The problem of this study was to investigate the effects of massed and distributed practice upon the learning and retention of a novel gross motor task. The motor task was a soccer dribble around three evenly-spaced standards.

No description available.

Orientador: Lilian Teresa Bucken Gobbi / Banca: Florindo Stella / Banca: Nelci Adriana Cicuto F. Rocha / Resumo: A deterioração do equilíbrio postural, avaliada pelas oscilações corporais, está relacionada ao processo de envelhecimento e diminui com a participação do sistema visual. Na doença de Parkinson (DP), a restrição visual pode gerar mudanças no comportamento oscilatório do corpo em relação a idosos sadios? Esse comportamento oscilatório, em condições de restrição visual, relaciona-se com medidas clínicas e funcionais? Esta pesquisa objetivou conhecer os efeitos da restrição visual sobre as oscilações corporais na postura ereta quase estática dos idosos com DP, compará-los com idosos sadios e conhecer as contribuições da amplitude de movimento articular (ADM) ativa nos membros inferiores, dos tipos de alinhamento postural, do desempenho em equilíbrio funcional nas oscilações corporais quando são considerados o comprometimento e o estágio clínico da doença. A análise cinemática bidimensional das oscilações corporais de dez idosos sadios e dez idosos com DP, na postura ereta quase estática, nas direções ântero-posterior (ap) e médio-lateral (ml) em condições de olhos abertos (oa) e olhos fechados (of) foi realizada. Teste de ADM ativa no tornozelo, joelho e quadril, escala de Berg, teste de alinhamento postural, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) e escala de Hoehn & Yahr (HY) foram utilizados. O efeito da restrição visual sobre a oscilação corporal ap foi mais forte nos idosos sadios. Em todos os idosos, a maioria das associações e predições ocorreu em função da restrição visual. / Abstract: The postural equilibrium deterioration measured by body oscillations is related to the aging process and decrease with the visual system participation. In Parkinson's disease (PD), can the visual constraint change the oscillatory behavior in relation to the healthy elderly? Is this oscillatory behavior related to the clinical and functional measurements under visual constraint conditions? This study aimed to know the effects of visual constraints on the body oscillations in quiet standing posture of PD patients, to compare them with healthy elderly and to know the contributions of active range of motion (ROM) of the lower limbs, the types of body alignment, and the functional balance performance on body oscillations when the clinical stage and the compromising evolution of the PD are considered. Two-dimensional kinematic analyses of the body oscillations of 10 healthy and 10 PD elderly in quiet standing in anterior-posterior (ap) and medium-lateral (ml) directions under eyes open (eo) and eyes closed (ec) conditions were performed. The active ROM of ankle, knee and hip, berg's scale, postural alignment test, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and Hoehn & Yahr (HY) scale were utilized. The effect of visual constraint on the body oscillation AP was stronger in healthy elderly. In all the participants, the majority of associations and predictions occurred as a function of the visual constraint. In the PD patients, the active ROM of hip hyperextension was the predicted variable of body oscillation in the ap direction and in ec condition. In healthy elderly, in the ap direction, the active ROM of ankle dorsiflexion was the predicted variable of body oscillations on both conditions eo and ec; in ml direction, the active ROM of hip abduction was the predicted variable under eo condition. / Mestre

The ability of the brain to change structurally and functionally with experience is called brain plasticity. High levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines impair normal memory formation and consolidation. To better understand the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in learning, the contribution of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) to a motor skill learning task investigated. The Fmr1 Knockout (KO) mouse, an animal model of Fragile X Syndrome, has demonstrated impaired neural plasticity and learning. Fmr1 KO and control wild-type (WT) mice were trained on the dowel and flat beam runways to study motor skill learning and motor activity respectively. The cerebellum from the animals was examined for IL-6 protein using ELISA. No significant differences in the levels of IL-6 in the cerebellum of the Fmr1 KO and WT normal mice were found. The expression of IL-6 was not altered by the behavioural training. These results suggest lack of association between IL-6, and FMRP and motor skill learning. / October 2016

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters’ Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Background: Motor learning theories indicate that training improves motor performance by reducing variability and increasing task control. Elastic tubing and tyre resistance training methods may allow for the development of control over the dynamics of spinal manipulation. This study thus aimed to determine whether training with elastic tubing and tyre resistance, in conjunction with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology, resulted in the development of control of the dynamics of manipulation compared to training with the standard training alone. Methods: A quantitative, prospective, experimental cohort design was used. Fifty-three participants were randomly allocated into tyre or elastic tubing resistance training intervention groups, or the control group. All groups continued with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology. The dynamics of manipulation were measured with the Dynadjust pre-, mid- and post-training. The SPSS was utilised to compute the parametric and non-parametric analyses. Results: The results showed no statistically significant differences over time for any of the measured dynamics of manipulation. None of the groups (excluding the control group for S-I manipulation) developed control of the relationships between the dynamics. Overall, there was no difference between the groups with regards to development of control of the dynamics. Conclusion: The results suggest that the additional training methods, should be carefully considered when employed over a short term. Study limitations include the sample size and the effect of outliers, therefore any firm conclusions drawn from this study are required to be interpreted with caution.

This study was an attempt to determine the effectiveness of loopfilms as a supplement to the demonstration-explanation method of teaching sports skills.

No description available.

No description available.

Phenytoin is well-known antiepileptic drug with high anticonvulsant effect but also with proven side effects on motor activities associated with its long-term use. This thesis summarizes side effects of phenytoin on motor skills and coordination of rats after acute phenytoin treatment. Theoretical part includes proven effects of phenytoin on human and animal model. Knowledge about motor skills development of rats and comparison with human motor skills development is also included in the thesis. Apart from locomotion development, swimming development is also described. We compared three groups of rats in the experiment. Each group consisted of ten rats. We compared group with dosage 60 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, control group and vehicle group. Each group was tested before application for control. We tested animals on postnatal day 12, 18 and 25. Effects of phenytoin were evaluated by motor skills testing and swimming analyses. The results of this thesis have proved impaired motor skills and coordination after phenytoin treatment of 12 and 25 days old rats.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters’ Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Background: Motor learning theories indicate that training improves motor performance by reducing variability and increasing task control. Elastic tubing and tyre resistance training methods may allow for the development of control over the dynamics of spinal manipulation. This study thus aimed to determine whether training with elastic tubing and tyre resistance, in conjunction with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology, resulted in the development of control of the dynamics of manipulation compared to training with the standard training alone. Methods: A quantitative, prospective, experimental cohort design was used. Fifty-three participants were randomly allocated into tyre or elastic tubing resistance training intervention groups, or the control group. All groups continued with the standard manipulative training at the Durban University of Technology. The dynamics of manipulation were measured with the Dynadjust pre-, mid- and post-training. The SPSS was utilised to compute the parametric and non-parametric analyses. Results: The results showed no statistically significant differences over time for any of the measured dynamics of manipulation. None of the groups (excluding the control group for S-I manipulation) developed control of the relationships between the dynamics. Overall, there was no difference between the groups with regards to development of control of the dynamics. Conclusion: The results suggest that the additional training methods, should be carefully considered when employed over a short term. Study limitations include the sample size and the effect of outliers, therefore any firm conclusions drawn from this study are required to be interpreted with caution.