The human hand is critically important for the performance of many activities of daily living (ADL). This dissertation used three human subject studies to investigate how different types of motor repetition interact with the process of sensorimotor adaptation and learning in complex dexterous manipulation tasks that depend on finger force control or bimanual coordination. Moreover, these investigations were conducted in both young adults (YA) and older adults (OA) to reveal the extent to which the process of aging may alter such interactions. In the first study, it was found that the repetition of simple ballistic force exertion allowed YA to better adapt to external mechanical perturbation with their dominant hand during fast object transport than the repetition of continuous movement. In contrast, OA were not differently affected by these two types of repetition training. In the second study, the effect of the same two repetition types on learning to perform an inverted pendulum balance task was examined. It was found that OA but not YA were able to balance the pendulum longer with the ballistic force repetition than the continuous movement repetition. In the last study, participants must move both hands to simultaneously follow moving targets. It was revealed that adaption to unilateral visual or mechanical constraints was driven by the dominant hand in YA, but OA were not able to adapt to these constraints. Together with additional findings about balance control and visual attention, these results on the effect of motor repetition provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying sensorimotor learning, which will support future studies to improve the efficacy of neurorehabilitation for dexterous manual functions.

Goda möjligheter till rörelse och medveten motorisk träning skapar goda möjligheter för barn att utveckla motoriska färdigheter, vilket kan leda till bättre skolprestationer. Forskning visar att dagens stillasittande aktiviteter så som tv, surfplattor och datorer m.m. har negativ inverkan på hälsan och kan leda till en rad olika negativa hälsoeffekter. Denna studie fokuserar på pedagogers medvetenhet, syn och kunskap angående barns motoriska utveckling samt hur de arbetar för att stimulera förskolebarnen till att utveckla goda motoriska färdigheter. Metoden som använts i undersökningen är semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex stycken förskollärare. Deras svar har behandlats i studiens i resultat- och analysdel. Tidigare forskning har visat att motorisk träning i tidig ålder ger en god hälsa och bra förutsättningar för kognitiv inlärning. Motoriken anses ha betydelse får såväl motoriska som sociala färdigheter samt en god självkänsla. Resultatet i den här studien visar att det skiljer sig ganska mycket mellan de olika förskolorna och att mycket hänger på pedagogens ambitionsnivå och intresse för just motorisk utveckling. Det framkommer att några av pedagogerna jobbar aktivt och medvetet med motoriska övningar, medan andra anser att barnen automatiskt får mycket motorisk träning på förskolan genom exempelvis utegården. Förskolegården och skogen lyfts fram som betydelsefulla platser för motorisk träning enligt många av förskollärarna. Det framkommer även att flera utav förskollärarna anser att det finns för lite kunskap kring ämnet motorik i förskolan. I den här studiens diskussionsdel diskuteras resultatet i förhållande till tidigare forskning. / A good possibility for movement and conscious motor training creates opportunities for children to develop motor skills, which can lead to better school performance. Previous research shows that today's sedentary activities such as TV, tablets and computers etc. have negative impact on health and may lead to a variety of adverse health effects. This study focuses on finding out what grade of awareness, vision and knowledge preschool teachers have about child motor development, and how they work to stimulate the children in pre-school so that they develop good motor skills. The method used in the study is semi-structured interviews with six pre-school teachers. Their answers will be processed in the results and analysis section of the work. Previous research has shown that motor training at an early age gives good health and good opportunities for cognitive learning. Motor skills are considered pertinent in order to develop both social skills and a good self-esteem. The results of this study show that there are big differences between the various pre-schools and much depends on the pre-school teachers level of ambition and interest in the development of motor skills. It appears that some of the teachers are working actively and consciously with motor exercises, while others believe that children automatically get a lot of motor skill training in preschool through, for instance, the preschool playground. The pre-school playground and the forest were pointed out as important sites for motor training by many of the preschool teachers. It also reveals that several pre-school teachers believe that the knowledge of motor skills in pre-schools is small. In the last part of this study the results are discussed in relation to previous research.

Successful treatment alternatives for chronic pain conditions are limited. One type of chronic pain that can occur is the condition of phantom limb pain, which can occur after the loss of a limb. Many studies have researched the correlation between chronic pain, tactile acuity, and cortical reorganization. Sensory discrimination training has been shown to improve tactile acuity and be beneficial when trying to reduce the intensity and duration of the pain in chronic pain conditions. A device has been developed by the Center for Bionics and Pain Research, and it is intended to train sensory discrimination. How efficiently this device can train sensory discrimination and how much improvements in the tactile acuity in able-bodied participants can be achieved after using the device have been investigated in this study. 16 able-bodied subjects participated in the study. The subjects received five 40 minutes training sessions on five consecutive days. The assessment of the subjects’ tactile acuity was performed before the first training session and after the last training session. The tactile acuity was also assessed after one to two weeks to determine the long-term effect of the training. There were two psychophysical analyses to determine the participants’ tactile acuity, the two-point discrimination test and the monofilament test. The results showed a significant improvement in the two-point discrimination threshold after the five training sessions, thus showing evidence of the improvement in the tactile acuity after using the sensory discrimination training device. There was no significant improvement in the monofilament test.

Mental training has been studied extensively for the past century but we are still not completely sure how it affects brain and behavior. The aim of this doctoral thesis was to examine one aspect of mental training i.e. motor imagery. In Study I, active high jumpers were trained for 6 weeks using a motor imagery mental training program. We measured behavioral effects in motor parameters such as total height, false attempts, take off angle, and bar clearance. A significant improvement was found on the bar clearance component compared to a control group of high jumpers that did not participate in the mental training program. The results emphasize the importance of using appropriate outcome measures since mental training may affect distinct features of the movement rather than the entire movement. Study II used fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to examine the neural correlates of imagery for active high jumpers, and also how imagery training affects brain activity. Active high jumpers were compared to a control group of high jumping novices and the results showed that high jumpers were able to activate motor regions, whereas controls used parts of the visual system to perform imagery of the high jump. Thus, we were able to show how important well established motor representations are in order to achieve a neural overlap between imagery and action. In study III we examined the effects after motor, mental and combined motor and mental training on a finger tapping task. Behaviorally, even though mental training improved performance, adding mental training to motor training did not improve the results beyond only using motor training. Imaging results showed that motor and mental training engaged different neural systems, with motor training associated with motor activity and mental training with visual activity. The combination of motor and mental training activated both motor and visual systems. Additionally combining motor and mental training resulted in transfer to an untrained motor sequence and neural data indicated that cerebellum mediated the transfer. The overall findings explain how mental training can be used to improve motor performance and motor parameters. Moreover, it also illustrates that the neural processes underlying such improvements may be distinct from motor training and that the brain may react differently during mental training depending on prior physical experience of the action.

<p>Reaching is an important and early emerging motor skill that allows infants to interact with the physical and social world (e.g., when sharing objects). Despite the importance of motor experiences in early infancy, few studies have considered the influence of reaching behavior on cognitive, social, and motor development. In this dissertation, reaching behavior was selectively manipulated in 73 non-reaching three-month-old infants using four different training interventions. Infants' reaching and social cognition skills were assessed and compared, and the long-term effects of one particular training intervention were explored.</p> <p>Of the four training interventions used here, one procedure--referred to as active training--facilitated domain-specific development (reaching and grasping behavior) and increased infants' preferential orienting towards faces in a visual-preference task (face preference). None of the remaining three training interventions facilitated motor development and only one increased face-preference behavior. However, a relation between face-preference behavior and motor experience was present in all trained infants as well as in three- to 11-month-old untrained infants. In untrained infants, face-preference behavior was the earliest social-cognition skill to emerge and was related to later emerging skills such as gaze following. Therefore, a preference for faces may be an important basic social-cognition skill that influences future social development.</p> <p>Additionally, the long-term effects of the active-training procedure were assessed in 14 infants who were tested one year after they had participated in the active-training intervention. Even after one year, converging evidence showed advanced manual exploration and object-engagement skills in trained compared to untrained infants. </p> <p>The studies described in this dissertation attempt to systematically investigate the role of early reaching experiences on subsequent development of motor and social cognition behaviors. The present findings demonstrate the importance of self-produced motor experiences on the development of social cognition and have implications for our understanding of typical development and the etiology of developmental disorders in social cognition.</p> / Dissertation

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:18:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4861.pdf: 2511284 bytes, checksum: 341c153935f7b09c5b1226bdc2f7241d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-19 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The aim of the first study was to investigate behavioural alterations and Fos expression in gerbils submitted to functional training after unilateral cerebral ischaemic injury. The behavioural procedures that were used to test functional recovery were the vibrissal stimulation test and the pellet-collecting task. Twenty-four hours after surgery, the animals were submitted to the experimental procedure, which lasted three weeks. The animals were distributed into four subgroups: sham lesion, sham lesion and trained, ischaemic injury and ischaemic injury and trained. The motor cortex, hippocampus and dorsal striatum were subjected to immunohistochemistry reaction for Fos expression, and the mean number of cells in each region was calculated. Behavioural data were analysed using the Kruskal Wallis test (p &#8804; 0.05), and the morphological data were subjected to one-way Analysis of Variance, both followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls test (p &#8804; 0.05). The animals in the injury group presented significantly lower averages in the pellet-collecting task and higher percentages of error in the vibrissal stimulation test when compared to animals in the sham lesion group, indicating that the lesion impaired motor performance in both tests. After training, the trained groups showed a significant increase in the pellet-collecting task compared to untrained groups, demonstrating that functional training improves task performance in sham and injured animals. A significant increase in the activation of neurons in the motor cortex and hippocampus of the injury and trained group was observed when compared to the injured group. Functional training increased the motor performance of the trained animals, independently of lesion, in the pellet-collecting task and caused increased neuronal activation in the motor cortex and hippocampus in the injury animals. Moreover, the presented method is useful for the evaluation of motor performance in gerbils. The objective of the second study was to investigate the effects of the histamine precursor L-Histidine and the H1-receptor antagonist Pyrilamine on the functional recovery of gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) following a unilateral ischemic brain injury. Two experiments were conducted under the same experimental procedures to test the effects of two pharmacological treatments in experiment I, L-Histidine doses of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg and in experiment II, Pyrilamine was administered at doses of 35 mg/kg and 70 mg/kg. Both experiments were accompanied by control groups for the drug (saline), the lesion (sham lesion) and training on the pelletcollecting task (untrained). The behavioural tests that were used to test functional recovery were the vibrissal stimulation test and the pellet-collecting task. The Kruskal-Wallis test (p<0.05), the Student-Newman-Keuls multiple comparison test (p<0.05) and a Bonferroni correction (p<0.025) were used for statistical analysis. It was established that a unilateral cerebral ischemic injury impairs motor performance and that training on the pellet-collecting task improves performance independently of the lesion. L-Histidine impaired functional recovery when administered in combination with motor training, while Pyrilamine in combination with training potentiated functional recovery. With respect to the vibrissal stimulation test, the injured animals that received training in combination with L-Histidine showed a memory recall deficit; however, Pyrilamine had the opposite effect in animals that were injured and trained. These results suggest that the neural histaminergic system participates in the process of functional recovery of gerbils following a unilateral ischemic brain injury. / O Estudo I teve como objetivo testar um modelo experimental de recuperação funcional da pata anterior para gerbilos após lesão isquêmica unilateral encefálica e investigar as alterações comportamentais e expressão de Fos em gerbilos submetidos a treino motor após lesão isquêmica unilateral encefálica. Os testes comportamentais utilizados foram o teste de estimulação da vibrissa e a tarefa de recolher tablete. Os animais foram distribuídos em quatro subgrupos: Lesão fictícia (n= 12), Lesão fictícia treinado (n= 11), Lesão (n= 11) e Lesão treinado (n= 12). Cortes das regiões do córtex motor, hipocampo e estriado dorsal foram expostos à reação de imunohistoquímica para expressão da Fos, em seguida, foi calculado o valor médio do número de neurônios em cada região. Os dados comportamentais foram analisados através do teste de Kruskal-Wallis e os dados morfológicos foram submetidos à análise de variância de uma via, ambos seguidos do teste Student-Newman-Keuls (p&#8804;0,05). Os grupos lesados apresentam médias significativamente menores na tarefa de recolher tablete e maiores porcentagens de erro no teste de estimulação da vibrissa quando comparados aos grupos lesão fictícia, indicando que a lesão prejudicou o desempenho motor em ambos os testes. No ultimo treino, os grupos treinados apresentaram aumento significativo na tarefa de recolher tablete em relação aos grupos não treinados, demonstrando que o treino funcional melhora o desempenho da tarefa em animais intactos e lesados. Houve aumento significativo na marcação dos neurônios do córtex motor e hipocampo do grupo lesado treinado quando comparado ao grupo lesado. O treino funcional aumentou o desempenho motor em animais treinados independente da lesão na tarefa de recolher tablete e provocou aumento da ativação neuronal no córtex motor e hipocampo dos animais lesados. Além disso, o modelo experimental utilizado se mostrou útil para avaliar o desempenho motor da pata anterior de gerbilos. O Estudo II teve como objetivo investigar o efeito do precursor da histamina (Lhistidina) e do antagonista dos receptores H1 (Pirilamina) na recuperação funcional de gerbilos (Meriones unguiculatus) após lesão isquêmica unilateral do encéfalo. Para isso, foram realizados dois experimentos, sendo empregados os mesmos procedimentos experimentais, no entanto, diferem nos tratamentos farmacológicos realizados, que foram: I - L-histidina (doses: 100 mg/kg e 200 mg/kg) e II - Pirilamina (doses: 35 mg/kg e 70 mg/kg), sendo ambos acompanhados de grupos controles da droga (salina), cirurgia (lesão fictícia) e treino motor (não treinado). Os testes comportamentais utilizados foram o teste de estimulação da vibrissa e a tarefa de recolher tablete. Foi utilizado o Teste de Kruskal-Wallis (p<0,05), seguido do Teste de comparações multiplas de Student Newman - Keuls (p<0,05) e correção de Bonferroni (p<0,025). Verificou-se que a lesão prejudica o desempenho motor e o treino da tarefa de recolher tablete melhora o desempenho de animais independente da lesão. A L-histidina associada com o treino motor prejudicou a recuperação funcional, enquanto, a pirilamina combinada com o treino potencializou a recuperação funcional. Com relação ao teste de estimulação da vibrissa, os animais lesados submetidos ao treino e tratados com l-histidina apresentaram déficit de evocação da memória, contudo, a pirilamina possui efeito contrário quando aplicada em animais lesados e treinados. Os resultados sugerem que o sistema histaminérgico neural participa do processo de recuperação funcional de gerbilos submetidos à lesão isquêmica unilateral encefálica.

Thesis (M Sport Sc (Sport Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of participation in a small group-based perceptual-motor training programme on the gross motor and visual-motor integration skills of children who show signs of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Two physical education teachers selected 22 children for assessment as potential participants for this study. The Movement ABC (M-ABC) was then administered to this group and the eight children who scored the lowest were invited to volunteer for this study. These children all volunteered and then completed the assessment of their visual-motor integration skills as measured by the Developmental Test of Visual Perception (DTVP-2). The study followed an evaluative case study design in which changes in the gross motor and visual-motor integration skills of each participant were reported and interpreted individually. The six-week intervention programme was focused on developing the perceptual-motor link between throwing, catching and balancing skills with challenges to visual skills development, especially eye-hand coordination. A comparison of pre-test, post-test and retention test scores in the M-ABC revealed that the programme had a positive effect on six of the children. The results for the seventh child were inconsistent on each test occasion, leading to the conclusion that he may have a co-morbid disorder related to attention. Improvements in static balance were noted and some children also experienced improvements in their ball skills (aiming and coincident timing) which brings the researcher to the conclusion that the programme was effective for gross motor development. DTVP-2 results showed improvements in eye-hand coordination in five of the seven children. According to the VMI quotient score, only one child improved, one deteriorated and the rest showed no change which brings the researcher to the conclusion that the intervention programme was not effective for visual-motor integration. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie was om die impak te bepaal van deelname in „n klein-groep gebaseerde perseptueel-motoriese oefenprogram op die groot motoriese en visueel-motoriese integrasievaardighede van kinders met tekens van die Ontwikkelingskoördinasie-afwyking (DCD). Twee Lewensoriëntering-onderwysers het 22 kinders geïdentifiseer vir assessering as potensiële deelnemers aan die studie. Hierdie groep het die Beweging-ABC toets (M-ABC) ondergaan en die agt deelnemers met die laagste uitslae is uitgenooi om aan die studie deel te neem. Hierdie agt kinders het ingestem en daarna is die assessering voltooi deur hulle visueel-motoriese integrasievaardighede te meet deur middel van die Ontwikkelingstoets vir Visuele Persepsie (DTVP-2). Die studie het „n evaluerende gevallestudie-ontwerp gevolg waarin die veranderings tussen die groot motoriese en visueel-motoriese integrasievaardighede van elke deelnemer individueel geïnterpreteer en gerapporteer is. Die ses week-intervensieprogram het gefokus op die ontwikkeling van die perseptueel-motoriese skakel tussen gooi-, vang- en balans-vaardighede met uitdagings vir die ontwikkeling van visuele vaardighede, veral oog-hand koördinasie. „n Vergelyking tussen die voor-, na- en opvolgtoetse van die M-ABC se toetstellings het getoon dat die program „n positiewe effek op ses van die kinders se groot motoriese vaardighede gehad het. Die uitslag van die sewende kind was teenstrydig tydens elke toetsgeleentheid en dit het gelei tot die gevolgtrekking dat hy moontlik aan „n addisionele afwyking mag ly wat verband hou met „n aandagprobleem. Verbeterings in statiese balans is waargeneem en sommige kinders het ook „n verbetering in balvaardighede getoon (akkuraatheid en reaksietyd). Volgens die DTVP-2 resultate was daar verbeterings in oog-hand koördinasie by vyf van die sewe kinders. Volgens die VMI-kwosiënttelling het slegs een kind verbeter, een het versleg en die ander vyf het geen verandering getoon nie. Die navorser kom dus tot die gevolgtrekking dat die intervensieprogram nie effektief is vir visueel-motoriese integrasie nie.

Thesis (M Sport Sc (Sport Science)-- University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a perceptual-motor training programme on the coincident anticipation timing and batting performance of university club cricket players. The intervention programme focused on developing players‟ visual attention and concentration. Vickers‟ (2007) Three-Step Decision Training Model was used to structure the training sessions. The study followed a repeated measures experimental design with three groups (experimental, placebo, and control) formed by volunteers from a university club cricket team. The independent variable was a four-week training programme. The dependent variables were coincident anticipation timing and performance on a cricket batting test. Subjects were pre- and post-tested with retention tests occurring after a set period of “no training” following the post-tests. Differences between groups were compared using Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA by Ranks Tests. Differences within each group were compared using multiple Mann-Whitney U-Tests. No significant improvements were observed in the experimental group‟s coincident anticipation timing and batting performance. Although neither coincident anticipation timing nor batting performance significantly improved, further research into the use of Vickers‟ (2007) Model to enhance sport performance is recommended. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om die uitwerking van ʼn perseptueel-motoriese opleidingsprogram op die samevallende vooruittydsberekening (“coincident anticipation timing”) en kolfprestasie van universiteitsklubkrieketspelers te bepaal. Die klem van die intervensieprogram het op die ontwikkeling van spelers se visuele aandag en konsentrasie geval. Die opleidingsessies is volgens Vickers (2007) se drieledige model vir besluitnemingsopleiding saamgestel. Die studie het ʼn eksperimentele ontwerp van herhaalde metings op drie groepe (eksperimenteel, plasebo en kontrole) van ʼn universiteitsklubkrieketspan toegepas. Die onafhanklike veranderlike was ʼn vier weke lange opleidingsprogram. Die afhanklike veranderlikes was samevallende vooruittydsberekening, en prestasie in ʼn krieketkolftoets. Proefpersone het voor en net ná die opleiding toetse ondergaan, sowel as behoudtoetse drie weke ná die na-opleidingstoetse. Verskille tussen groepe is met behulp van rangtoetse uit Kruskal-Wallis se variansie-analisemodel (ANOVA) bepaal, terwyl verskille binne groepe met veelvuldige Mann-Whitney-U-toetse vergelyk is. Geen beduidende verbetering is in die eksperimentele groep se samevallende vooruittydsberekening of kolfprestasie waargeneem nie. Hoewel nóg samevallende vooruittydsberekening nóg kolfprestasie aansienlik verbeter het, word verdere navorsing oor die gebruik van Vickers (2007) se model vir die verbetering van sportprestasie aanbeveel.

No description available.

Inom en idrott och hälsa (IDH)-miljö, är syftet med denna studie (1) att fastställa effekten av motorisk träning på barn; (2) identifiera korrelerade prediktorer för motorik. Genom en systematisk informationssökning tillhandahålls en omfattande bakgrund som beskriver en uppsjö av framgångar inom motoriska inteventionsstudier och påverkade områden. Genom en hypotetiskt-deduktiv ansats, influerad av ett konstruktivistiskt perspektiv, med specifikt fokus på Piagets teorier om kognitiv utveckling och lek, problematiseras lärande och motorisk utveckling genom genomförandet av en interventionsstudie. Deltagarna (n=19, medelålder 7,16 SD 0,37 år), genomgick en fem veckor lång intervention. Motoriska färdigheter utvärderades före och efter intervention med tillämpning av MUGI Observationsschema. En poweranalys kunde inte utföras på grund av saknade parametrar och studien föll därför under ett typ II-fel, följaktligen omdöpt till en deskriptiv pilotstudie. Resultaten, som visar en förbättring av ett medelvärde på 1,65, SD 0,92, indikerar att motorisk utveckling kan förbättras genom medveten riktad träning. Korrelationer mellan variabler var icke-signifikanta, sannolikt till följd av en otillräcklig urvalsstorlek. Andra resultat, exv. deltagarnas entusiasm och undervisningsmetoder beskrivs tillika. Slutligen diskuteras motorisk träning, idrottspedagogens avgörande roll och stark betoning vid utveckling av kroppslig kompetens, utifrån tillämpningen av Piagets konstruktivism. Dessutom möjliggör det piagetiska perspektivet problematiseringar av avgörande pedagogiska aspekter av innehållet i idrott och hälsa relaterade till motoriska färdigheter och barns utveckling. / Within a physical education (PE) ambience, the objective of this research is (1) determine the effect of motor training on children; (2) identify correlating predictors for motor skills. Through a systematic information retrieval an extensive background is provided, outlining a plethora of success in motor interventions, and affected areas. Utilizing a hypothetic-deductive onset, influenced by a constructivist perspective, with specific focus on Piaget’s theories of cognitive development and play, learning and motor development are problematized through the conduction of an intervention study. The participants (n= 19, mean age 7.16 SD 0.37 years), underwent a five-week intervention. Motor skills were evaluated pre and post intervention applying MUGI Observationsschema. Unable to execute a power analysis due to missing parameters, the study concluded a type II error, therefore renamed a descriptive pilot study. The findings, displaying a mean improvement of 1.65, SD 0.92, indicate motor development can be improved through deliberate aimed training. Correlations between variables were insignificant, presumably from an inadequate sample size. Other findings, e.g., participants’ enthusiasm and teaching methods are detailed, too. Lastly applying the Piagetian aspect, motor skills training, the necessity of the PE teacher and heavily emphasizing development of physical literacy, are discussed. Furthermore, the Piagetian perspective additionally enables problematizations of crucial educational aspects of PE content related to motor skills and child development.