of the first agonist burst. These results, in aggrement with previous observations, indicate that the normal mechanism, whereby the nervous system increases agonist impulsive force in rapid movements, comprises changes not only in the amplitude but also in the duration of the first agonist burst.

Effects of social reinforcement on motor performance of trainable retarded students on speed and persistence tasks.

The effects of social reinforcement on two motor tasks by 40 retarded subjects with high and low MAs were investigated. Ages ranged from 10 to 18 yr., M = 14.46 yr. Mean IQ was 46.82; mental age for the high subjects was 8.09 yr., for the low 5.45 yr. Significant main effects for social reinforcement were found for the persistence measure but none for the speed measure. The effectiveness of praise on retarded subjects' performance is related to the type of motor task used.

Experimenter Effects on Children’s Motor Performance

In order to evaluate the effects of the amount of previous experimenter-subject contact on two motor tasks, male and female subjects (N=75, aged 3-5 yr.) were assigned to one of five treatment conditions (zero, one, three, or five contact periods, or tested by the teacher). The design was counterbalanced so that the effects of experimenter sex could be determined. Experimenter effects were not shown in these motor performances, and neither the amount of previous experimenter-subject contact nor the subject's sex produced differences in motor performance. This result might be due to the type of motor task used as contrasted to the type of cognitive task in which experimenter effects are often noted.

Transfer of training to a motor skill as a function of variation in rate of response.

Abstract : An experiment is reported which deals with transfer of training as a function of differences in response rate between the training and final tasks. The tasks employed in this experiment involved turning a crank so as to keep a pointer in alignment with a target which moved irregularly back and forth over a 120 degree sector on the circumference of a dial. The results of the experiment have a number of implications for problems which arise in the training of certain types of motor tasks involving pursuit reactions. The experiment was specifically designed to study the transfer effects of training on a task which differs from a final task with respect to the responses required, but which involves stimuli identical to those of the final task. Knowledge of the effects of response variation has obvious relevance to the problems arising in redesigning instruments or devising synthetic training devices. In each of these cases it is necessary to know to what extent differences in the responses required to operate the two pieces of equipment affect the ease with which the final task in question may be learned. (Author)