Abstract Numerous previous studies using the dual-task methodology have indicated that the effect of attentional direction on the performance of motor skill differs as a function of skill levels. Whereas previous studies relied mostly on inter-individual comparisons, this study focused on how the effects of different attentional conditions change within individuals with practice. Participants were

Evidence has accumulated that learners participating in self-controlled practice can both acquire skills and process task-relevant information more effectively than those participating in externally controlled practice. However, the impact of self-controlled practice on neuro-cognitive information processing during visual performance-related feedback has received limited investigation. We expected

Previous nonstandard visuomotor transformation studies using variations of eye-hand coupling and decoupling tasks focused on dominant hand use. The present study expanded this work by including the non-dominant hand. Twenty-four right-hand dominant adults (M = 21 yrs.; 12 females) slid their index finger along a vertical or horizontal touchscreen to move a cursor that was always displayed in the vertical

Falls are the leading cause of injury related death in older adults. In this piece, a motor learning lens is applied to falls, and falls are viewed as three interdependent phases: 1) destabilization, 2) descent, and 3) impact. This review examines how movements can be performed in the descent and impact phases to potentially reduce fall-related injuries. The evidence that movements performed during

We used force matching and verbal reports of finger force to explore a prediction of the iso-perceptual manifold concept, which assumes that stable percepts are associated with a manifold in the afferent-efferent space. Young subjects produced various force magnitudes with the index finger, middle finger, or both fingers together. Further, they reported the force level using a verbal scale and by matching

Postural adaptability is related to central sensory integration and reweighting efficiency. Incline-interventions lead to lean after-effect (LAE), but it is not fully known how sensory reweighting may affect the magnitude and duration of LAE. We tasked fifteen young and healthy subjects with performing incline-interventions under conditions designed to perturb proprioception during or after the incline-intervention

Three frameworks have been proposed to account for interpersonal synchronization: The information processing approach argues that synchronization is achieved by mutual adaptation, the coordination dynamics perspective supposes a continuous coupling between systems, and complexity matching suggests a global, multi-scale interaction. We hypothesized that the relevancy of these models was related to the

Previous studies argued that body turns are executed in an ordered sequence: the eyes turn first, followed by the head and then by the trunk. The purpose of this study was to find out whether this sequence holds even if body turns are not explicitly instructed, but nevertheless are necessary to reach an instructed distal goal. We asked participants to shop for grocery products in a simulated supermarket

This study investigated the beneficial effects of the utilization of mechanical advantage (MA) of finger tangential forces during the moment production. Subjects produced the resistive moment of force against the external torque while the moment arms of the tangential forces were systematically changed. We observed a relatively large contribution to the net moment by the tangential forces with the

Inter-segmental coordination patterns and mechanical energy transfer were compared between vertical jumping tasks which possess different countermovement characteristics. Thirteen participants completed squat (SJ), countermovement (CMJ) and drop (DVJ) vertical jumps. Inter-segmental coordination patterns became more out-of-phase with increases in countermovement velocity (DVJ > CMJ > SJ), at the ankle

Up to 81% of individuals who are fluent in sign language (signers) report pain. Non-native signers (with non-signing, non-deaf parents) report greater pain than natives (≥1 signing, deaf parent). The goal of this study was to develop a composite measure of injury risk (the modified Strain Index for signers) based on previously identified biomechanics unique to signers and examine scores across sub-groups

Up to 81% of individuals who are fluent in sign language (signers) report pain. Non-native signers (with non-signing, non-deaf parents) report greater pain than natives (≥1 signing, deaf parent). The goal of this study was to develop a composite measure of injury risk (the modified Strain Index for signers) based on previously identified biomechanics unique to signers and examine scores across sub-groups

In speed-based sports that require fast reactions, the most accurate predictions are made once the players have seen the ball trajectory. However, waiting for the ball trajectory does not leave enough time for appropriate reactions. Expert athletes use kinematic information which they extract from the opponent’s movements to anticipate the ball trajectory. Temporal occlusion, where only a part of the

The purpose of this study was to examine the motor control strategies employed to control the degrees of freedom when performing a lower limb task with constraints applied at the hip, knee, and ankle. Thirty-five individuals performed vertical jumping tasks: hip flexed, no knee bend, and plantar flexed. Joint moment data from the hip, knee, and ankle were analyzed using principal component analysis

According to the challenge point framework, task difficulty has to be appropriate to learner skill level. The pure blocked or random practice controls the task difficulty during practice monotonically. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of algorithm-based practice schedule and task similarity on motor learning in older adults. For this purpose, 60 older adults were randomly

We examined effects of Social Inhibition (SI), and Skill Level (SL) on simulated handgun shooting performance. Electroencephalogram (EEG) was also recorded in order to measure task-related changes in cortical activity. Participants consisted of Novice (NSL) and Experienced (ESL) shooters who were randomly assigned to shoot while in the presence of an audience (Hi SI) or alone (Low SI). The results

It is well known that vision makes an important contribution to the control of goal-directed movements. However, task performance can be maintained when vision is interrupted, such as when a goalkeeper faces a free kick in soccer and the ball moves behind teammates and opposing players. To maintain behavior, it is necessary to process the visual information available from intermittent samples. In this

The objective of this study was to systematically analyze the literature surrounding dual-task (DT) effects on gait in typically developing children (TDC) and to conduct meta-analyses where applicable. After reviewing the abstracts of 676 articles, a total of 22 studies were included. The outcomes of interest were relative change in gait speed, cadence, stride length, double support time, variability

The primary motor cortex (M1) is one of the main cortical areas involved in motor learning. However, little is known about its differential role in the learning of the relative and absolute dimensions of motor skills. We investigated the role of M1 in the learning of the dimensions of a complex motor skill. Forty-eight participants practiced golf putting and were stimulated for 20 minutes with real

The differences in the executive attention network and the related blood oxygen characteristics of the right frontal-parietal network brain area between athletes from interceptive and strategic sport were investigated. Strategic athletes had higher accuracy and longer reaction time (RT) compared with interceptive sports athletes, lower flanker conflict effects on accuracy compared to the other two

We examined the effect of pretest familiarization with ipsilateral or contralateral limbs on the performance in a proprioception test conducted afterwards. Sixty adults were randomly assigned to six different familiarization-session patterns. Ankle proprioception was tested using active movement extent discrimination assessment. The results reflected a beneficial effect of familiarization session on

FMRI studies support that neuromuscular electrical stimulation can modulate the excitability of the somatosensory cortex. We studied whether practice and electrical stimulation of the quadriceps would enhance learning during a weight-bearing task. 20 healthy individuals (10 male) and 8 control subjects participated in a 2-day study. Day 1 consisted of a pretest, a training session, and a post-test;

This study aims to provide the first brain structural-behavioral correlates underlying age differences in Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT) performance after adjusting for gender, education, quality of life, mental health, and anthropometric variables. We report the data of 210 right-handed participants (20- to 80-year old), who underwent behavioral assessments including GPT, Trail Making Test, and stop-signal

The purpose of this study was to use the meta-analytic approach to assess the effectiveness of self-controlled (SC) and regulated (R) feedback on motor skill performance (MSP). Random effects model using the standardized mean difference effect size (ES) was used to pool results. A total of 86 ES, retrieved from 18 studies, were calculated and separated into three types of feedback: SC, R, and yoked

Functional chewing patterns are achieved early in life prior to other motor skills like walking. Chewing seems to improve specific aspects of attention; however, there is limited research on chewing in dual motor tasks. This study examined relationships between chewing and secondary motor tasks in children. Sixteen typically developing children (13.1 ± 2.3 years) participated in finger tapping, simple

Functional chewing patterns are achieved early in life prior to other motor skills like walking. Chewing seems to improve specific aspects of attention; however, there is limited research on chewing in dual motor tasks. This study examined relationships between chewing and secondary motor tasks in children. Sixteen typically developing children (13.1 ± 2.3 years) participated in finger tapping, simple

To assess indirectly the effects of virtual reality (VR) immersion on postural sway in thirteen healthy individuals. The ellipse sway area was recorded with an accelerometer coupled to an electrical shuttle balance under six conditions, varying Romberg and single leg stance (SLS) position with eyes open and eyes closed. The length of the ellipse traveled over 10 s was measured and Romberg and single

To assess indirectly the effects of virtual reality (VR) immersion on postural sway in thirteen healthy individuals. The ellipse sway area was recorded with an accelerometer coupled to an electrical shuttle balance under six conditions, varying Romberg and single leg stance (SLS) position with eyes open and eyes closed. The length of the ellipse traveled over 10 s was measured and Romberg and single

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Quiet Mind Training (QMT) on Alpha power suppression and fine motor skill acquisition among novice dart players. 30 novice dart players were randomly assigned either to a QMT or a control condition. Playing skills and Alpha power suppression were assessed at four time-points: at baseline, retention test 1, under pressure conditions, at retention

This study investigates if lower extremity open-skill training impacts perception and cognitive processing abilities or just influences task related motor abilities. Twenty-two participants (24.7 ± 2.4years; 11 males, 11 females) were randomly allocated either into the group that trained on a computerized device or to the control group. Prior to and following the 4-week study period, motor performance

Abstract The present study investigated whether the duration of the first tapping bout, which could also be considered ‘the priming’, would play a role for the occurrence of the behavioral phenomenon termed repeated bout rate enhancement. Eighty-eight healthy individuals were recruited. Sixty-three of these demonstrated repeated bout rate enhancement and they were assigned to two different groups,

Gestural communication characterizes daily individuals’ interactions in order to share information and to modify others’ behavior. Social neuroscience has investigated the neural bases which support recognizing of different gestures. The present research, through the use of the hyperscanning approach, that allows the simultaneously recording of the activity of two or more individuals involved in a

Considerable evidence exists related to the behavioral outcomes of motor imagery-based training (MI). Comparatively, there is a relative gap in the literature on how corticospinal excitability, a precursor for experience-dependent plasticity, changes over the course of an MI session, and more specifically if there is an effect of varying the duration of the blocks in which MI is performed. As such

Considerable evidence exists related to the behavioral outcomes of motor imagery-based training (MI). Comparatively, there is a relative gap in the literature on how corticospinal excitability, a precursor for experience-dependent plasticity, changes over the course of an MI session, and more specifically if there is an effect of varying the duration of the blocks in which MI is performed. As such

This study investigated the effects of visual feedback (VF) complexity on movement performance to potentially optimize the design of VF-based rehabilitation. We evaluated the effects of VF complexity on performance of the two-legged squat during training with concurrent (real-time) VF and short-term retention with no VF. Four VF cases were employed to train spatial positioning of the thigh segment

The literature provides that self-efficacy increases if individuals receive more information of their success during practice with a consequent increase in learning outcomes. The objective of this study was to test the effects of different knowledge of results (KR) frequencies on self-efficacy and motor learning. Two groups with different KR frequencies performed an anticipatory timing task on two

The aim was to determine whether operating a feedforward schema for generating movement pattern parameters was more successful than an open loop strategy for coping with uncertain initial conditions. A computer simulation model was used to determine the optimal solutions that maximised the likelihood of performing a successful upstart. Feedforward schema were established between movement pattern parameters

The present study sought to evaluate how mental effort modulates premotor activity within forearm muscles in the context of an isometric grasping task. Muscle activity of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) and extensor digitorum communis (EDC) was recorded during the application of maximum grip forces in nineteen healthy adult subjects. Each subject was examined under two experimental conditions:

The present study sought to evaluate how mental effort modulates premotor activity within forearm muscles in the context of an isometric grasping task. Muscle activity of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) and extensor digitorum communis (EDC) was recorded during the application of maximum grip forces in nineteen healthy adult subjects. Each subject was examined under two experimental conditions:

Previous research has revealed rapid feedback mediated responses in one arm to mechanical perturbations applied to the other arm during shared bimanual tasks. We now ask whether these interlimb responses are expressed symmetrically. We tested this question in a virtual reality environment: a cursor representing each hand was used to 'pick up' each end of a virtual bar and place it into a target trough

We compared the effect of visual information on the dominant upper limb position sense of children with diplegic cerebral palsy (n = 10) and normally developing children (n = 10). An isokinetic dynamometer passively moved the dominant forearm in 120° of elbow flexion/extension until the volunteers stopped the machine to indicate that the elbow joint was positioned in the predetermined target angle

Changing automatized movement patterns often leads to initial performance decrements caused by proactive interference. In this study, we scrutinized whether proactive interference could be reduced by inhibiting the to-be-changed movement pattern by means of a physical movement constraint and verbal inhibition instructions, and whether any of the two interventions may be superior. Skilled typists typed

High impact forces during running have been associated with tibial stress injuries. Previous research has demonstrated increasing step rate will decrease impact forces during running. However, no research has determined the cognitive demand of gait retraining. The primary purpose was to determine the cognitive demand and effectiveness of field-based gait retraining. We hypothesized that in-field gait

We asked whether body sway would be influenced by visual information about motion of the ground surface. On a ship at sea, standing participants performed a demanding visual search task or a simple visual inspection task. Display content was stationary relative to the ship or relative to the Earth. Participants faced the ship's bow or its port side. Performance on the visual search task was representative

We aimed to investigate the effect of external load on the joint position sense (JPS) accuracy and its relation to the target jump height. The present study also aimed to explore the relationship between force sense (FS) and maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Participants' MVIC levels were determined during the 45-degree knee extension task. Then, participants were asked to execute a knee

In this study, we compared the effectiveness of concurrent action observation and motor imagery (AO + MI), observing with the intent to imitate (active observation; AO), and passive observation (PO) training interventions for improving eye-hand coordination. Fifty participants were assigned to five groups [AO + MI, AO, PO, physical practice (PP); control] and performed a visuomotor rotation task, whilst

To reveal how the CNS copes with load uncertainty in catching, electromyography (EMG) was recorded in 15 females and 14 males while catching visually identical balls of known and unknown weights under varied (1-10 s) and constant (1 s) foreperiods (warning time). EMG integrals, which represented total muscle activity, were computed for three time intervals prior to the catch (anticipatory), and one

Recent studies examining children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have revealed kinematic markers highlighting deficits in the preparatory and online phases of upper extremity movements. In the following study, 12 children with high functioning ASD were first assessed (pre-test) on 15 trials of a reciprocal upper extremity Fitts Law target task by flexing and extending their right arm

We investigated changes in control of inter-segmental dynamics underlying upper extremity dyscoordination caused by stroke. Individuals with stroke and healthy individuals performed a natural reach-to-grasp movement. Kinetic analysis revealed that both groups rotated the shoulder by muscle torque and used interaction torque to rotate the elbow. However, individuals with stroke used interaction torque

The time T needed to reach a target of width W located at distance D varies as a logarithmic or power function of the quotient of D/W. The received, strong version of Fitts' law requires isochrony-the invariance of T across different D/W conditions with the same quotient-but there is room for a weaker, yet nontrivial version of Fitts' law where scale influences T without interacting with the crucial

An external focus of attention is considered superior to an internal focus for learning and performance. However, findings specific to changing the task difficulty are inconsistent. The present study used a reciprocal aiming task to determine the effects of attentional focus on motor performance using speed-accuracy paradigm. We constrained timing to examine how internal and external focus of attention

The presence of visual dependence as an influential factor on the development of functional stability in ambulatory individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) was studied in 22 adults with spastic bilateral CP, 11 of whom were considered visually dependent, and 18 healthy adults. Participants stood upright during pitch plane disturbances of the visual field and support surface. Intersegmental coordination

The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to determine if an intervention program using pedal-less bicycles could improve stability scores among preschool aged children. Currently, there has not been literature demonstrating if this intervention will improve balance scores. Twenty healthy children, aged three to five years old were recruited to determine if pedal-less bicycles would improve

Amblyopia influences psychomotor and psychosocial skills, although not all studies are unanimous. Different treatments coexist, but the effect on those variables is not clear. This study aims to probe whether children with amblyopia have impairments in these areas and if different optometric treatments reduce them effectively. 50 children, diagnosed with amblyopia, and 33 without amblyopia participated

The aim of the exploratory study was to investigate the individual and combined effects of light finger touch, a cognitive task, and vision on postural sway in individuals with stroke. Nine older adults with stroke stood on the force platform with eyes open and eyes closed, with and without a light finger touch contact with the stationary frame, and when counting backward from a randomly chosen three-digit

Forty children with cerebral palsy (CP) and 120 typical developing children (TD) performed a topographic working memory (WalCT) test requiring to move their body in a walked vista-space and a visuo-spatial test (CBT) requiring just reaching movements. WalCT score was significantly higher in GMFCS II/III than in TD. CBT score was significantly lower in GMFCS I than in III/IV but lower than TD in all

This study compares polyrhythmic production ability between water polo players (WPs), artistic swimmers (ASs) and drummers (Ds), to assess how their differing experiences in coordinating complex inter-limb activity with music affected this ability. Eight ASs, eight WPs and eight Ds participated. They were asked to perform finger and foot taps in a single-rhythm task (every 750 ms) and two polyrhythmic

We investigated the patterns of coordination between the left and right legs that support the task of maintaining an upright standing posture. We used cross-wavelet analyses to assess coordination between the centers of pressure under the left and right feet. We recruited participants with a lateralized functional preference for their right leg, and we manipulated whether these participants stood with

The predominant role of the primary motor cortex (M1) in motor execution is well acknowledged. However, additional roles of M1 are getting evident in humans owing to advances in noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques. This review collates such studies in humans and proposes that M1 also plays a key role in higher cognitive processes. The review commences with the studies that have investigated

The current study examined whether young adults’ avoidance behaviours differed when circumventing a larger versus smaller interferer. It was expected that avoidance behaviours (repulsion) would be affected by the interferer’s size (i.e., greater repulsion for larger body size). Participants (n = 20) walked along an 8 m pathway towards a goal while avoiding either a larger or smaller sized male interferer