Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 233 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-126).

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1980. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Education of Learning Disabled Children). Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-44).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-139).

Thesis (MSportwet)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, School of Physiotherapy, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 454-459)

Magister Artium (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science) - MA(SRES) / Through the process of motor learning and control, new skills are then developed. There are various physical activities that enable the development of new motor skills, one being dance. Numerous studies have found that dance has improved sensorimotor control of body sway following just a single dance session. Furthermore, learning dance engages a variety of cognitive resources that improve postural control of children. Dancing therefore contributes to the development and refinement of the fundamental motor skills like gait and balance. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of dance training on gait and balance of Grade R and Grade 7 school children, and to investigate which age group would best demonstrate these effects. This study was conducted using an intervention and control group. The Grade R intervention group constituted a sample of thirty-four participants, the Grade R control consisted of twenty-seven participants, the Grade 7 intervention group and control group consisted of twenty-one participants each. Three different testing instruments were used; a 10-meter walk test for stride pattern analysis, a dynamic balance test known as the tandem gait and the static balance test known as the tandem stance balance test. Both the control and experimental group were required to perform these tests before and after the intervention period. The dance training lasted a period of six weeks and was conducted on a weekly basis. Following the intervention it was found that only Grade R stride pattern in terms of stride frequency was significantly changed and that no significant changes were seen at any time for Grade 7 children stride pattern and balance. The balance changes were seen for both Grade R intervention and control groups, showing that the children were improving with physical activity, which cannot be attributed to dance alone. This highlights that training should be started at the young age, and that physical activity programs like dance are good and diverse options to consider when designing such activities.

Utilization of an external focus of attention has been proved to be beneficial in the motor learning literature. When people focus on the effects of the movement (i.e., external focus of attention), the motor skill is enhanced compared to directing attention to the body movements (i.e., internal focus of attention). Previous studies that have examined the effect of focus of attention on learning a motor skill often used visible or imagined objects to elicit an external focus of attention. However, the effects of these different types of external focus instruction have not been investigated thoroughly. It was unclear prior to this thesis how the focus of attention effect is influenced by the use of imagery. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the difference between directing attention to a visible object and an imagined object when performing and learning the standing long jump. It was hypothesized the group of participants who practiced with an imagery instruction would perform similarly in the post-test with or without an object that was used to elicit an external focus of attention. It was also hypothesized the group of participants who practiced with a visible object would perform similarly during the post-test with the same visible object; but the performance would decline in the post-test with no object. The results indicated there was no difference in the effect of the two different types of instructions. That is, performance during the practice and post-test were similar for the participants who imagined an object during the practice phase compared to the participants who practiced with an object. The post-test with and without an object were also similar within the same group as well as between the two groups. The results of the study provided additional evidence vision does not influence the focus of attention effect. Participants that practiced the standing long jump with a visible cone did not change the performance on the transfer test when the cone was removed. Also, participants that were instructed to direct their attention toward an imaginary cone performed just as well as participants that focused their attention on a visible cone on both the retention and transfer test. Therefore, the primary finding of the present experiment is that the focus of attention effect can be induced through the use of imagery.

Asymmetric gait, or a difference in functioning between legs during human locomotion, is a health concern that can lead to secondary complications such as chronic musculoskeletal injury or a more sedentary lifestyle. Restoration of gait symmetry requires a gait adaptation, or a change in the way that an individual walks. Further knowledge of how to best promote a gait adaptation could lead to the creation of future rehabilitative protocols geared towards restoration of symmetric gait. To address this, a variable practice paradigm was implemented in able-bodied individuals walking asymmetrically on a split-belt treadmill. Individuals were assigned into one of three practice groups (from least variable to most: serial, random blocked, random) and walked on the treadmill for 720 strides of motor skill acquisition according to their given paradigm. They were asked to return 24 hours later and were given one of two tests for motor learning: retention or transfer. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were collected throughout the experimental protocol and used to analyze walking performance between the three practice groups. Results indicated that random blocked practice resulted in the best retention and transfer of mediolateral balance control variability, while serial practice had the highest variability on the transfer test. It was further demonstrated that this paradigm resulted in a unique mechanical strategy implemented by each practice group that further describes the role of variable practice in gait adaptation: random practice during acquisition, random blocked during retention, and serial during transfer. A principal component analysis showed that variable practice also results in the adoption of specific coordinative structuring of joint and segmental kinematics. These structures were mostly different across practice groups during the acquisition and retention phases. While it was generally hypothesized that random practice, which induces the highest amount of stepping errors during acquisition, would result in the best retention and transfer of the adapted gait pattern, this practice group did not perform as well as expected on the measured outcomes. Random blocked practice, on the other hand, may provide the optimal level of challenge and variability to best facilitate a gait adaptation. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:39:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigo Quadros Altieri Martinez.pdf: 747616 bytes, checksum: 50744874a1682bdc03f0ab664456a16d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-21 / Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive method to modulate brain activity. Its effects are attracting enormous interest as a therapeutic tool for motor rehabilitation. Motor learning can be defined as the ability to perform a task motor providing a relatively permanent improvement in performance thereof. This research aimed to investigate the effects of tDCS on M1 in the process of motor learning in healthy adult females. For this purpose 21 subjects performed two types of motor tasks, TJJ and Maze test and tDCS on primary motor cortex. The results indicated a significant improvement of motor performance after stimulation of the anodic to the primary motor cortex TJJ (p <0.000001) and cathodic tDCS in primary motor cortex showed hinder performance (p = 0.006). To the maze test was not significant effect of tDCS for the periods of acquisition, transfer, retention, and visual retention. At the end our results show that tDCS anode and cathode in primary motor cortex influences motor performance, confirming the idea of tDCS associated with motor function. / A Estimulação Transcraniana por Corrente Contínua (ETCC) é uma ferramenta de modulação cortical não-invasiva, indolor de fácil aplicação. Seus efeitos estão atraindo enorme interesse como uma ferramenta terapêutica para reabilitação motora, devido seu potencial de modular a excitabilidade local e conduzir a melhora da função motora e desempenho de uma tarefa. Aprendizagem Motora pode ser definida como a capacidade de realizar uma tarefa motora proporcionando uma melhora relativamente permanente no desempenho da mesma. O objetivo do trabalho foi investigar os efeitos da ETCC em M1 no processo de aprendizagem motora em adultos saudáveis do sexo feminino. Para isso 21 sujeitos realizaram dois tipos de tarefas motoras, TJTHF e Teste do Labirinto e ETCC em córtex motor primário. Os resultados indicaram haver uma melhora significativa do desempenho motor após estimulação anódica do córtex motor primário para o TJTHF (p<0,000001) e a ETCC catódica no córtex motor primário demonstrou dificultar o desempenho (p=0,006). Para o Teste do Labirinto não foi verificado efeito significativo da ETCC para os períodos de aquisição, transferência, retenção e retenção visual. Ao final nossos resultados mostram que ETCC anódica e catódica em córtex motor primário influencia o desempenho motor, confirmando a idéia da ETCC em cortéx motor associada à melhora da função motora.