Abstract This study investigated the functional connectivity during visual-motor illusion and compared it with observation and motor execution using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to: illusion, observation, and motor execution group. Illusion group watched own finger joint movement video image and induced kinesthetic illusion, while the other group

ABSTRACT The issue of using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve sport performance has recently been a topic of interest for researchers. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of tDCS over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on mental fatigue and physical performance in professional swimmers. Fifteen professional swimmers were randomly assigned in a single-blinded

Abstract Constraining knee flexion of non-disabled individuals could further our understanding regarding the importance of knee joint during gait, which is a common disturbance in individuals with gait impairment. In this study we investigated whether a mechanical constraint of knee flexion in non-disabled adults would lead to compensatory strategies. Eleven non-disabled male adults walked without

Abstract Stepping in place without vision is a spatial orientation task that is associated with unperceived foot displacements. This study was aimed at determining whether foot displacement variability is modified by a concurrent cognitive task. Fourteen young adults stepped for 50 steps with their vision blocked and performed a continuous mental counting task. 3-D Kinematic data from both feet (heel

Abstract The aims of this study were to i) evaluate proximal-to-distal sequencing (PDS) in pianists’ attack and release movements during pressed-staccato keystrokes, and ii) investigate if trunk motion facilitates PDS of upper-limb movements. Nine expert pianists performed a series of loud pressed-staccato keystrokes. Kinematic data was recorded with a 3 D motion capture system. PDS was assessed by

Abstract Despite the well-known tradeoff between speed and accuracy, skilled people often demonstrate the ability to maintain high accuracy during fast movements. We focused on two strategies to improve accuracy, thereby increasing the reproducibility of individual parameters (certain parameters are maintained in low variability) and coordinating covariation among parameters (different parameters compensate

Abstract Few studies have investigated the effect of external loads secured inferior to the center of mass (COM) on postural control and motor performance in younger and older adults. In the present study, we investigated the effect of systematically increased external loads secured inferior to the COM on young (N = 15, age [years]: M = 26.67, SD= 3.45) and older adults’ (N = 15, age [years]: M = 67

Abstract The goal of this study was to examine how various degrees of perceptual decoupling during mind wandering affect fine motor control. We hypothesized that while under normal circumstances attention ensures an optimal control strategy that leads to accurate motor performance, during mind wandering the process becomes disrupted. In this study, we conducted a computer-based experiment with a tracking

ABSRACT. Human gait is inherently rhythmical, thus walking to rhythmic auditory stimulation is a promising intervention to improve temporal gait asymmetry (TGA) following neurologic injury such as stroke. However, the degree of benefit may relate to an individual’s underlying rhythmic ability. We conducted an initial investigation into the relationship between rhythm abilities and responsiveness of

Abstract To evaluate age and fall-risk related changes in balance ability from measures of bipedal quiet stance, this study aims to investigate the characteristics of ‘return to central’ - Centre of Pressure (COP) trajectories. COP trajectories were extracted from 60-second COP recordings in bipedal stance. In anterior posterior direction, age was associated with a greater number of detected trajectories

Abstract Multiple object tracking (MOT) and goal-directed movements are both based on attentional processes. This study focused on the instant effect of attentive tracking with respect to pointing performance. We measured the precision of pointing to the targets of an MOT task immediately after the tracking period when all the objects were still in motion, and to the precision of pointing to moving

Abstract This study investigated the scaling of upper arm kinematics, joint motion, and muscle activation for three-dimensional (3D) reaches to targets of increasing distance. Fifteen participants completed 108 total reaches to targets placed 7, 14, and 21 cm across midline. Peak velocity, acceleration, and time to peak velocity scaled to both target and movement distance. Shoulder and elbow excursion

Abstract The objective of the study was to examine the effects of traditional Indian dances like Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Kathak on motor skills and balance in children with Down syndrome compared to neuromuscular training. In this randomised double-arm design, 36 children with Down syndrome aged 6–10 years and with a score of <5 in Beighton’s hypermobility test participated in either Indian classical

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the gamma-band frequency and motor performance of children with and without music training. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 31 right-handed children, 6–11 years old, who were allocated to two groups: 1) the music group (MG), including children who attended preschool and musical training (n = 16), and 2) the no-music group (NMG)

Abstract In two experiments, horizontal and vertical orientated sounds moved in parabolas. Participants had to touch a screen to indicate where and when a virtual moving ball would cross a visible line. We predicted that due to the sensitivity of the auditory system to temporal information, manipulations of pitch should affect temporal errors more than spatial errors. Stimuli were sound sources at

Abstract The interhemispheric signal propagation (ISP) obtained by electroencephalography during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) allows for the assessment of the interhemispheric connectivity involved in inhibitory processes. To investigate the functional asymmetry of hemispheres during rapid movement, we compared ISP in the left and right hemispheres during rapid hand movements. In 11 healthy

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle synergies (MS) during upper limb cycling motion across power levels (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 watts). The MS hypothesis is important to the understanding of modular control for human movements. In this study, we explore its importance in execution of phasic movements at various power levels. Electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded

Abstract This study aimed to characterize muscle activation and its variability during two-legged hopping in children with and without Down syndrome (DS). Seventeen typically developing (TD) children and 15 children with DS were recruited. As only 6 children with DS (4F/2M, 9.95 (1.71) years) completed the test, we used a 2(TD):1(DS) ratio to age- and sex-match 12 TD children. Subjects first hopped

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine how the application of static stretching to ankle plantar flexors affects postural control during maximum forward leaning. Twenty-six volunteer males (age 21.4 ± 1.2 years) were randomly assigned to stretching and control conditions. Participants conducted 5-min stretching on a stretch board for the stretching condition and were kept standing for

Abstracts Biofeedback has been effectively implemented to improve the mediation and distribution of joint loads during gait, however, the inability to effectively coordinate lower limb movement by altering loading patterns may increase pathological stress and risk of injury and deleterious joint changes. This study examined the influence cueing an increase or decrease in lower extremity loading has

Abstract There is a long-held view that discrete movements aimed to a target are composed of a sequence of movement units (sub-movements) that have different roles in motor control (e.g., initial impulse, error correction and movement termination) depending on the task constraints (e.g., spatial-temporal requirements). Here we report findings from the manipulation of vision/no-vision on the prevalence

Abstract The experiment reported was designed to investigate the interaction of information and force variability on the evolving search strategy, specifically testing the hypothesis of convergence to tolerant regions. Participants were required to produce proportional bimanual isometric force output over three days of practice, with no prespecified force target and where performance was more tolerant

Abstract Goal-directed reaches are modified based on previous errors experienced (i.e., offline control) and current errors experienced during movement execution (i.e., online control). It is well documented that the control processes (i.e., offline and online control) underlying well learned movements change based on the time available to complete an action, such that offline control processes are

Abstract This study examined whether use of an N-back task could promote implicit and explicit motor learning. In Experiment 1, 30 healthy adults were assigned to an N-back task group (NTG) or a control task group (CG). All participants performed the serial reaction time task (SRTT) and generation task after either the N-back or control tasks. The results did not reveal whether the N-back task promoted

Abstract Weighted integration of visual and proprioceptive information is important in movement planning and execution. The present study used a virtual reality system to determine how upper limb movement consistency and accuracy are altered when (a) vision of the limb is removed and (b) proprioception and vision of the limb are misaligned. A one degree of freedom upper limb movement task was performed

Abstract We know that performing simultaneous cognitive tasks during locomotion results in reduced performance on either or both tasks, however the role of the cognitive system in the execution of last-minute changes to ongoing adaptive locomotor tasks is not fully understood. Nineteen participants were initially cued to circumvent to left, right, or step over an obstacle while an auditory cognitive

Abstract Descending stairs is an indicator of independence among stroke survivors, but is demanding in terms of both neuromuscular control and cognitive functioning. Previous studies found a compromised performance when stepping down with a concurrent cognitive task among healthy older adults, but whether stroke survivors react similarly is not known. This cross-sectional study thus investigated how

Abstract Main goal of this study was to investigate the influence of mental rotation tasks on postural stability. 84 participants were tested with two object-based mental rotation tasks (cube vs. human figures), an egocentric mental rotation task with one human figure, a math- (cognitive control) and a neutral task, while standing on a force plate in a both-legged narrow stance. Parameters related

Abstract Gross motor development in the preschool phase depends on several factors that remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whether level of habitual physical activity (HPA) and global cognitive function (CF) can be used as predictors of gross motor skills in Brazilian preschoolers and to verify their possible mediators. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 166 children

Abstract Music and metronomes differentially impact movement performance. The current experiment presented metronome and drum beats in simple and complex rhythms before goal-directed reaching movements, while also quantifying enjoyment. Auditory conditions were completed with and without visual feedback and were blocked and counterbalanced. There were no differences between simple and complex rhythms

Abstract Recent research showed that artificially immobilizing the center of mass (COM) of participants in a standing position increased the center of pressure (COP) variability. This increase has been interpreted as an exploratory behavior. The objectives of this study are to investigate if this exploratory behavior is (1) reflected in other COP variables and (2) automatically controlled using a dual-task

Abstract In dance, music, or sports, reproducibility and consistency as well as bilateral dexterity/coordination of movement are crucial for motor control. Research into the biomechanics of movement consistency and variability is important for motor learning to achieve proficiency and maximize outcome reproduction and stability as well as to reduce the risk of injury. Thirty-six participants were instructed

Abstract As psychomotor development occurs in a specific social context, the environment in which a child is reared is important. The randomized study involved forty-five school children between 8 and 10 years. They were assigned to a control group (n = 23) and a neuromuscular training group (n = 22). A neuromuscular intervention for six weeks, on two nonconsecutive days, and in a circuit with 30-second

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the motor control strategies adopted when performing two jumping tasks with different task demands when analysed at an individual and group level. Twenty-two healthy individuals performed two jumping tasks: jumping without the use of an arm swing (CMJnas) and jumping starting in a plantar flexed position with the use of an arm swing (PF). Principal

Abstract Previous research has illustrated that real-time conscious postural control (i.e., reinvestment - shifting from movement automaticity to a more consciously controlled and monitoring of movement) increased with standing task difficulties among healthy older adults. However, such association has not been investigated in the younger population. This study attempted to examine real-time conscious

Abstract Previous research has illustrated that real-time conscious postural control (i.e., reinvestment - shifting from movement automaticity to a more consciously controlled and monitoring of movement) increased with standing task difficulties among healthy older adults. However, such association has not been investigated in the younger population. This study attempted to examine real-time conscious

Abstract In this study, we compared the effects of action observation therapy (AOT) on the walking ability of stroke patients between videos with limited visual attention (body part videos) and a video with the whole body (whole body video). We employed a crossover design and conducted 3 AOT sessions (body part videos, whole body video and a scenery video) for 11 stroke patients. The evaluation items

Abstract Perceived effort for goal-directed reaching may be impacted by the level of self-reported fatigue, however, the relationship between self-reported fatigue and perceived effort has not been examined. We examined how perceived effort changed under varied reach conditions and the relationship between fatigue, perceived effort and reach performance. Twenty-three young adults performed reach actions

Abstract Participants attempted to center a cursor on a video display of a winding roadway with a rate control system. Fourier analysis of their steering movements in response to sinusoidal perturbations of the roadway revealed how much attention they allocated to different roadway preview locations. We compared a full 1.0 s of preview with preview restricted to a narrow slit around 0.3 s or 0.6 s

Abstract This study examined the effects of focus of attention (FOA) instructions on learning a dart throwing task, quiet eye duration (QED) and pupillary responses. Thirty-six novices (M age = 33.6, SD = 19.7) learned using either (a) internal-focus (arm movement), (b) external-focus (target/dart) or (c) control instructions before completing retention and transfer tests 10 days later. FOA strategies

Abstract Females have been reported to utilize a feedforward control strategy during landing in which they compensate for decreased rate of torque development (RTD) of the hip extensors through earlier pre-activation of the knee extensors. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of a 4-week hip-focused training program on hip extensor RTD and feedforward control of the hip and knee

Abstract Various factors (e.g., hand preference, object properties) constrain reach-to-grasp in hemispace. With object use, end-state comfort (ESC) has been shown to supersede the preferential use of one hand at the midline. To assess how location, size, and orientation of objects (dowel, mallet, cup) influence preferred-hand use and ESC (N = 50; Mage = 20.83), three preferential reaching tasks were

Various factors (e.g., hand preference, object properties) constrain reach-to-grasp in hemispace. With object use, end-state comfort (ESC) has been shown to supersede the preferential use of one hand at the midline. To assess how location, size, and orientation of objects (dowel, mallet, cup) influence preferred-hand use and ESC (N = 50; Mage = 20.83), three preferential reaching tasks were implemented

Abstract The aim of the present research is to test whether resilience in a motor task enhances or diminishes when encountering stressors. We conducted a lateral movement task during which we induced stressors and tracked the movement accuracy of each participant over time. Stressors corresponded to organismic constraints (i.e., visual occlusion), task constraints (i.e., movement sensitivity), or both

Abstract Learning about the relative timing dimension of a motor skill is enhanced by factors that promote higher response stability between trials. Conversely, learning the absolute timing dimension is favored by lower trial-to-trial stability. The mental practice may increase response stability during acquisition since there is a low possibility of adjustments made between trials. Thus, this study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine how dual-task (DT) effect on gait differs among adolescents with different fitness and health profiles. The gait performances of 365 adolescents aged 13–14 years were assessed at single and DT walking. The proportional changes in gait parameters from single to dual were regressed against gender, body mass index (BMIz), three components of MABC-2 (balance

Abstract Virtual reality (VR) is popular across many disciplines and has been increasingly used in sports as a training tool lately. However, it is not clear whether the spatial orientation of humans works equally within VR and in the real-world. In this paper, two studies are presented, in which natural body movements were allowed and demanded. Firstly, a series of verbal and walking distance estimation

Abstract Purpose of this study was to answer the question whether the recognized patterns of brain activity are likely to change under the influence of experimentally induced low back pain (LBP), and also to determine the functional networks of the brain engaged in this process. Twenty healthy subjects (8 women) participated. An experimental design was applied with repeated measurements of the blood

Abstract Erected posture provides humans a large shoulder mobility that requires complex automatic muscle synergies to accomplish joint stability needs. This is evident in shoulder abduction, wherein the voluntary activation of glenohumeral muscles is coupled with an automatic recruitment of scapulothoracic muscles. Here, we investigated whether volitional modification of the scapular position, and

Abstract In this paper we review studies that have identified collective variables (order parameters) in movement coordination, control and skill with emphasis on whole-body multiple joint degree of freedom (DF) tasks. Collective variables of a dynamical system have been proposed formally and informally from a diverse set of perceptual-motor tasks, from which we emphasize: bimanual coordination, locomotion

Abstract The purpose of this present study was to examine whether providing choice would enhance motor performance under psychological pressure. Participants were asked to throw soft-golf balls toward a circular target. The practice phase consisted of 30 trials using three colored balls (i.e., blue, red, yellow) from 5.5 meters. Participants then performed 10 throws from 2 different distances: 5.5

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

Abstract 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

Abstract 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

Abstract 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

Abstract 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

Abstract 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

Abstract 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

Abstract 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

Abstract 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