Motor Learning

Gender differences have been shown across many domains, and motor skills are no exception. One of the most robust findings is a significant sex difference in throwing accuracy, which reflects the advantage of men in targeting abilities. However, little is known about the basis of this difference. To try to dissect possible mechanisms involved in this difference, here we tested for gender variations in a prism adaptation throwing task. We tested 154 subjects in a visuomotor prism adaptation task that discriminates between motor performance, visuomotor adaptation and negative aftereffects. Our results corroborate men's significant better throwing accuracy, although there were no adaptation differences between genders. In contrast, women showed significant larger negative aftereffects, which could be explained by a larger contribution of spatial alignment. These results suggest that different learning mechanisms, like strategic calibration and spatial alignment, may have different contributions in men and women.

To uncover qualitative and quantitative patterns in a data set is a challenging task for research in the area of machine learning and data analysis. Due to the complexity of real-world data, high-order (polythetic) patterns or event associations, in addition to first-order class-dependent relationships, have to be acquired. Once the patterns of different orders are found, they should be represented in a form appropriate for further analysis and interpretation. In this paper, we propose a novel method to discover qualitative and quantitative patterns (or event associations) inherent in a data set. It uses the adjusted residual analysis in statistics to test the significance of the occurrence of a pattern candidate against its expectation. To avoid exhaustive search of all possible combinations of primary events, techniques of eliminating the impossible pattern candidates are developed. The detected patterns of different orders are then represented in an attributed hypergraph which is lucid for pattern interpretation and analysis. Test results on artificial and real-world data are discussed toward the end of the paper.

Purpose This study explores the importance of production frequency during speech therapy to determine whether more practice of speech targets leads to increased performance within a treatment session, as well as to motor learning, in the form of generalization to untrained words. Method Two children with childhood apraxia of speech were treated with an alternating treatment AB design, with production frequency differing in the 2 treatments. The higher production frequency treatment required 100+ productions in 15 min, while the moderate-frequency treatment required 30–40 productions in the same time period. One child was treated 3 times weekly for 11 weeks; the other child was treated twice weekly for 5 weeks. At the conclusion of each treatment phase, 5 min of probes were administered to determine whether generalization had occurred. Maintenance data to measure performance and learning were collected after a break from treatment. Results Both children showed improvement on all targ...

The theory of direct perception holds that perception is specific to properties of ambient energy arrays. This article explores a similar approach to perceptual and perceptual-motor learning: Change due to learning is portrayed as specific to properties of ambient energy arrays. This type of learning is labeled direct learning. It is argued that a theory of direct learning explains a wide range of phenomena in ecologically relevant and informationally rich situations as well as in simpler experimental situations. Previous experimental results are reanalyzed and reinterpreted from the perspective of direct learning. To achieve this, the notion of information space is introduced. In information spaces, points represent ambient energy variables, paths represent change due to learning, and vector fields represent information that guides learning. These concepts also allow the theory of direct learning to be connected to and to take advantage of the theory of ordinary differential equations.

Motor learning is an essential part of human behavior, but poorly understood in the context of walking control. Here, we discuss our recent work on locomotor adaptation, which is an error driven motor learning process used to alter spatiotemporal elements of walking. Locomotor adaptation can be induced using a split-belt treadmill that controls the speed of each leg independently. Practicing split-belt walking changes the coordination between the legs, resulting in storage of a new walking pattern. Here, we review findings from this experimental paradigm regarding the learning and generalization of locomotor adaptation. First, we discuss how split-belt walking adaptation develops slowly throughout childhood and adolescence. Second, we demonstrate that conscious effort to change the walking pattern during split-belt training can speed up adaptation but worsens retention. In contrast, distraction (i.e., performing a dual task) during training slows adaptation but improves retention. Finally, we show the walking pattern acquired on the split-belt treadmill generalizes to natural walking when vision is removed. This suggests that treadmill learning can be generalized to different contexts if visual cues specific to the treadmill are removed. These findings allow us to highlight the many future questions that will need to be answered in order to develop more rational methods of rehabilitation for walking deficits.

This study examines young volleyball players' learning of increasingly complex attack gestures. The main purpose of the study was to examine the predictive role of a cognitive variable, working memory capacity (or ''M capacity"), in the acquisition and development of motor skills in a structured sport. Pascual-Leone's theory of constructive operators (TCO) was used as a framework; it defines working memory capacity as the maximum number of schemes that can be simultaneously activated by attentional resources. The role of expertise in motor learning was also considered. The expertise of each athlete was assessed in terms of years of practice and number of training sessions per week. The participants were 120 volleyball players, aged between 6 and 26 years, who performed both working memory tests and practical tests of volleyball involving the execution of the ''third touch" by means of technical gestures of varying difficulty. We proposed a task analysis of these different gestures framed within the TCO. The results pointed to a very clear dissociation. On the one hand, M capacity was the best predictor of correct motor performance, and a specific capacity threshold was found for learning each attack gesture. On the other hand, experience was the key for the precision of the athletic gestures. This evidence could underline the existence of two different cognitive mechanisms in motor learning. The first one, https://doi.

Survivors of spinal cord injury need to reorganize their residual body movements for interacting with assistive devices and performing activities that used to be easy and natural. To investigate movement reorganization, we asked subjects with high-level spinal cord injury (SCI) and unimpaired subjects to control a cursor on a screen by performing upper-body motions. While this task would be normally accomplished by operating a computer mouse, here shoulder motions were mapped into the cursor position. Both the control and the SCI subjects were rapidly able to reorganize their movements and to successfully control the cursor. The majority of the subjects in both groups were successful in reducing the movements that were not effective at producing cursor motions. This is inconsistent with the hypothesis that the control system is merely concerned with the accurate acquisition of the targets and is unconcerned with motions that are not relevant to this goal. In contrast, our findings suggest that subjects can learn to reorganize coordination so as to increase the correspondence between the subspace of their upper-body motions with the plane in which the controlled cursor moves. This is effectively equivalent to constructing an inverse internal model of the map from body motions to cursor motions, established by the experiment. These results are relevant to the development of interfaces for assistive devices that optimize the use of residual voluntary control and enhance the learning process in disabled users, searching for an easily learnable map between their body motor space and control space of the device.

The striatum is very much involved in learning motor sequences particularly in the consolidation phase, predicting that motor learning is affected in Parkinson's disease (PD). We conducted a literature review on this question and showed that behavioural studies indicate a relatively preserved acquisition as well as retention of motor learning in PD. Persons with PD did demonstrate slower learning-rates than controls. Brain imaging studies highlighted that much more brain activity is needed and different neural networks are recruited in PD, suggesting a reduced efficiency of learning. Using additional sensory information may optimize motor learning in PD. There is abundant evidence that cueing helps to achieve better movement performance and that these effects are retained immediately after withdrawal, possibly indicating the first signs of consolidation. Also, automatization of cued learning was demonstrated, as cues not only enhanced dual-task performance but these increments were retained after cue withdrawal. However, the effect of longer periods of cued training on retention of cued and uncued performance is not well established and some studies suggest that learning effects may be cue-dependent. The results of this review support the notion that adopting motor learning principles could benefit rehabilitation in PD. Even so, the limitations of reduced flexibility, efficiency and increased context-specificity of motor learning in PD need to be taken into account.

This study developed an on-field anticipation training intervention with the aim of improving novice goalkeeper penalty kick performance. Eighteen participants were allocated to either one-player (OP); or three-player (TP) training. The OP group faced "traditional" practice, with one player running-up to execute each kick. The TP group faced three players in a form of variable practice; two players stopped their run-up approximately 1.2m from the ball with the third-player executed the kick. Following training, results revealed that TP made significantly more saves when facing non-deception kicks in comparison with OP. An implication for applied practice is that there are potential gains to be made through training anticipation skills via new on-field practices rather than the current research focus on videobased training.

Purpose. Motor skills can be learned in an explicit or an implicit manner. Explicit learning places high demands on working memory capacity, but engagement of working memory is largely circumvented when skills are learned implicitly. We propose that individuals with impaired movement dynamics may benefit from implicit learning methods when acquiring sportsrelated motor skills. Method. We discuss converging evidence that individuals with cerebral palsy and children born prematurely have compromised working memory capacity. This may in part explain the difficulties they encounter when learning motor and other skills. We also review tentative evidence that older people, whose movement dynamics deteriorate, can implicitly learn sports-related motor skills and that this results in more durable performance gains than explicit learning. Results. Individuals with altered movement dynamics and compromised working memory can benefit from implicit motor learning. Conclusion. We conclude with an appeal for more extensive evaluation of the merits of implicit motor learning in individuals with impaired movement dynamics.

Στην έρευνα αυτή εξετάσθηκε αν η επιδεξιότητα στο ποδόσφαιρο επηρεάζει την απόδοση και τη µάθηση µίας νέας δεξιότητας η οποία απαιτεί την διαρκή προσαρµογή της στάσης του σώµατος σε δυναµικές οπτικές πληροφορίες. Στην πειραµατική διαδικασία συµµετείχαν 10 έµπειροι ποδοσφαιριστές (ΟΠ) (ηλικία: 21.4±1.7, χρόνια προπόνησης: 8.6±3) και 10 φοιτητές φυσικής αγωγής ίδιας ηλικίας [Οµάδα Ελέγχου(ΟΕ), ηλικία: 20.4 ±0.8], από τους οποίους ζητήθηκε να σταθούν πάνω σε µία διπλή πλατφόρµα δύναµης (ERBE BALANCE SYSTEM) ενώ λάµβαναν οπτικές πληροφορίες σχετικά µε το διάνυσµα της δύναµης του κάθε ποδιού από την οθόνη ενός Η/Υ τοποθετηµένου µπροστά τους. Στόχος της δεξιότητας ήταν να µεταφέρουν το βάρος του σώµατος τους µεταξύ των δύο πλευρών µε τέτοιο τρόπο ώστε το διάνυσµα της δύναµης του κάθε ποδιού να παραµένει µέσα στα όρια που καθορίζονταν οπτικά από τις κυµατοειδείς τροχιές στην οθόνη του υπολογιστή. Η εξάσκηση περιελάµβανε 3 µπλοκ (1 λεπτό διάλειµµα) των 5 επαναλήψεων (10 δευτ διάλειµµα) και 1 µπλοκ των 5 επαναλήψεων 24 ώρες µετά (τεστ διατήρησης). Η µάθηση αξιολογήθηκε από το µέσο όρο (Μ0) και την τυπική απόκλιση (ΤΑ) του χρόνου κίνησης (ΧΚ) και του αριθµού λαθών (ΑΛ) τα οποία υπολογίστηκαν ανά 5 επαναλήψεις. Η στατιστική ανάλυση των αποτελεσµάτων έδειξε ότι οι ποδοσφαιριστές εκτέλεσαν τη δεξιότητα µε σηµαντικά πιο λίγα λάθη στην αριστερή πλευρά (p<0.05) είχαν πιο σταθερή εκτέλεση (p<0.05) και έµαθαν τη δεξιότητα πιο γρήγορα σε σχέση µε την ΟΕ (p<0.05). Συµπεραίνεται ότι η εξειδικευµένη προπόνηση ποδοσφαίρου ενισχύει τη σύζευξη µεταξύ αντίληψης και δράσης διευκολύνοντας έτσι τη µάθηση δεξιοτήτων οι οποίες απαιτούν την άµεση εφαρµογή οπτικών πληροφοριών σε κινητικές εντολές.

Voluntary physical activity and exercise training can favorably influence brain plasticity by facilitating neurogenerative, neuroadaptive, and neuroprotective processes. At least some of the processes are mediated by neurotrophic factors. Motor skill training and regular exercise enhance executive functions of cognition and some types of learning, including motor learning in the spinal cord. These adaptations in the central nervous system have implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity, cancer, depression, the decline in cognition associated with aging, and neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's dementia, ischemic stroke, and head and spinal cord injury. Chronic voluntary physical activity also attenuates neural responses to stress in brain circuits responsible for regulating peripheral sympathetic activity, suggesting constraint on sympathetic responses to stress that could plausibly contribute to reductions in clinical disorders such as hypertension, heart failure, oxidative stress, and suppression of immunity. Mechanisms explaining these adaptations are not as yet known, but metabolic and neurochemical pathways among skeletal muscle, the spinal cord, and the brain offer plausible, testable mechanisms that might help explain effects of physical activity and exercise on the central nervous system.

An external focus of attention is considered superior to an internal focus for learning and performance. However, findings specific to changing the task difficulty are inconsistent. The present study used a reciprocal aiming task to determine the effects of attentional focus on motor performance using speed-accuracy paradigm. We constrained timing to examine how internal and external focus of attention influenced accuracy when task difficulty changes. The results indicated greater accuracy on the right target and greater consistency on both targets for the external focus condition, regardless of task difficulty. Our results uniquely demonstrated how instruction modified a speed-accuracy task.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of errorless, error full and scaling equipment practice methods on learning of basketball free throw skill in children. 50 Boy students, 10–12 years old With a history of exercise three times a week selected and randomly divided into five groups of 10 people (Training with scaling equipment from a constant distance, Training with standard equipment from a constant distance, errorless- scaling equipment, errorless- standard equipment and error full- scaling equipment). Acquisition phase includes 5 sessions and each session was conducted 50 trials. Tests, included transfer and retention tests. Transfer test (10 throw from a distance of 3.5 meters with ball size 6 and the ring height 2.80 m) performed 10 minutes after the last trial on the last day of acquisition phase. The retention test were completed as a double transfer design with 10 throw from a distance of 3.5 meters with balls 5 and 7, with a ring height of 2.60 and 3.05 meters respectively, 24 h after the last session of Acquisition. Data was analyzed with dependent T-test, ANOVA and mixed ANOVA (at the significant level P=0.05). According to the accuracy variable, significant differences were not found between the 5 groups in retention and transfer tests. However throw pattern in groups practice with scaling equipment compared with no scaling equipment groups was better. In general, according the results of this study, it can be concluded that the use of scaling equipment training method leads to better learning of movement pattern in children.

Despite the fact that developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is characterised by a deficit in the ability to learn or automate motor skills, few studies have examined motor learning over repeated trials. In this study we examined procedural learning in a group of 10 children with DCD (aged 8-12 years) and age-matched controls without DCD. The learning task was modelled on that of Nissen and Bullemer [Cognitive Psychology 19 (1987) 1]. Children performed a serial reaction time (SRT) task in which they were required to learn a spatial sequence that repeated itself every 10 trials. Children were not aware of the repetition. Spatial targets were four (horizontal) locations presented on a computer monitor. Children responded using four response keys with the same horizontal mapping as the stimulus. They were tested over five blocks of 100 trials each. The first four blocks presented the same repeating sequence, while the fifth block was randomised. Procedural learning was indexed by the slope of the regression of RT on blocks 1-4. Results showed that most children displayed strong procedural learning of the sequence, despite having no explicit knowledge about it. Overall, there was no group difference in the magnitude of learning over blocks of trials -most children performed within the normal range. Procedural learning for simple sequential movements appears to be intact in children with DCD. This suggests that cortico-striatal circuits that are strongly implicated in the sequencing of simple movements appear to be function normally in DCD.

In this paper, we describe our experience in designing a virtual environment-based (VE) telerehabilitation system, and the results of a clinical study of the first 11 subjects with stroke to use the system. Our telerehabilitation system allows a therapist to conduct interactive VE treatment sessions remotely with a patient who is located at home. The system, software architecture, and development experience are described. Results of the clinical study on subjects with stroke showed significant improvements in upper extremity function following 30 1-h VE treatment sessions as measured by three standard clinical tests: Fugl-Meyer test of motor recovery (FM) ( 0 0001), Wolf motor test (WMT) ( = 0 0097, and shoulder strength (ShS) ( = 0 0027). Grip strength (GS) showed a trend toward improvement ( = 0 025). These changes were maintained, for the most part, at four-months follow-up (FM +7.6, WMT 18.4 s, ShS, +169%, GS, +53%).

Sensory information is critical to correct performance errors online during the execution of complex tasks and can be complemented by augmented feedback (FB). Here, 2 groups of participants acquired a new bimanual coordination pattern under different augmented FB conditions: 1) visual input reflecting coordination between the 2 hands and 2) auditory pacing integrating the timing of both hands into a single temporal structure. Behavioral findings revealed that the visual group became dependent on this augmented FB for performance, whereas the auditory group performed equally well with or without augmented FB by the end of practice. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results corroborated these behavioral findings: the visual group showed neural activity increases in sensory-specific areas during practice, supporting increased reliance on augmented FB. Conversely, the auditory group showed a neural activity decrease, specifically in areas associated with cognitive/sensory monitoring of motor task performance, supporting the development of a control mode that was less reliant on augmented FB sources. Finally, some remnants of brain activity in sensory-specific areas in the absence of augmented FB were found for the visual group only, illustrating ongoing reliance on these areas. These findings provide the first neural account for the ''guidance hypothesis of information FB,'' extensively supported by behavioral research.

With the use of the PNF concept a variety of sub goals can be
achieved. These range from improvement of strength up to functional
activities. In this way one can work on every level of the ICF
with the PNF concept. In searching publications concerning the
efficacy of the PNF method we soon run into smaller studies,
which illustrate the variety of applicability [8, 14, 15, 22, 29}. To illustrate
the broad possibilities of the PNF-concept this article deals with a
case report in which an anterior shoulder instability plays a central
role.

Purpose: People without neurological impairments show superior motor learning when they focus on movement effects (external focus) rather than on movement execution itself (internal focus). Despite its potential for neurorehabilitation, it remains unclear to what extent external focus strategies are currently incorporated in rehabilitation post-stroke. Therefore, we observed how physical therapists use attentional focus when treating gait of rehabilitating patients with stroke. Methods: Twenty physical therapist-patient couples from six rehabilitation centers participated. Per couple, one regular gait-training session was video-recorded. Therapists' statements were classified using a standardized scoring method to determine the relative proportion of internally and externally focused instructions/feedback. Also, we explored associations between therapists' use of external/internal focus strategies and patients' focus preference, length of stay, mobility, and cognition. Results: Therapists' instructions were generally more external while feedback was more internal. Therapists used relatively more externally focused statements for patients with a longer length of stay (B ¼ À0.239, p ¼ 0.013) and for patients who had a stronger internal focus preference (B ¼ À0.930, p ¼ 0.035). Conclusions: Physical therapists used more external focus instructions, but more internally focused feedback. Also, they seem to adapt their attentional focus use to patients' focus preference and rehabilitation phase. Future research may determine how these factors influence the effectiveness of different attentional foci for motor learning post-stroke.

Una atenta observació de les activitats aquàtiques de caire educatiu mostra que aquestes pràctiques es fonamenten, principalment, en constructes que no són propis de la pedagogia, ans provenen de l'antropologia i/o de les cultures establertes a l'entorn de l'aigua. Així, el present article es pregunta pels sentits que acompanyen aquests imaginaris que sorgeixen de la relació que s'estableix entre l'home i el medi aquàtic. Per a fer-ho, s'utilitza el recurs hermenèutic de comprendre quines han estat les pràctiques aquàtiques que han anat sorgint al llarg de la història, ja que la idea principal del treball sosté que l'activitat educativa en el medi aquàtic s'ha construït a partir dels imaginaris culturals, sorgits de les mateixes pràctiques aquàtiques que l'han precedit.

Joseph Pilates (1880±1967) created a system of ®tness exercises that are still practiced in a more or less modi®ed form. Within the last two decades, there has been a signi®cant increase in the popularity of such Pilates-inspired (PI) exercises. This paper describes current claims for the eectiveness of PI exercises and comments on their validity. Motor learning principles and ®ndings are applied to make recommendations for using PI exercises to enhance the execution of functional movement tasks. The learning-performance distinction, augmented information feedback, contextual interference, skill transfer and augmented verbal cues are discussed. Finally, suggestions are made for aspiring PI practitioners seeking training and certi®cation. #

Motor behavior is modulated by dopamine-responsive neurons in the striatum, where dopaminergic signaling uses G-protein-coupled pathways, including those that result in the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). The RIIbeta isoform of PKA is highly enriched in the striatum, and targeted disruption of the RIIbeta gene in mice leads to a dramatic reduction in total PKA activity in this region. Although the mutant mice show typical locomotor responses after acute administration of dopaminergic drugs, they display abnormalities in two experience-dependent locomotor behaviors: training on the rotarod task and locomotor sensitization to amphetamine. In addition, amphetamine induction of fos is absent, and the basal expression of dynorphin mRNA is reduced in the striatum. These results demonstrate that motor learning and the regulation of neuronal gene expression require RIIbeta PKA, whereas the acute locomotor effects of dopaminergic drugs are relatively unaffected by this PKA...

The development of performance, such as learning a new motor skill, can be represented in a performance curve. The shape of the performance curve is both of theoretical and practical relevance. Here, the author studied the interday performance of juggling over a period of 17 days in 112 college students. The results showed that 60% of participants followed an S-shaped performance curve with the inflection date on the 11th day, followed by a decelerated (20%), accelerated (14%), and linear curve (6%). As expected, except on Day 1, male participants performed at least 33% better than female participants on each practice day. Also as expected, learning performance was found to depend on the type of performance curve with the best learning performance exhibited by the linear group. The results further revealed that pooling all participants' performance together without considering the percentage of each underlying type of performance curve would lead to biased, nonrepresentative results. Given the variety of the observed performance curves and the dominance of the S-shaped performance curve among them, coaches should continuously monitor the shape of an individual's performance curve.

AbstractÐMotor learning abilities on the rotorod and motor skills (muscular strength, motor coordination, static and dynamic equilibrium) were investigated in three-, nine-, 15-and 21-month-old Lurcher and control mice. Animals were subjected to motor training on the rotorod before being subjected to motor skills tests. The results showed that control mice exhibited decrease of muscular strength and speci®c equilibrium impairments in static conditions with age, but were still able to learn the motor task on the rotorod even in old age. These results suggest that, in control mice, ef®ciency of the reactive mechanisms, which are sustained by the lower transcerebellar loop (cerebello-rubro-olivo-cerebellar loop), decreased with age, while the ef®ciency of the proactive adjustments, which are sustained by the upper transcerebellar loop (cerebello-thalamo-cortico-ponto-cerebellar loop), did not. In spite of their motor de®cits, Lurcher mutants were able to learn the motor task at three months, but exhibited severe motor learning de®cits as soon as nine months. Such a de®cit seems to be associated with dynamic equilibrium impairments, which also appeared at nine months in these mutants. By two months of age, degeneration of the cerebellar cortex and the olivocerebellar pathway in Lurcher mice has disrupted both lower and upper transcerebellar loops. Disruption of the lower loop could well explain precocious static equilibrium de®cits. However, in spite of disruption of the upper loop, motor learning and dynamic equilibrium were preserved in young mutant mice, suggesting that either deep cerebellar nuclei and/or other motor structures involved in proactive mechanisms needed to maintain dynamic equilibrium and to learn motor tasks, such as the striatopallidal system, are suf®cient. The fact that, in Lurcher mutant mice, motor learning decreased by the age of nine months suggests that the above-mentioned structures are less ef®cient, likely due to degeneration resulting from precocious and focused neurodegeneration of the cerebellar cortex.

This paper describes an interdisciplinary research project aimed at developing and evaluating effective and user-friendly non-contact robot-assisted therapy, aimed at in-home use. The approach stems from the emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience that seeks to understand phenomena in terms of interactions between the social, cognitive, and neural levels of analysis. This technology-assisted therapy is designed to be safe and affordable, and relies on novel human-robot interaction methods for accelerated recovery of upperextremity function after lesion-induced hemiparesis. The work is based on the combined expertise in the science and technology of non-contact socially assistive robotics and the clinical science of neurorehabilitation and motor learning, brought together to study how to best enhance recovery after stroke and mild traumatic brain injury. Our approach is original and promising in that it combines several ingredients that individually have been shown to be important for learning and long-term efficacy in motor neurorehabilitation: (1) intensity of task specific training and (2) engagement and self-management of goal-directed actions. These principles motivate and guide the strategies used to develop novel user activity sensing and provide the rationale for development of socially assistive robotics therapy for monitoring and coaching users toward personalized and optimal rehabilitation programs.

In this paper, the current "state of the art" for virtual reality (VR) applications in the field of motor rehabilitation is reviewed. The paper begins with a brief overview of available equipment options. Next, a discussion of the scientific rationale for use of VR in motor rehabilitation is provided. Finally, the major portion of the paper describes the various VR systems that have been developed for use with patients, and the results of clinical studies reported to date in the literature. Areas covered include stroke rehabilitation (upper and lower extremity training, spatial and perceptual-motor training), acquired brain injury, Parkinson's disease, orthopedic rehabilitation, balance training, wheelchair mobility and functional activities of daily living training, and the newly developing field of telerehabilitation. Four major findings emerge from these studies: (1) people with disabilities appear capable of motor learning within virtual environments; (2) movements learned by people with disabilities in VR transfer to real world equivalent motor tasks in most cases, and in some cases even generalize to other untrained tasks; (3) in the few studies (n = 5) that have compared motor learning in real versus virtual environments, some advantage for VR training has been found in all cases; and (4) no occurrences of cybersickness in impaired populations have been reported to date in experiments where VR has been used to train motor abilities.

Introduction: Cognitive-perceptual skills are important for successful performance in many tasks. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of quiet eye training and anticipation training on performance of hockey goalkeepers. Materials and Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 10 hockey goalkeepers were selected via purposeful sampling method, and randomly assigned to two equal groups of quiet eye training and anticipation training. The study included pretest, intervention, posttest, and transference stages. Participants in pretest, posttest, and transfer (under-pressure position) stages received 25 hockey strokes at a distance of 9 meters. Intervention was done for three consecutive days (9 blocks of 40 trials, a total of 360 trials), and participants received their training instructions. Data were analyzed using independent t and dependent t tests via SPSS software. Results: Both anticipation training (P = 0.010) and quiet eye training (P < 0.001) had significant effect on the performance of hockey goalkeepers. Moreover, quiet eye training group had better performance compared to anticipation training group in both normal (P = 0.010) and under-pressure (P = 0.010) conditions. Conclusion: Quiet eye training in contrast to anticipation training results in better performance in normal and under pressure conditions.

La formazione dell'insegnante in educazione fisica, richiede non solo l'analisi degli ambiti d'intervento, dei contenuti e delle modalità organizzative, ma anche la conoscenza delle modalità di insegnamento per promuovere l'apprendimento delle competenze motorie. Obiettivo del contributo è analizzare gli effetti degli stili d'insegnamento sulle diverse modalità di apprendimento. Gli allievi come imparano le competenze motorie? La variazione degli stili d'insegnamento, determina modalità diverse di elaborazione delle informazioni e di risposta dell'allievo, sollecitando modalità di apprendimento diverse e personalizzate. La didattica delle competenze motorie richiede intenzionalità didattica e la proposta di compiti motori orientata non solo sulla quantità ma, soprattutto, sulla qualità, valorizzando il successo personale e le motivazioni degli allievi. Si sostiene la necessità di utilizzare differenti modalità di comunicazione e stili d'insegnamento perchè l'acquisizione di abilità motorie e conoscenze sia supportata dalla non linearità, necessaria ad apprendere competenze motorie in modo efficace e

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to study effects on motor skills and self-esteem of an extension of the Swedish school subject Physical Education and Health (PEH) and motor training during nine school years. DESIGN AND METHOD: An intervention group (n=161) had PEH and motor training five lessons (225 min) and a matched control group (n=102) had regular PEH two lessons (90 min) per week. The method was hypothetico-deductive. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that students' motor skills improve with extended physical activity and motor training was confirmed. The school has good potential in stimulating all students' development of motor skills, but two lessons of PEH per week are not enough. Significant correlations were found between motor skills and self-esteem overall and the components friend-ship/sports efficacy and attention/learning efficacy. Differences in self-esteem between students with good motor skills and students with deficits may decrease with extended physical activity and motor training in school.

Purpose. Motor skills can be learned in an explicit or an implicit manner. Explicit learning places high demands on working memory capacity, but engagement of working memory is largely circumvented when skills are learned implicitly. We propose that individuals with impaired movement dynamics may benefit from implicit learning methods when acquiring sportsrelated motor skills. Method. We discuss converging evidence that individuals with cerebral palsy and children born prematurely have compromised working memory capacity. This may in part explain the difficulties they encounter when learning motor and other skills. We also review tentative evidence that older people, whose movement dynamics deteriorate, can implicitly learn sports-related motor skills and that this results in more durable performance gains than explicit learning. Results. Individuals with altered movement dynamics and compromised working memory can benefit from implicit motor learning. Conclusion. We conclude with an appeal for more extensive evaluation of the merits of implicit motor learning in individuals with impaired movement dynamics.

This study was a case series design. The objectives of the study were to investigate the ability of a motor learning intervention to change aberrant pelvic floor and diaphragm kinematics and respiratory patterns observed in subjects with sacroiliac joint pain (SIJP) during the active straight leg raise (ASLR) test. The ASLR test is a valid and reliable tool to assist

The quality of teaching technique employed by the teacher basically influence student's interest and learning outcome. In recent times, it has become obvious that the conventional learning pattern can no longer meet the need of digital millennials nor prepare them for the future. This has necessitated the transition from traditional (teacher-centred) approach to inquiry-based (student-centred) approach in order to improve students' skills and enhance productivity in learning. The present study critically examines the potentials of mobile technologies in enhancing the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning approach. The findings show that mobile technologies have the potential to enhance the success of inquiry-based learning method. Indeed, the inquiry process can be more effective if the "Inquirers" can maximize the potential benefits offered by mobile technologies. The study indicates that many students are closely attached to their mobile gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, notebooks and other PDAs, and can easily manipulate it for inquiries, discoveries and innovations. Also, mobile devices often come with fascinating features, apps and functions that motivate learners to connect to the internet, think critically, and to actively engage in authentic and creative learning inquiries, collaborations and discussions. With the aid of mobile devices, students can conduct inquiries (ask questions) via phone calls; text messaging, chat, and e-mails both within and outside the classroom. From the study, it can be inferred that, the use of mobile devices enhance inquiry-based learning; promotes student's inquiry and entrepreneurial spirit, and positive attitude towards learning. Also, mobile devices can inspire students to learn more comprehensively and effectively, International Journal of Education (IJE) Vol. 2, No. 01, October 2019 2 thereby increasing their proficiencies, and preparation for changes; challenges, and a knowledge-based society. Thus, the study concludes that the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning approach in the 21 st century can largely be enhanced by mobile technologies.

There is a surge in new, innovative digital tools and applications, also for the use in PE. We restrict ourselves to discussing two popular application categories that are currently widely used by PE-teachers in the Netherlands. 9781138569881_pi-276.indd 183 9781138569881_pi-276.indd 183