Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Carl P. Gabbard PowerPoint ® Lecture Slide Presentation revised by Alberto Cordova, University of Texas at San Antonio Chapter 7 Information Processing and Motor Control

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Information-Processing Perception  Action Attention Memory Processing speed Programming (motor plan) (execution – theories of motor control)

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Information-Processing Model Figure 7.1

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Attention Prerequisite to the perception of information Limited Attend to only one thing at a time, or think only one thought at one time Serial manner Attend to one thing and then another Concepts associated with attention and motor behavior Alertness and preparation Individual’s limited capacity to process info Selective attention (ability to select and attend to meaningful info)

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Alertness Alertness Preparation of the system Reaction time (RT) RT improves with age into 20s, stable until 60s

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Divided Attention Limitations in the capacity to handle info from the environment Divided attention Our attention is limited Interference Loss of speed of quality of performance Both activities could be affected The second activity could be ignored Automation and attention deployment skills

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Selective Attention Ability to attend to relevant information and nonprocess irrelevant information “Classic” Cocktail Party Phenomenon Development (years) Focusing on one thing; easily distracted (2 to 5 years) Selective attention (12 > years)

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory The retention and subsequent retrieval of information Recognition memory Noticing whether a stimulus is identical or similar to one previously experienced Recall memory The more advanced form of memory; involves remembering a stimulus that is not present Developmental differences due primarily to processing strategies rather than structural (capacity) increases

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory Structures Short-Term (working) Memory Capacity for about 7 to 9 items 30 seconds Chunking Memory span

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory Structures Long-Term Memory More permanent Unlimited capacity Unlimited duration (hours, days, and years)

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory Systems Relationship to Motor Response Figure 7.2

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory Abilities Early Processing Abilities Recognition memory (shortly after birth) Habituation – reaction to stimulus declines Dishabituation – renewed responsiveness to a new stimulus Recall (conscious) memory (by 6 months it emerges and by 2 years it is evident)

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory Abilities “Cued” Recall Contextual learning Perfect retention 3 to 4 days after training (3 months) Infant kicking experiments exhibit evidence for contextual learning (6 months) Figure 7.3

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory Abilities Short-term Memory Abilities Improves up to early adolescence Memory span increases 2 to 7 ½ digits Coding, searching, and recalling (strategies) difficult for children Location vs. distance Long-term Memory Abilities (2 years) Rehearsal (formal strategies) Retrieval Continuous vs. discrete motor skills Less loss of long-term memory with continuous skills

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Memory Abilities Knowledge Example: chess players - Knowledge of game - Chunking strategy Metamemory Knowledge or intuitions that people have about memory and themselves as memorizers Understanding strategies Improves with age and is adult-like by 10 years.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Processing Speed and Movement Time Processing Speed The rate of speed at which information is processed Performance difference between children and adults Successful motor performance Perceptual recognition (attention) Speed of memory functions Neuromuscular response time

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Reaction Time (RT) Basic measure of processing speed (bits per sec) Movement Time Response Time (RT + MT) Simple RT Choice RT Processing Speed and Movement Time

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Reaction Time and Movement Time Figure 7.4

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Processing Speed and Movement Time Hick’s Law Processing time increases as information load (complexity) increases (RT decreases) Fitt’s Law Speed–accuracy trade-off When performers attempt to do something more quickly, they typically do it less accurately

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Programming Cognitive processing that results in the formulation of a thought, cognitive expression, or motor program Motor program A memory representation of a class of actions responsible for producing an unique pattern of motor activity if the program is executed

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Schema Theory Motor programs stored in memory are not specific records of the movements to be performed Set of general rules, concepts, and relationships (schemas) to guide performance in keeping with the concept of GMP (generalized motor program) Motor Schema Storage of “movement elements” and the relationship of these elements to each other

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Recall schema Recognition schema Motor schema “Variability in practice” promotes general motor performance Schema Theory

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Theories of Motor Control Developmental Biodynamics Coordinative Structures Dynamical Systems Neuronal Group Selection

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Coordinative Structures Motor programs control groupings of muscles with associated joints. Degrees of freedom (df) Coordination– process by which an individual constrains, or condenses, the available df into the smallest number necessary to achieve a goal (Rose & Christina, 2006) Synergies (muscle grouping)

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Dynamic Systems “How” motor control emerges and unfolds developmentally Self-organizing properties Rate controller (limiter) Subsystems Phase shift: discontinuities occur in performance Environment and demands of the task influence development (affordance)

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Neuronal Group Selection Emergence of coordinated movement is tied closely to the growth of the musculoskeletal system and development of the brain. Neuronal Groups Localized collections of hundreds to thousands of interconnected neurons. NGST accounts for the brain’s organization of synergies as functional units of motor control.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings The brain and body are not “pre-wired” for skilled movements; rather, they have “self-organizing” properties that adjust for biological and environmental contexts (affordances). How infants acquire new movement skills: Coupling of perception and action Development of adaptable and functional movement synergies (exploration of environment) Phase shifts in which new movement patterns are explored and selected Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Figure 7.5 EEG Used to Study Perception in Infants

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Self-Organizing? These conjoined twins are able to share motor acts Motor programming Learned to walk at 15 months Have learned to bike and swim Figure 7.6

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Newell’s Constraints Model Figure 7.7

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Special Populations with Motor Disorders Cerebral palsy Balance and posture Down syndrome Maternal age (> 35) RT, gross-motor skills, and reaching and grasping Development coordination disorder Without neurological disease Perceptual-motor skills Attention-deficit / Hyperactivity disorder Fine- and gross-motor skills

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Table 7.1

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings Changes with Advanced Aging Processing speed and movement time Psychomotor slowing Figure 7.8

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings The four basic components of the information-processing model are sensory input, reception through various perceptual modalities, interpretation and decision-making (programming), and over motor response. The core of most information processing is attention. The two primary types of memory are recognition and recall. Four aspects of the developmental biodynamics perspective offer insight: coordinative structures, dynamic systems, neuronal group selection, and developmental cognitive neuroscience. Summary