Brief Summary
This module provides an overview of motor control and learning, starting with a recap of the nervous system's role in movement. It covers the key brain areas involved in motor control, the fundamental concepts driving movement (sensory input, information processing, and motor output), and the stages of motor learning (cognitive, associative, and autonomous). The module highlights how the nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems integrate to enable coordinated movement and skill acquisition.
- The nervous system is crucial for movement, muscle control, and environmental response.
- Motor control integrates skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems for coordinated movement.
- Motor learning involves skill acquisition through practice, leading to automatic movement.
Introduction to Motor Control and Learning
The module begins by outlining the learning outcomes, which include understanding the nervous system's significance in movement, introducing motor control and motor learning, identifying key brain areas for movement control and learning, and exploring the fundamental concepts that drive movement. It also recaps the nervous system, emphasising its role in controlling muscles and responding to the environment. The nervous system transmits signals, processes information, and coordinates responses to stimuli, including those related to movement. It is divided into the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (nerves and ganglia).
Key Areas for Movement in the Brain
Motor control is described as an integrated product of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems, essential for coordinating and regulating movement mechanisms. The primary motor cortex in the frontal lobe acts as the command centre for voluntary muscle movements, initiating and controlling actions based on motor commands generated by the brain. The cerebellum, located in the posterior part of the brain, fine-tunes movements and maintains balance during motor activities, ensuring well-coordinated motion. The basal ganglia, situated deep within the brain, coordinates complex motor functions, including maintaining posture and balance, and executing learned sequences, playing a critical role in planning and executing movements like gait control.
Fundamental Concepts Driving Movement
Sensory input, information processing, and motor output are identified as the fundamental concepts driving optimal movement performance. Sensory input involves the information received by sensory receptors, such as visual, tactile, proprioceptive (body position), and vestibular (balance) stimuli. This input allows the nervous system to gather data about the body's position, motion, and forces acting upon it. Information processing involves the brain's analysis and interpretation of sensory input to make decisions and generate motor responses, including cognitive processes like perception, attention, memory, and decision-making. Motor output refers to the responses and actions generated by the central nervous system based on processed sensory information, involving the execution of motor commands to produce physical movements, adjustments, or reactions.
Motor Skills: Fine vs. Gross
Motor skills are defined as learned abilities involving coordinated movements using muscles and the nervous system, categorised into fine and gross motor skills. Gross motor skills involve large muscle groups and are responsible for activities like walking, running, jumping, and throwing, fundamental for basic mobility and physical activity. Fine motor skills, on the other hand, involve precise, intricate movements using smaller muscle groups, essential for tasks like writing, typing, and intricate hand-eye coordination.
Motor Learning and Its Stages
Motor learning is described as the process of acquiring a skill through practice and assimilation, refining it to make the desired movement automatic, involving the improvement of basic motor skills through practice, associated with long-lasting neuronal changes. The stages of motor learning are categorised into cognitive, associative, and autonomous. During the cognitive stage, individuals understand the basics of a skill, breaking it down into smaller components and creating a mental model for execution, requiring repeated instructions and feedback. The associative stage involves consolidation of motor performance, with the athlete becoming more confident, accurate, and refined through practice. In the autonomous stage, the skill is learned and becomes almost automatic, requiring minimal conscious attention.
Key Areas for Movement During Learning
Motor learning is a complex phenomenon involving various anatomical structures depending on the movement, with cortical structures, including the motor cortex, playing a significant role in skill learning. The cerebellum takes a main part in adaptation learning, refining skills once the primary skills are learned. The module concludes by summarising the roles of the nervous system, motor control, motor skills, and motor learning in enabling coordinated movement and skill acquisition.
