Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Motor learning and execution'
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Marchant, David Christopher. "The effects of internally and externally directed attention during motor skill execution and learning." Thesis, University of Hull, 2005. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:11168.
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Focusing attention onto the intended outcome or goal of a movement (an External focus of attention) has been shown to be more beneficial to the learning and performance of movements than focusing onto the components of the movement being carried out (an Internal focus of attention). In this thesis, four studies assessed the effects of attentional focusing strategies on the learning and execution of motor skills during different situations. Study 1 demonstrated that an internal focus of attention during a suprapostural pointing task resulted in degraded postural control as well as larger movements of the hand and arm. In Study 2 novices using an external focus were more accurate in a dart throwing task than those using an internal focus, but no different from a control condition. In Study 3 two experiments investigated the effects of attentional focuses on postural control at rest and whilst fatigued. Postural control was no better using external focus when compared to an internal focus at rest, but was better than baseline. When fatigued (localised and generalised), balance was significantly deteriorated using an external focus, but not when an internal focus was used. In two experiments during Study 4 novices carrying out a dart throwing task used different attentional focusing instructions during practice and later performance. During practice sessions in Experiment 4.1 and 4.2 accuracy was not affected by attentional focusing instructions. Using an external focus during performance resulted in significantly better accuracy than using an internal focus. In Experiment 4.2, novices who preferred an internal focus but used an external focus during performance performed less accurately than participants who preferred the external focus. Findings demonstrate that the benefits of an external focus of attention is evident in performance situations, whereas an internal focus may be beneficial whilst fatigued and is not detrimental during practice.
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Ko, Raymond. "The Role of the Basal Ganglia in Executing and Learning Complex Motor Sequences." Thesis, Harvard University, 2016. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33493272.
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We learn and perform precise motor sequences to interact with the environment. This ability underlies much of what we do, from playing musical instruments and using new tools to producing fluent speech. Understanding the neural circuits involved in producing these sequences is a central objective of the field of motor learning.
In this dissertation, I study the role of the basal ganglia in complex motor sequence learning and execution, and how they coordinate with the rest of the brain to fulfill both functions. First, I investigate whether the striatum is involved in complex sequence execution by lesioning the dorsolateral striatum (DLS, or sensorimotor striatum) and the dorsomedial striatum (DMS, or associative striatum) in rats trained to execute spatiotemporally precise lever-pressing sequences. Kinematics analysis revealed that DLS lesions significantly disrupted performance, while the DMS was largely dispensable for executing the motor skill. Next, I examined the role of the basal ganglia output in the same task by lesioning the globus pallidus interna (GPi). Third, I explored the role of the DLS and DMS in learning by lesioning the structures prior to training. DLS lesions severely disrupted learning in the task, whereas DMS lesions did not abort learning. Lastly, I examined the role of primary and secondary motor cortices in tutoring the basal ganglia by lesioning them before training. Both cortices have, to at least a degree, redundant functions with respect to learning the task. Overall, this dissertation suggests that the sensorimotor part of the basal ganglia is critical for both executing and learning complex motor sequences.Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary
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Parziale, Antonio. "A neurocomputational model of reaching movements." Doctoral thesis, Universita degli studi di Salerno, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10556/2341.
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2013 - 2014How the brain controls movement is a question that has fascinated researchers from different areas as neuroscience, robotics and psychology. To understand how we move is not only an intellectual challenge, but it is important for finding new strategies for nursing people with movement diseases, for rehabilitation and to develop new robotic technology. While there is an agreement about the role of the primary motor cortex (M1) in the execution of voluntary movements, it is still debated what (and how) is encoded by the neural activity of the motor cortex. To unveil the "code" used for executing voluntary movements we investigated the interaction between the motor cortex and the spinal cord, the main recipient of the descending signals departing from M1 neurons. In particular, the research presented in this thesis aims at understanding how primary motor cortex and spinal cord cooperate to execute a reaching movement, and whether a modular organization of the spinal cord can be exploited for controlling the movement. On the basis of physiological studies about the primary motor cortex organization, we have hypothesized that this brain area encodes both movement's parameters and patterns of muscle activation. We argue that the execution of voluntary movements results from the cooperation of different clusters of neurons distributed in the rostral and caudal regions of primary motor cortex, each of which represents different aspects of the ongoing movement. In particular, kinetic aspects of movement are directly represented by the caudal part of primary motor cortex as activations of alpha motoneurons, while kinematic aspects of the movement are encoded by the rostral region and are translated by spinal cord interneurons into alpha motoneurons activation. The population of corticomotoneuron (CM) cells in the caudal part of M1 creates muscle synergies for a direct control of muscle activity, useful to execute highly novel skills that require a direct control of multijoint and single joint movements by the central nervous system (CNS). On the other side, clusters of neurons in the rostral M1 are devoted to the activation of different subpopulations of interneurons in the spinal cord organized in functional modules. Each spinal module implements hardwired muscle synergies regulating the activity of a subset of muscles working around one or more joints. The way a module regulates the muscles activations is related to its structural properties. One area recruits the hard-wired motor primitives hosted in the spinal cord as spatiotemporal synergies, while the other one has direct access to the alpha motoneurons and may build new synergies for the execution of very demanding movements. The existence of these two areas regulating directly and indirectly the muscle activity can explain the controversy about what kind of parameter is encoded by the brain. In order to validate our conjecture about the coexistence of an explicit representation of both kinetic and kinematics aspects of the movement, we have developed and implemented the computational model of the spinal cord and its connections with supraspinal brain. The model incorporates the key anatomical and physiological features of the neurons in the spinal cord (interneurons Ia, Ib and PN and Renshaw cells, and their interconnections). The model envisages descending inputs coming from both rostral and caudal M1 motor cortex and cerebellum (through the rubro- and reticulo-spinal tracts), local inputs from both Golgi tendon organs and spindles, and its output is directed towards alfa motoneurons, which also receive descending inputs from the cortex and local inputs from spindles. The musculoskeletal model used in this study is a one degree-of-freedom arm whose motion is restricted to the extension/flexion of the elbow. The musculoskeletal model includes three muscles: Biceps Short, Brachialis and Triceps Lateral. Our simulations show that the CNS may produce elbow flexion movements with different properties by adopting different strategies for the recruitment and the modulation of interneurons and motoneurons. The results obtained using our computational model confirm what has been hypothesized in literature: modularity may be the organizational principle that the central nervous system exploits in motor control. In humans, the central nervous system can execute motor tasks by recruiting the motor primitives in the spinal cord or by learning new collections of synergies essential for executing novel skills typical of our society. To get more insights about how brain encodes movements and to unveil the role played by the different areas of the brain we verified if the movement generated by our model satisfied the trade-off between speed and accuracy predicted by the Fitts’ law. An interesting result is that the speed-accuracy tradeoff does not follow from the structure of the system, that is capable of performing fast and precise movements, but arises from the strategy adopted to produce faster movements, by starting from a prelearned set of motor commands useful to reach the target position and by modifying only the activations of alfa motoneurons. These results suggest that the brain may use the clusters of neurons in the rostral M1 for encoding the direction of the movement and the clusters of CM cells in the caudal M1 for regulating the tradeoff between speed and accuracy. The simulation performed with our computational model have shown that the activation of an area cannot exclude the activation of the other one but, on the contrary, both the activations are needed to have a simulated behaviour that fits the real behavior. [edited by Author]
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Pompéu, José Eduardo. "Melhora funcional de pacientes com doença de Parkinson após treinamento em ambientes real e virtual." Universidade de São Paulo, 2012. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47135/tde-05102012-113814/.
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O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar os efeitos de dois tipos de programas de treinamento de equilíbrio, um baseado no Nintendo Wii Fit e o outro baseado nos exercícios tradicionais sem a utilização de videogame, no equilíbrio, funcionalidade e cognição de pacientes com doença de Parkinson. Trata-se de um ensaio clínico cego e randomizado realizado na Associação Brasil Parkinson e no Centro de Docência e Pesquisa dos Cursos de Fonoaudiologia, Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional da Universidade de São Paulo. Participaram do estudo 32 pacientes com doença de Parkinson nos estágios 1 a 2,5 da escala Hoehn e Yahr. Os pacientes foram randomizados nos grupos controle e experimental, 16 em cada grupo. Ambos os grupos realizaram 14 sessões individuais de treinamento, duas vezes por semana, por sete semanas. Cada sessão foi composta por 30 minutos de exercícios globais, incluindo alongamento e fortalecimento musculares e mobilidade axial. Logo após, ambos os grupos realizaram mais 30 minutos de treinamento de equilíbrio: o treinamento do grupo controle foi realizado por meio de exercícios de equilíbrio sem a utilização de pistas externas, retroalimentação visual ou auditiva ou estimulação cognitiva associada; o grupo experimental realizou o treinamento de equilíbrio por meio de 10 jogos do Nintendo Wii Fit, os quais estimularam as funções motoras e cognitivas. As principais medidas do estudo foram (1) seção II da Escala Unificada da Doença de Parkinson, (UPDRS); (2) Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg (EEB); (3) Unipedal Stance Test (UST) e (4) Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). A análise estatística foi realizada por meio da ANOVA de medidas repetidas e o pós hoc teste de Tukey para a verificação de possíveis diferenças entre os grupos e avaliações realizadas antes, depois e após 60 dias do final do treinamento. Ambos os grupos apresentaram melhora na seção II da UPDRS, na EEB, no UST e na MoCA. Conclui-se que os pacientes com doença de Parkinson apresentaram melhora no equilíbrio e na cognição com efeitos positivos sobre a funcionalidade relacionada com as atividades de vida diária após 14 sessões de treinamento de equilíbrio sem vantagens adicionais para o treinamento em ambiente virtualThe objective of this work was to compare the effects of two balance training programs, one Nintendo Wii Fit-based and the other traditionally-based without the use of a gaming system, on the balance, functionality and cognition of patients with Parkinson´s disease. It was a prospective, single blinded, randomized clinical trial performed at Brazil Parkinson Association and Center of Research of the courses of Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy of São Paulo University. 32 patients with Parkinson´s disease on stages 1 and 2,5 of Hoehn e Yahr participated of this work. Patients were randomized in control and experimental group, 16 each one. Both groups performed 14 training sessions, twice a week, for seven weeks. Each session was composed of a 30 minute-global-exercise series including stretching, muscle strengthen and axial mobility exercises. After this, both groups performed more 30 minutes of balance training: the control group performed balance exercises without external cues, visual or auditory feedbacks or cognitive stimulations; the experimental group performed the balance training with 10 Wii Fit games which stimulated motor and cognitive functions. The main outcome measures were: (1) Unified Parkinson´s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS); (2) Berg Balance Scale (BBS); (3) Unipedal Stance Test (UST) and (4) Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The statistical analysis was done by repeated measures ANOVA in order to assess the possible differences among the analyzed variables. Both groups showed improvement in the section II of UPDRS, BBS, UST and MoCA. Patients with Parkinson´s disease showed balance and cognitive improvement with positive repercussion on daily living activities after 14 sessions of balance training without additional advantages to the virtual training
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Weinberg, Isobel Claire. "Expectation in motor planning and execution." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2018. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10049246/.
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Expectation has been studied extensively in the decision-making field and its possible implementation in influential decision-making models has been formulated. Decision-making has historically been studied separately to motor planning. However, recent data suggest decisionmaking and motor planning overlap in time, with competing action plans in motor cortex biased by the ongoing decision. There has therefore been increasing interest in studying the interplay between decision-making and motor planning. Past experiments have typically studied the decision between two movements, when each movement is equally likely to be chosen. This aims to mimic the everyday situation in which we prepare a movement before knowing which it will be. However, a more common situation is that we expect to make one movement with a high likelihood, but also know there is a low likelihood of making a different movement. It is this uneven expectation across potential movements, and its effect on motor planning and execution, that is the focus of this thesis. I first investigate expectation in motor planning. I propose expectation may play the same role in motor cortical excitability as it is proposed to in theoretical decision making models. A series of experiment did not support this hypothesis; I discuss possible reasons for this. I next turn to an aspect of action execution: motor variability. There has been increasing interest in the idea that noise during motor planning is an important cause of motor variability. One theory has proposed that neural resources are divided when there are multiple motor plans, increasing motor variability. I propose that expectation interacts with this process by sharing these neural resources unevenly, so that variability is lower in the high-likelihood movement. I conduct two experiments to test this idea, and, based on the results, propose that expectation interacts with the motor control policy to determine motor variability.
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Kadlec, Daniel. "Motor capacity and sidestepping execution strategies in female athletes." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2022. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2536.
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Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries during sidestepping occur when the imposed knee joint loading exceeds the load tolerance of the tissues. The load tolerance thresholds can be modified with appropriate training (e.g., resistance training and plyometrics) and thus increase injury resilience. However, despite such insights, the incidence of ACL injury has not decreased in recent years. Injury is of particular concern for female athletes who present with significantly higher rates than male athletes.
Understanding how different constraints shape an athlete’s movement strategy and affect the resultant joint loading when designing training interventions can help to mitigate injury risk. Motor capacities, such as muscular strength and power, act as boundaries on the safe execution of motor skills and shape the acquisition of movement strategies. Therefore, increasing single- and multi-joint strength enables a broader solution space for movement strategies and mitigates joint loading impact. Exposing athletes simultaneously to the motor skills intended to be improved is critical to effectively transfer new levels of motor capacities into the movement competency. Manipulating task constraints during sidestepping can be used in the training process to expose athletes to high joint loading and prepare them for “worst-case” scenarios. Such “worst-case” scenarios are characterised by certain segment alignments and joint positions previously determined as ACL risk factors in sidestepping movements (e.g., lateral foot placement, lateral trunk flexion or knee flexion at initial contact). Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to increase the understanding of how to prepare athletes for “worst-case” sidestepping scenarios.
Chapter 2 established a theoretical framework for how different constraints can be utilised to a) manipulate the joint loading profile, such as the magnitude and distribution of joint loading, when sidestepping, thus specifically overloading, in particular, the knee joint, b) prepare for the imposed loading experienced during unplanned sidestepping, and c) how to facilitate a transfer from increases in motor capacities (e.g., single- and multi-joint strength) to improved motor skill (e.g., sidestepping). Subsequently, Study 1 demonstrated the reliability of single- and multijoint lower-body strength tests in recreationally trained female athletes. Such tests can be a valuable component of athlete monitoring for readiness and a component of a comprehensive physical test battery. Study 2 demonstrated that an individualised resistance training approach attenuates knee joint loading during unplanned sidestepping. The results of study 2 highlighted that individual strategies existed at the joint level when performing sidestepping that should be considered in subsequent training interventions. Study 3 demonstrated that the execution strategy, assessed by the single joint loading, changed based on external task constraints, particularly at the knee joint. Understanding how different task constraints affect the execution strategy is crucial when aiming to elicit specific adaptations around single joints.
The concepts and results of this thesis may have important implications for scientists and practitioners and shift how we think of athletic preparation. Exposing athletes progressively, continuously, and systematically to “worst-case” demands and the associated joint loading may increase injury resiliency and ultimately prepare for in situ demands. Further, possible approaches to facilitate the rate of transfer from increases in motor capacities (e.g., maximal muscle strength and maximal muscle power) to improvements in motor skills (e.g., jumping, sidestepping, sprinting) have been suggested. The results from this thesis provide support to seek the enhancement of an athlete’s ability to adapt and perform a multitude of execution strategies when completing the same motor task and withstand “worst-case” scenarios through increases in motor capacity and exposure to task variability.
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Dahlén, Olle, and Axel Rantil. "Optimized Trade Execution with Reinforcement Learning." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för datavetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-150186.
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In this thesis, we study the problem of buying or selling a given volume of a financial asset within a given time horizon to the best possible price, a problem formally known as optimized trade execution. Our approach is an empirical one. We use historical data to simulate the process of placing artificial orders in a market. This simulation enables us to model the problem as a Markov decision process (MDP). Given this MDP, we train and evaluate a set of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms all with the objective to minimize the transaction cost on unseen test data. We train and evaluate these for various instruments and problem settings, such as different trading horizons. Our first model was developed with the goal to validate results achieved by Nevmyvaka, Feng and Kearns [9], and it is thus called NFK. We extended this model into what we call Dual NFK, in an attempt to regularize the model against external price movement. Furthermore, we implemented and evaluated a classical RL algorithm, namely Sarsa(λ) with a modified reward function. Lastly, we evaluated proximal policy optimization (PPO), an actor-critic RL algorithm incorporating neural networks in order to find the optimal policy. Along with these models, we implemented five simple baseline strategies with various characteristics. These baseline strategies have partly been found in the literature and partly been developed by us, and are used to the evaluate the performance of our models. We achieve results on par with those found by Nevmyvaka, Feng and Kearns [9], but only for a few cases. Furthermore, dual NFK performed very similar to NFK, indicating that one can train one model (for both the buy and sell case) instead of two for the optimized trade execution problem. We also found that Sarsa(λ) with a modified reward function performed better than both these models, but is still outperformed by baseline strategies for many problem settings. Finally, we evaluated PPO for one problem setting and found that it outperformed even the best of the baseline strategies and models, showing promise for deep reinforcement learning methods for the problem of optimized trade execution.
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Morris, Nicole K. "Perception, Cognition, and Action in the Execution of a Motor Skill." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1303917744.
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Shalabi, Kholood Matouq. "Motor learning and inter-manual transfer of motor learning after a stroke." Thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2017. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.768491.
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Aims: 1) To measure automatically in stroke survivors and neurologically intact adults, learning, inter-manual transfer (ImT) and retention of learning (Ret.) of a task requiring two sequential actions embedded with-in a video game. 2) To assess the effect of age and side of stroke on learning, ImT, and Ret. of a motor task consisting of two sequentially linked actions. Participants: All participants were right hand dominant and included: A) 112 neurologically intact adults comprising: 72 younger adults (41 females), mean±SD age, 27.06±4.8 years, range 20-36 years and 40 older adults (26 females), mean±SD age 66.2±8.4 years, range 52- 86 years. B) 21 previously right-handed stroke survivors (7 females; 9 left hemiparesis), mean±SD age 66.7±9.3 years, range 54-82 years. Methods: We developed a video game that requires the player to perform two sequential actions to complete a task that mimics natural manipulation tasks. The players must first move a spaceship to a meteor (the Lock-in time phase), using isometric forces applied to game controllers using their hand muscles. The player must then track the trajectory of the meteor; (Hold/Track phase). The Lock-in time phase is assessed as the time from target presentation to achieving the target. The Hold/Track phase is assessed as the accuracy of Tracking within the meteor during the hold/Track phase. Performance is measured as the mean accumulative distance of the centre of the space ship from the outer edge of the target during periods when spaceship is outside the target. For both phases indicators, shorter distances represent higher performance. The Lock-in time and Hold/Track data were recorded for pre-training performance for the non-trained hand (nTH), pre-training performance for the trained hand (TH), training trials of the TH, reassessment after training of both the TH and the nTH, and a reassessment of both the TH and the nTH seven days after the baseline assessment. Statistical Analysis: Repeated-measures ANOVA was used; Time was the within-participant factor to examine learning. Two separate analyses were undertaken; to examine initial learning -Time (Pre, and Post Training) and to examine retention/consolidation - Time (Post- Training and Retention at one week). Age (Young, Older), Training Hand (right or left), and Group (neurologically intact or stroke survivors) were the between-participant factor. The dependent variables were Lock-in Time or Track.
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侯江濤 and Kong-to William Hau. "Artificial neural networks, motor programs and motor learning." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31240227.
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Hau, Kong-to William. "Artificial neural networks, motor programs and motor learning /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1999. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B2177920X.
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Randall, William Emerson. "One-trial motor learning." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape7/PQDD_0025/MQ51453.pdf.
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Dürschmid, Stefan [Verfasser], and Hermann [Akademischer Betreuer] Hinrichs. "Cross-frequency coupling tracks motor automization and execution in the human motor system / Stefan Dürschmid. Betreuer: Hermann Hinrichs." Magdeburg : Universitätsbibliothek, 2014. http://d-nb.info/1059440555/34.
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Yang, Jeng-Feng. "Motor learning and adaptation the role of motor abundance /." Access to citation, abstract and download form provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company; downloadable PDF file, 216 p, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3247585.
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Needle, Jamie Luke. "Motor performance and motor learning in adults with dyslexia." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2006. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/14893/.
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Assessment of motor performance and motor learning in dyslexia is crucial because of its ability to shed light on the underlying biology of the disorder and to discriminate between theoretical approaches. It remains a controversial area due to existing discrepant research findings and interpretations. Three studies are described in this thesis. The first used three sets of experiments to test balance and postural control in single and dual-task conditions. The second study examined the production and timing of responses in a classical eyeblink conditioning paradigm. The final study investigated motor skill acquisition. The results of the three studies were similar in that in dual-task balance, conditioned response timing and motor skill consolidation around half of the dyslexic adults showed substantial deficits compared with a control group. The samples of participants in the three studies overlapped sufficiently for some cross-study comparisons of strengths and weaknesses to be conducted. These showed that it was rare for a participant with dyslexia to show motor impairment in just one of the three domains, with dual task balance and conditioned response timing seeming to be most closely associated. Overall the results provide strong evidence of enduring deficits outside the literacy domain in dyslexia and also highlight the considerable heterogeneity of the disorder. Consequently they lend particular weight to the notion of cerebellar causation. Further studies should be undertaken on a larger scale to scrutinize the consistency of motor impairments in dyslexia and the possibility that those showing motor problems might form a definite subgroup within dyslexia. In the longer term, this work points to a possibility of multiple, independently diagnosable sub-classes of dyslexia, based on specific neurological abnormalities, with their own specific remediation and objective early detection schemes.
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Kaipa, Ramesh. "Evaluation of principles of motor learning in speech and non-speech-motor learning tasks." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Communication Disorders, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10349.
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Principles of motor learning (PMLs) refer to a set of concepts which are considered to facilitate the process of motor learning. PMLs can be broadly grouped into principles based on (1) the structure of practice/treatment, and (2) the nature of feedback provided during practice/treatment. Application of PMLs is most evident in studies involving non-speech- motor tasks (e.g., limb movement). However, only a few studies have investigated the application of PMLs in speech-motor tasks. Previous studies relating to speech-motor function have highlighted two primary limitations: (1) Failure to consider whether various PMLs contribute equally to learning in both non-speech and speech-motor tasks, (2) Failure to consider whether PMLs can be effective in a clinical cohort in comparison to a healthy group. The present research was designed to shed light on whether selected PMLs can indeed facilitate learning in both non-speech and speech-motor tasks and also to examine their efficacy in a clinical group with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in comparison to a healthy group.
Eighty healthy subjects with no history of sensory, cognitive, or neurological abnormalities, ranging 40-80 years of age, and 16 patients with PD, ranging 58-78 years of age, were recruited as participants for the current study. Four practice conditions and one feedback condition were considered in the training of a speech-motor task and a non-speech- motor task. The four practice conditions were (1) constant practice, (2) variable practice, (3) blocked practice, and (4) random practice. The feedback was a combination of low-frequency, knowledge of results, knowledge of performance, and delayed feedback conditions, and was paired with each of the four practice conditions. The participants in the clinical and non-clinical groups were required to practise a speech and a non-speech-motor learning task. Each participant was randomly and equally assigned to one of the four practice groups. The speech-motor task involved production of a meaningless and temporally modified phrase, and the non-speech-motor task involved practising a 12-note musical sequence using a portable piano keyboard.
Each participant was seen on three consecutive days: the first two days served as the acquisition phase and the third day was the retention phase. During the acquisition phase, the participants practised 50 trials of the speech phrase and another 50 trials of the musical tune each day, and each session lasted for 60-90 min. Performance on the speech and non-speech tasks was preceded by an orthographic model of the target phrase/musical sequence displayed on a computer monitor along with an auditory model. The participants were instructed to match their performance to the target phrase/musical sequence exactly. Feedback on performance was provided after every 10th trial. The nature of practice differed among the four practice groups. The participants returned on the third day for the retention phase and produced 10 trials of the target phrase and another 10 trials of the musical sequence. Feedback was not provided during or after the retention trials. These final trials were recorded for later acoustic analyses.
The analyses focused on spatial and temporal parameters of the speech and non-speech tasks. Spatial analysis involved evaluating the production accuracy of target phrase/tune by calculating the percentage of phonemes/keystrokes correct (PPC/PKC). The temporal analysis involved calculating the temporal synchrony of the participant productions (speech phrase & tune) during the retention trials with the target phrase and tune, respectively, through the phi correlation. The PPC/PKC and phi correlation values were subjected to a series of mixed model ANOVAs.
In the healthy subjects, the results of the spatial learning revealed that the participants learned the speech task better than the non-speech (keyboard) task. In terms of temporal learning, there was no difference in learning between the speech and non-speech tasks. On an overall note, the participants performed better on the spatial domain, rather than on the temporal domain, indicating a spatial-temporal trade-off. Across spatial as well as temporal learning, participants in the constant practice condition learned the speech and non-speech tasks better than participants in the other practice conditions. Another interesting finding was that there was an age effect, with the younger participants demonstrating superior spatial and temporal learning to that of the older participants, except for temporal learning on the keyboard task for which there was no difference. In contrast, the PD group showed no significant differences on spatial or temporal learning between any of the four practice conditions. Furthermore, although the PD patients had poorer performances than the healthy subjects on both the speech and keyboard tasks, they showed very similar pattern of learning across all four practice conditions to that of the healthy subjects.
The findings in the current study tend to have potential applications in speech-language therapy, and are as follows: (1) a constant practice regime could be beneficial in developing speech therapy protocols to treat motor-based communication disorders (e.g., dysarthria), (2) speech therapists need to exercise caution in designing speech therapy goals incorporating similar PMLs for younger and older adults, as the application of similar PMLs in younger and older adults may bring about different learning outcomes, (3) and finally, it could be beneficial for patients to practise speech tasks which would require them to focus either on the spatial or temporal aspect, rather than focussing on both the aspects simultaneously.
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Johnson, Katherine A. (Katherine Anne) 1973. "Movement preparation and execution in Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases." Monash University, Dept. of Psychology, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/9176.
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Brashers-Krug, Thomas M. (Thomas More). "Consolidation in human motor learning." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/11884.
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Jackson, Carl Patrick Thomas. "Motor learning and predictive control." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.519400.
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Howard, III James Thomas. "Physical guidance in motor learning." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2003. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15899/1/James_Howard_Thesis.pdf.
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Previous studies of physical guidance (PG - physically constraining error during practice of a motor task) have found it to be ineffective in enhancing motor learning. However, most studies have used a highly constraining form of physical guidance that may have encouraged undue dependency. In addition, previous research has not fully considered the interaction between visual feedback and PG, and many of the studies have failed to use standard delayed retention tests with knowledge of results unavailable (no-KR). The current experiment examine the effects of varying levels of constraint in PG, as well as the interaction of PG and visual guidance (VG), using no-KR retention tests. This study involved 99 subjects divided into nine acquisition trial condition groups, forming from a 3 x 3 factorial design with factors of PG x VG, each presented at levels designated as tight, bandwidth, or none. Subjects undertook a two-dimensional pattern drawing task with no KR, PG, or VG as a pre-test, before completing 100 practice trials under one of the nine conditions. The same test was given as a retention test (immediately after practice) and as a delayed retention test (two days later). A transfer test, using a different pattern, was also administered on the second day. Almost all groups performed better on the immediate transfer test than they had on the pre-test. However, after two days only three groups (PG bandwidth-VG tight, PG none-VG bandwidth, and PG none-VG none) retained this improvement and only two groups (PG bandwidth-VG bandwidth and PG none-VG none) performed significantly better on the transfer task than their pre-test. It is proposed that bandwidth guidance generally promotes learning and that bandwidth physical guidance may enhance proprioceptive cues. Independent of PG and VG effects, KR (an overall error score) also facilitated learning.
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Howard, III James Thomas. "Physical Guidance in Motor Learning." Queensland University of Technology, 2003. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15899/.
Full textAbstract:
Previous studies of physical guidance (PG - physically constraining error during practice of a motor task) have found it to be ineffective in enhancing motor learning. However, most studies have used a highly constraining form of physical guidance that may have encouraged undue dependency. In addition, previous research has not fully considered the interaction between visual feedback and PG, and many of the studies have failed to use standard delayed retention tests with knowledge of results unavailable (no-KR). The current experiment examine the effects of varying levels of constraint in PG, as well as the interaction of PG and visual guidance (VG), using no-KR retention tests. This study involved 99 subjects divided into nine acquisition trial condition groups, forming from a 3 x 3 factorial design with factors of PG x VG, each presented at levels designated as tight, bandwidth, or none. Subjects undertook a two-dimensional pattern drawing task with no KR, PG, or VG as a pre-test, before completing 100 practice trials under one of the nine conditions. The same test was given as a retention test (immediately after practice) and as a delayed retention test (two days later). A transfer test, using a different pattern, was also administered on the second day. Almost all groups performed better on the immediate transfer test than they had on the pre-test. However, after two days only three groups (PG bandwidth-VG tight, PG none-VG bandwidth, and PG none-VG none) retained this improvement and only two groups (PG bandwidth-VG bandwidth and PG none-VG none) performed significantly better on the transfer task than their pre-test. It is proposed that bandwidth guidance generally promotes learning and that bandwidth physical guidance may enhance proprioceptive cues. Independent of PG and VG effects, KR (an overall error score) also facilitated learning.
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PONTE, CHIARA. "Motor learning in Parkinson's Disease." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Genova, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/11567/1094283.
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The primary objective of these studies was to investigate motor learning processes through innovative approaches: (i) a new combined take that integrates motor sequence learning and motor adaptation; (ii) developing a computational model able to mimic real healthy subjects data. In this work, we first investigated the interaction of visuomotor adaptation and sequence learning in the early acquisition phase. Our results showed that simultaneous learning selectively affects both in different ways compared to sequence learning and rotation adaptation alone. Furthermore, our results showed significant differences in the number of anticipatory movements by comparing the combined task with the sequence learning alone. In particular, at the end of the training phase, subjects better anticipate the sequence in the explicit task alone. This finding corroborates a higher verbal score in the explicit task than combined. A second study aimed to understand motor learning processes in their early stage by computing a computational model that mimics the neurophysiological mechanism underpinning motor learning. We developed an integrated model (characterized by a combination of supervised and reinforcement learning) that exhibits a faster learning process concerning the classic reinforcement learning model.
This faster learning process of the integrated model was due to its improved exploration strategy. In particular, since the model gets the reward for the first time, the supervised component can learn a first coarse trajectory to reach the target. This trajectory affects the exploration by reducing its randomness and making it more focused on the target. The RL component then gradually improves the sub-optimal initial solution trial after trial while avoiding unneeded explorations as in the pure RL model. Similarly, the SL component gradually improves its behavior by receiving a better teaching signal (trajectories) from the RL processes. This mutual training between SL and RL thus produced a faster learning process.
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Brown, Bryan T. "Neurocorrelates of speech-motor planning and execution in adults and children who stutter." Diss., University of Iowa, 2015. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1954.
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There is a rich literature demonstrating that adults who stutter (AWS) demonstrate atypical functional brain activity during speech production. These differences can be characterized by increased activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus and premotor regions and decreased activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus, premotor area, and bilaterally in the superior temporal gyrus. The process of speech production requires motor movements first be planned and then executed. However, few studies have examined activity related to speech-motor planning independently from speech-motor execution. Additionally, due to methodological limitations, few investigations have examined functional brain activity in children who stutter (CWS). We hypothesized that AWS and CWS would demonstrate atypical brain activity related to both speech-motor planning and execution. Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), we measured the change in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (HbO) during speech-motor planning (repetition of nonwords with three repeated or different syllables) and speech-motor execution (covert/overt naming). Results indicated that both AWS and CWS demonstrated cortical activity that was atypical during speech-motor planning processes in the right inferior frontal gyrus and atypical speech-motor execution processes in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Deactivations in the left inferior frontal gyrus may reflect inefficient feedforward mechanisms for speech production. Inefficient feedforward mechanisms will likely result in more variable movements, for which larger feedback correction signals will be necessary. Overactivations in the right inferior frontal gyrus may reflect this increased correction. Additionally, AWS demonstrated atypical speech-motor planning activity in the right middle frontal gyrus, potentially related to the production of prosody. These results are presented within a theoretical framework of two competing theories of stuttering.
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Bajic, Daniel Andrew. "The temporal dynamics of strategy execution in cognitive skill learning." Diss., [La Jolla] : University of California, San Diego, 2009. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p3369155.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009.Title from first page of PDF file (viewed September 15, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.
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Hu, Robert. "Optimal Order Execution using Stochastic Control and Reinforcement Learning." Thesis, KTH, Matematisk statistik, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-192211.
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In this thesis an attempt is made to find the optimal order execution policy that maximizes the reward from trading financial instruments. The optimal policies are found us-ing a Markov Decision Process that is build using a state space model and the Bellman equation. Since there is not an explicit formula for state space dynamics, simulations on historical data are made instead to find the state transition probabilities and the rewards associated with each state and control. The optimal policy is then generated from the Bellman equation and tested against naive policies on out-of-sample data. This thesis also attempts to model the notion of market impact and test whether the Markov Deci-sion Process is still viable under the imposed assumptions. Lastly, there is also an attempt to estimate the value func-tion using various techniques from Reinforcement Learning. It turns out that naive strategies are superior when market impact is not present and when market impact is modeled as a direct penalty on reward. The Markov Decision Pro-cess is superior with market impact when it is modeled as having an impact on simulations, although some results suggest that the market impact model is not consistent for all types of instruments. Further, approximating the value function yields results that are inferior to the Markov Deci-sion Process, but interestingly the method exhibits an im-provement in performance if the estimated value function is trained before it is tested.I denna uppsats görs ett försök att hitta den optimala order exekverings strategi som maximerar vinsten från att handla finansiella instrument. Den optimala strategin hittas genom att använda en Markov beslutsprocess som är byggd på en tillståndsmodell och Bellman ekvationen. Eftersom det in-te finns en explicit formel för tillstånds dynamiken, görs istället simuleringar på historiska data för att uppskatta transitionssannolikheterna och vinsten associerad med var-je tillstånd och styrsignal. Den optimala strategin genereras sedan från Bellman ekvationen och testas mot naiva stra-tegier på test data. Det görs även ett försök att modellera marknads påverkan för att testa om Markov beslutsproces-ser fortfarande är gångbara under antagandena som görs. Slutligen görs även ett försök på att estimera värdesfunk-tionen med olika tekniker från ”Reinforcement Learning”. Det visar sig att naiva strategier är överlägsna när mark-nads påverkan inte inkorporeras och när marknads påver-kan modelleras som ett stra˙ på vinsten. Markov besluts-processer är överlägsna när marknads påverkan modelleras som direkta påverkningar på simuleringarna, men några av resultaten påvisar att modellen inte är konsistent för alla typer av instrument. Slutligen, så ger approximation av vär-desfunktionen sämre resultat än Markov beslutsprocesser, men intressant nog påvisar metoden en förbättring i pre-standa om den estimerade värdesfunktionen tränas innan den testas.
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AVILA, MIRELES EDWIN JOHNATAN. "Motor Learning and Motor Control Mechanisms in an Haptic Dyad." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Genova, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11567/929642.
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The word “dyad” defines the interaction between two human or cybernetic organisms. During such interaction, there is an organized flow of information between the two elements of the dyad, in a fully bidirectional manner. With this mutual knowledge they are able to understand the actual state of the dyad as well as the previous states and, in some cases, to predict a response for possible scenarios. In the studies presented in this thesis we aim to understand the kind of information exchanged during dyadic interaction and the way this information is communicated from one individual to another not only in a purely dyadic context but also in a more general social sense, namely dissemination of knowledge via physical and non-physical interpersonal interactions. More specifically, the focus of the experimental activities will be on motor learning and motor control mechanisms, in the general context of embodied motor cognition.
Solving a task promotes the creation of an internal representation of the dynamical characteristics of the working environment. An understanding of the environmental characteristics allows the subjects to become proficient in such task. We also intended to evaluate the application of such a model when it is created and applied under different conditions and using different body parts. For example, we investigated how human subjects can generalize the acquired model of a certain task, carried out by means of the wrist, in the sense of mapping the skill from the distal degrees of freedom of the wrist to the proximal degrees of freedom of the arm (elbow & shoulder), under the same dynamical conditions. In the same line of reasoning, namely that individuals solving a certain task need to develop an internal model of the environment, we investigated in which manner different skill levels of the two partners of a dyad interfere with the overall learning/training process. It is known indeed that internal models are essential for allowing dyadic member to apply different motor control strategies for completing the task. Previous studies have shown that the internal model created in a solo performance can be shared and exploited in a dyadic collaboration to solve the same task. In our study we went a step forward by demonstrating that learning an unstable task in a dyad propitiates the creation of a shared internal model of the task, which includes the representation of the mutual forces applied by the partners. Thus when the partners in the dyad have different knowledge levels of the task, the representation created by the less proficient partner can be mistaken since it may include the proficient partner as part of the dynamical conditions of the task instead of as the assistance helping him to complete the experiments. For this reason we implemented a dyadic learning protocol that allows the naïve subject to explore and create an accurate internal model, while exploiting, at the same time, the advantage of working with an skilled partner.
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Nadler, Anna Martine. "Central motor reorganisation following stroke and motor learning studied in man." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342305.
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Rudisch, Julian. "Bimanual coordination and motor learning in children with unilateral motor disorders." Thesis, Oxford Brookes University, 2016. https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/60083e1e-132f-4974-907c-2aef30f27d31/1/.
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Introduction: Appropriate bimanual coordination is essential for many tasks in daily life. Children with unilateral cerebral palsy (uCP) however struggle with the execution of such tasks. Extensive research has been done investigating motor impairments on a functional level using standardized procedures. There is a lack of studies however looking at the specific problem of coordination of a bimanual task, especially with respect to the different underlying neuropathologies. Aims & Methods: Within this thesis, kinematics of bimanual hand movement during a role differentiated bimanual box opening task in children with uCP, as well as in typically developing children (TDC) of similar ages, were investigated. The aims were: i) to identify behavioural changes in peak periods of development of the corpus callosum and areas of the prefrontal cortex, both of which are related to bimanual function in typically developing children; ii) to explore the relation between motor impairments of children with uCP and their bimanual coordination and iii) to investigate the impact of various underlying neuropathologies on bimanual coordination in children with uCP. Results: For the first study, a total of 37 TDC between 5 and 16 years were included and allocated to their respective age-group: Young Children (YC: 5-6 years), Old Children (OC: 7-9 years) and Adolescents (AD: 10-16 years). The two older groups performed the task significantly faster than YC. Likewise, a trend (yet without reaching significance) towards a more ideal temporal sequencing was shown between YC and the two older groups. In contrast, spatial accuracy as expressed by the path length increased only in the AD group. For the second study, a total of 37 children with uCP between 7 and 17 years were included. Children presented manual impairments between levels I and III (according to the Manual Ability Classification System). It could be shown that task duration increased and spatial accuracy decreased with increasing levels of impairment, especially in children with higher levels of impairment (level III). Furthermore it could be shown that a subgroup of children experienced an involuntary interference when moving their affected hand, limiting the use of their less affected hand. The third study utilised a multiple case study involving nine children diagnosed with uCP with neuroimaging and neurophysiological data. The children were found to have various neuropathological patterns resulting in different forms and severities of motor impairments. It could be shown that grey-matter lesions had the most severe impact on manual abilities. Conclusion: In TDC, performance of bimanual hand movements was temporally related to peak developmental periods of the corpus callosum, emphasizing the importance of interhemispheric exchange of information for bimanual coordination. In children with uCP, bimanual performance was related to the level of impairment of the affected hand. In addition it was found however that some children show excessive bimanual interference when using their affected hand in a bimanual task which limits the functionality of the less affected hand, possibly related to i) ipsilateral corticomotor projection patterns from the less affected hemisphere to the affected hand or ii) lack of suppression of interhemispheric crosstalk. It could also be shown that the various neuropathologies can affect bimanual motor control differently. Detailed diagnosis of the neuropathology and motor impairment are thus essential for the planning of tailored therapy interventions.
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Shank, Veronique. "Attentional Demands in the Execution Phase of Curling." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/20548.
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Numerous studies have looked at cognitive processing, more specifically attention, and its important role in various dynamic and static movements. Research on attentional demands in sport is an expanding area with studies now being done on athletes revealing the role of cognitive factors in the execution of motor movements in sports. Objective: the purpose of this study was to determine the attentional demands of a delivery in curling using a classic probe technique with a verbal response time and by measuring numerous performance variables. Subjects: ten healthy skilled curling players and nine healthy novice curling players undertook an auditory probe reaction time concurrently with a delivery in curling. Method: Sixty shots were executed with ten shots for each of the three phases of the shot, in all 30 take outs and 30 draws were done by each participant. The first phase when the player comes out of the “hack”, the second phase of the throw was when the player slid across the “t-line”. The third phase is when the player arrives near the line of Hog and releases the stone. Results: results revealed that reaction times were longer at phase 1 of the delivery for all subjects. The attentional demands for the draw and take out were highest at the phase one of the delivery, furthermore, compared to the draw, a significant rise of RT was seen in phase 3 of the take out shot. Significant differences were also found between the two experimental groups, with the most notable ones being that expert had a better shot success and a slower delivery time than the novice group. Conclusion: These results will lead to a better understanding of the attentional demands of two key shots in the sport of Curling and help curling coaches and teachers, as well as the players of the sport to know more about the attentional demands of the execution movement of the sport. This study also opens a new and interesting perspective on the importance of attention while performing motor tasks that are more complex and demanding.
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Karpathy, Andrej. "Staged learning of agile motor skills." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/34643.
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Motor learning lies at the heart of how humans and animals acquire their skills. Understanding of this process enables many benefits in Robotics, physics-based Computer Animation, and other areas of science and engineering. In this thesis, we develop a computational framework for learning of agile, integrated motor skills.
Our algorithm draws inspiration from the process by which humans and animals acquire their skills in nature. Specifically, all skills are learned through a process of staged, incremental learning, during which progressively more complex skills are acquired and subsequently integrated with prior abilities. Accordingly, our learning algorithm is comprised of three phases. In the first phase, a few seed motions that accomplish goals of a skill are acquired. In the second phase, additional motions are collected through active exploration. Finally, the third phase generalizes from observations made in the second phase to yield a dynamics model that is relevant to the goals of a skill.
We apply our learning algorithm to a simple, planar character in a physical simulation and learn a variety of integrated skills such as hopping, flipping, rolling, stopping, getting up and continuous acrobatic maneuvers. Aspects of each skill, such as length, height and speed of the motion can be interactively controlled through a user interface. Furthermore, we show that the algorithm can be used without modification to learn all skills for a whole family of parameterized characters of similar structure. Finally, we demonstrate that our approach also scales to a more complex quadruped character.
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Teo, J. T. H. "Motor learning and neuroplasticity in humans." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2009. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/17592/.
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The central nervous system is plastic, in that the number and strength of synaptic connections changes over time. In the adult the most important driver of such changes is experience, in the form of learning and memory. There are thought to be a number of rules, operating relatively local to each synapse that govern changes in strength and organisation. Some of these such as Hebbian plasticity or plasticity following repeated activation of a connection have been studied in detail in animal preparations. However, recent work with non-invasive methods of transcranial stimulation in human, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, has opened the opportunity to study similar effects in the conscious human brain. In this thesis I use these methods to explore some of the presumed changes in synaptic connectivity in the motor cortex during different forms of motor learning. The experiments only concern learning in the healthy brain; however it seems likely that the same processes will be relevant to neurorehabilitation and disease of the nervous system. This thesis explores the link between neuroplasticity and motor learning in humans using non-invasive brain stimulation, pharmacological agents and psychomotor testing in 6 related studies. 1) Chapter 3 reports initial pharmacological investigations to confirm the idea that some of the long term effects of TMS are likely to involve LTP-like mechanisms. The study shows that NMDA agonism can affect the response to a repetitive form of TMS known as theta burst stimulation (TBS) 2) Following up on the initial evidence for the role of NMDA receptors in the long term effects of TBS, Chapter 4 explores the possible modulatory effects of dopaminergic drugs on TBS. 3) Chapter 5 takes the investigations to normal behaviours by examining how the NMDA dependent plasticity produced by TBS interacts with learning a simple motor task of rapid thumb abduction. The unexpected results force a careful examination of the possible mechanisms of motor learning in this task. 4) Chapter 6 expands on these effects by employing a battery of TMS methods as well as drug agents to examine the role of different intracortical circuits in ballistic motor learning. 5) Chapter 7 studies the plasticity of intracortical circuits involved in transcallosal inhibition. 6) Chapter 8 studies the interaction between synaptic plasticity invoked by TBS and sequence learning. The studies described in the thesis contribute to understanding of how motor learning and neuroplasticity interact, and possible strategies to enhance these phenomena for clinical application.
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Rahman, Shbana. "The cerebellar cortex & motor learning." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.248049.
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Witney, Alice Geraldine. "Predictive motor learning of object manipulation." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.271627.
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Millar, Laurie. "The cerebellar cortex and motor learning." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.415195.
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Atkeson, Christopher Granger. "Roles of knowledge in motor learning." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29195.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Whitaker College of Health Sciences, Technology, and Management, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 1986.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE
Bibliography: leaves 143-154.
by Christopher Granger Atkeson.
Ph.D.
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Maugeri, Antonino. "Learning of motor skill in preteens." Doctoral thesis, Università di Catania, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10761/1623.
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Time distribution of training/practice as an optimizing parameter has been studied and analyzed. The results obtained were designed to clarify a debate that has been running for more than a century: many authors support the idea that concentrating practice over a short time is more successful, while others state the opposite. Tangible, unequivocal results that show the best learning methods would allow us to define training programs that are more effective and efficient.
In order to reach this goal, the selected subjects were initially given a new motor skill to be learned.
Sixty children participated in the study. They ranged in age from seven to ten, 30 boys and 30 girls, all elementary school students in the city of Catania, Italy.
Experimental protocol defined the preteen s learning of an ocular-manual skill, which was completely new to him or her. Moreover, half of the children had to learn this skill using their dominant hand, while the other half with their weaker hand.
Results showed that, as expected, the use of the dominant arm results in a greater number of successes, regardless of age and gender.
Moreover, the probability of success increases with the age of the children, independently of they were using the dominant or the non-dominant arm. The observed improvement is associated to significant changes of some kinematic parameters of the gesture, as duration of performance, time to peak and peak acceleration.
Furthermore, a training session of only 5 days was sufficient to achieve significant improvements in the success probability of a simple but not usual gesture, as the launch of a tennis ball to hit a target, but only when the children were using the dominant hand. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that, at this age, motor learning is already concentrated on the dominant side
However, the improvement observed after 5 days of training was no longer present to a control performed after one week. It can be, therefore, concluded that, in order to learn a new gesture in a stable manner, training must be continued for a greater period of time.
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Di, Giacomo Emanuele. "A Deep Learning approach for predicting COSMO-Model's execution time." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2021.
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I modelli di previsione meteorologica sono programmi che permettono di simulare il tempo meteorologico futuro e formularne dunque una previsione. Il tempo di esecuzione di questi modelli è un aspetto critico, in quanto la loro utilità è basata sulle tempistiche con cui vengono prodotti i risultati. La previsione del tempo di esecuzione di un modello numerico di previsione meteorologica permette di ottimizzare sia la pianificazione dell'esecuzione del modello stesso che l'allocazione delle risorse a disposizione, nonché di individuare eventuali anomalie che si possono presentare e a fronte delle quali possono essere adottate delle contromisure. Nel presente lavoro si mostra come grazie all'uso di modelli deep learning si riescano ad ottenere risultati molto precisi per la previsione dei tempi di esecuzione su sistema HPC GALILEO del modello numerico di previsione meteorologica COSMO-Model in uso presso la Struttura Idro-Meteo-Clima di Arpae Emilia-Romagna. Il lavoro si compone di due parti: nella prima, sono stati definiti i parametri che influenzano i tempi di esecuzione del modello e sono state generate due tipologie di dataset, selezionando ed eseguendo su GALILEO numerose configurazioni di COSMO-Model. Nella seconda parte, i dataset sono stati usati per addestrare e valutare i modelli deep learning in grado di prevedere il tempo di esecuzione. Dalla loro valutazione è emerso come questi modelli deep learning permettano di ottenere risultati accurati per la previsione del tempo di esecuzione di COSMO-Model.
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Tau, Sethunya Harriet Hlobisa. "An analysis of regulatory mechanisms during sustained task execution in cognitive, motor and sensory tasks." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006806.
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Fatigue is a state that, although researched for many years, is still not completely understood. Alongside this lack of a general understanding of fatigue is a lack of knowledge on the processes involved in the regulation of fatigue. The existing theories relating to regulation are focussed on mental effort regulation, suggesting that performance outcomes are co-ordinated by effort regulation that functions by making alterations to physiological processes and strategic adjustments at a cognitive level in response to cognitive demands and goals. Since fatigue is a multi-dimensional construct with psychological, physiological, and behavioural effects that respond to endogenous and exogenous variables, it follows then that fatigue assessment techniques ought to include multi-dimensional measures to acquire a holistic depiction of the fatigue symptom. This study aimed to assess whether or not a mechanism that regulated fatigue during sustained task execution could be identified and whether this mechanism resulted in regulation patterns that were distinct to a specific task. An additional aim of the study was on assessing whether the manner in which performance, psychophysical and subjective variables were modified over time followed a similar regulation pattern. The research design was aimed at inducing task-related fatigue twice on two different occasions in the same participants and evaluating the resultant changes in fatigue manifestation. This was done to assess the ability of participants to cope with fatigue as a result of previous experience. The research protocol included three tasks executed for an hour aimed at targeting and taxing the sensory, cognitive, motor resources, each task performed twice. 60 participants were recruited to participate in the current study, with 20 participants – 10 males and 10 females – randomly assigned to each of the three tasks. The cognitive resource task consisted of a memory recall task relying on working memory intended to evaluate the extent of reductions in memory and attention. The sensory resource task consisted of a reading task measuring visual scanning and perception designed to evaluate the extent of reduced vigilance. The motor resource task consisted of a modified Fitts’ stimulus response task targeted at monitoring the extent of movement timing disruption. Performance measures comprised of: response delay and the number of correctly identified digits during the cognitive resource task, the amount of correctly identified errors and reading speed during the sensory resource task, response time during the motor resource task, and responses to simple auditory reaction time tests (RTT) initiated at intervals during the task and then again at the end of each task. Physiological measures included ear temperature, eye blink frequency and duration, heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV). Subjective measures included the use of the Ratings of Perceived Exertion Category Ratio 10 scale (RPE CR 10) to measure cognitive exertion and the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) to index mental workload. Eye blink frequency and duration, HR and HRV were sensitive to the type of task executed, showing differing response patterns both over the different tasks and over the two test sessions. The subjective measures indicated increasing RPE ratings over time in all tasks while the NASA-TLX indicated that each task elicited different workloads. Differing task performance responses were measured between the 1st test session and the 2nd test session during all tasks; while performance was found to improve during the 2nd test session for the motor and sensory tasks, it declined during the cognitive task. The findings of this research indicate that there was a regulatory mechanism for fatigue that altered the manner in which performance, psychophysical and subjective variables were modified over time, initiating a unique fatigue regulation pattern for each variable and each task. This regulation mechanism is understood to be a proactive and protective mechanism that functions through reducing a person’s ability to be vigilant, attentive, to exercise discernment, and to direct their level of responsiveness, essentially impacting how the body adapts to and copes with fatigue. The noted overall findings have industry implications; industries should consider accounting for the effects of this regulatory mechanism in their fatigue management interventions, specifically when designing job rotation and work/rest schedules because each cognitive task, having elicited a unique fatigue regulation pattern, ought to also have a different management program.Microsoft� Office Word 2007
Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
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Patterson, Jae Todd Lee Timothy Donald. "The impact of effortful practice in learning a task of varying degrees of cognitive and motor complexity /." *McMaster only, 2004.
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Morey, Sorrentino Ruth S. "A simulation of Internet-enhanced motor learning." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/nq64828.pdf.
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Dijk, Henk van. "Motor skill learning age and augmented feedback /." Enschede : University of Twente [Host], 2006. http://doc.utwente.nl/55443.
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Floyer, Anna. "Functional subsystems involved in motor skill learning." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.418630.
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Lam, W. K., and 林永佳. "The attentional demands of implicit motor learning." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2008. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B42182207.
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Korenberg, Alexander Tal. "Computational and psychophysical studies of motor learning." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.404971.
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Dyer, John. "Human movement sonification for motor skill learning." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2017. https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/human-movement-sonification-for-motor-skill-learning(4bda096c-e8ab-4af4-8f35-7445c6b0cb7e).html.
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Transforming human movement into live sound can be used as a method to enhance motor skill learning via the provision of augmented perceptual feedback. A small but growing number of studies hint at the substantial efficacy of this approach, termed 'movement sonification'. However there has been sparse discussion in Psychology about how movement should be mapped onto sound to best facilitate learning. The current thesis draws on contemporary research conducted in Psychology and theoretical debates in other disciplines more directly concerned with sonic interaction - including Auditory Display and Electronic Music-Making - to propose an embodied account of sonification as feedback. The empirical portion of the thesis both informs and tests some of the assumptions of this approach with the use of a custom bimanual coordination paradigm. Four motor skill learning studies were conducted with the use of optical motion-capture. Findings support the general assumption that effective mappings aid learning by making task-intrinsic perceptual information more readily available and meaningful, and that the relationship between task demands and sonic information structure (or, between action and perception) should be complementary. Both the theoretical and empirical treatments of sonification for skill learning in this thesis suggest the value of an approach which addresses learner experience of sonified interaction while grounding discussion in the links between perception and action.
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White, Alan Daniel. "Visual-motor learning in minimally invasive surgery." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2016. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/17321/.
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The purpose of this thesis was to develop an in-depth understanding of motor control in surgery. This was achieved by applying current theories of sensorimotor learning and developing a novel experimental approach. A survey of expert opinion and a review of the existing literature identified several issues related to human performance and MIS. The approach of this thesis combined existing surgical training tools with state-of-the-art technology and adapted rigorous experimental psychology techniques (grounded in the principles of sensorimotor learning) within a controlled laboratory environment. Existing technology was incorporated into surgical scenarios via the Kinematic Assessment Tool - an experimentally validated, powerful and portable system capable of providing accurate and repeatable measures of visual-motor performance. The Kinematic Assessment Tool (KAT) was first established as an appropriate means of assessing visual-motor performance, subsequently the KAT was assessed as valid when assessing MIS performance. Following this, the system was used to investigate whether the principles of ‘structural learning’ could be applied to MIS. The final experiment investigated if there is any benefit of a standardised, repeatable laparoscopic warm-up to MIS performance. These experiments demonstrated that the KAT system combined with other existing technologies, can be used to investigate visual-motor performance. The results suggested that learning the control dynamics of the surgical instruments and variability in training is beneficial when presented with novel but similar tasks. These findings are consistent with structural learning theory. This thesis should inform current thinking on MIS training and performance and the future development of simulators with more emphasis on introducing variability within tasks during training. Further investigation of the role of structural learning in MIS is required.
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Ward, John T. "Worker profile: learning patterns for motor tasks." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/37405.
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Kronholm, Carolin, and Caroline Holmgren. "Motorik och lärande/Motor skills and learning." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Lärarutbildningen (LUT), 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-27842.
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Syftet med vår undersökning är att ta reda på hur pedagoger ser på motorik i förhållande till lärande samt ta reda på hur de arbetar kring detta. Vi kommer att utgå ifrån ett pedagogperspektiv då det är deras syn på motorik och lärande vi önskar undersöka. Våra frågeställningar under arbetet kommer att vara: •Hur ser pedagoger på motorik i förhållande till lärande?•På vilket sätt ger pedagogerna eleverna möjlighet till att utveckla sin motorik eller få tid till rörelse i klassrummet? •Hur uppfattar pedagogerna att motorisk träning påverkar lärandet?Vi har genomfört kvalitativa intervjuer med sju pedagoger på en skola i en medelstor stad i Skåne. Fem av pedagogerna valdes ut med hjälp av snöbollsmetoden utifrån kontakt med de två första via mejl. Resultatet av vår undersökning visar att pedagoger ser positivt på motorik i förhållande till lärande. Majoriteten ger inte eleverna någon möjlighet till medveten motorisk träning trots att de uppfattar att detta är något som påverkar lärandet.The purpose of our study is to find out how educators see motor skills in relation to learning and find out how they work with them. Our study will be based on a teachers perspective, since it is their view on motor control and learning we intend to examine.Our questions in this investigation are as follows:• How do educators see motor skills in relation to learning?• In what way do teachers give the students an opportunity to develop their motor skills and find time for movement in the classroom?• How do educators perceive that motor training affects learning?We have utilized qualitative interviews with seven teachers at a school in a medium-sized town in the south of Sweden. The first two teachers were contacted using e-mail, and based on them, the remaining five were selected using the snowball method.The results of our study show that educators stands positive to motor skills in relation to learning. Despite this the majority do not give students any opportunity for conscious motor training in the classroom even though the educators consider that this is something that affects learning.
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Lam, W. K. "The attentional demands of implicit motor learning." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2008. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B42182207.
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RICCI, SERENA. "Does extensive motor learning trigger local sleep?" Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Genova, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11567/1005024.
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After prolonged learning we all have experienced a reduction of alertness, resulting in errors that we would normally not make. Despite this being a common situation in everyday life, the reasons for this phenomenon are unclear. A possible explanation is that the regions of the brain which are involved in the learning, go off-line trying to partially recover. This event is defined as local sleep and it has been detected in animals and sleep-deprived humans performing learning tasks. Local sleep is a sleep-like electrophysiological activity occurring locally, while the rest of the brain is fully awake, and producing performance deterioration. However, since all the studies included both lack of sleep and learning, it is uncertain whether such phenomenon is related to sleep deprivation or if it is the consequence of prolonged learning. Further, local sleep has not been related to electrophysiological changes occurring during the task. This thesis aimed to assess, for the first time in well rested subjects, whether local sleep and performance decline occur because of prolonged learning. Specifically, the goal was to discriminate between sustained practice and learning, as to determine whether learning is required to cause local sleep. Also, a 90-minute nap was evaluated to establish whether sleep is necessary to counterbalance neuronal fatigue and performance decrease. The starting hypothesis was that local sleep is a plasticity-related phenomenon affecting performance and requiring learning to be triggered. Consequently, sleep would be a prerequisite to counterbalance performance and electrophysiological changes. High-Density EEG and behavioral data of 78 healthy young subjects were collected during and after two learning tasks performed for three hours: a visual sequence learning task, and a visuo-motor rotation task, randomly selected. Afterward, subjects were divided in two groups: those who slept for one hour and a half and those who remained awake and quietly rested for the same amount of time before being tested for electrophysiological and behavioral changes. Moreover, to discriminate between the effects of prolonged learning and practice, 11 additional subjects performed a control condition consisting in planar upper limb reaching movements instead of the above-mentioned learning tasks. In detail, the power spectrum of the EEG activity during the task and at rest with eyes opened was divided into five ranges to determine frequency changes of the EEG activity: delta 1 to 4 Hz; theta 4 to 8 Hz; alpha 8 to 13 Hz, beta 13 to 25 Hz, gamma 25 to 55 Hz. Additionally, movement-related beta activity of 35 young subjects was analyzed to find a relationship between task related oscillations and performance indices, as the modulatory activity during practice may reflect plasticity-related phenomena that can describe the occurrence of local sleep. Finally, 13 young subjects were compared to a dataset of 13 older participants who performed planar upper limb reaching movements to determine whether beta oscillations were affected by age. Specifically, beta activity was assessed during reaching movements in different brain regions, in terms of topography, magnitude, and peak frequency. Results demonstrated that sustained learning produced electrophysiological changes both at rest and during the task. In fact, resting state was characterized by a progressive slowing of the EEG activity over areas overlapping with those engaged during the task. Precisely, we detected task-related activity mainly in the high-frequency ranges (gamma and beta right temporo-parietal activity for the visual sequence learning task; alpha and beta activity over a fontal and left parietal areas for the visuo-motor rotation); the same areas were characterized by a progressive increase of the low frequency EEG activity at rest ranging from alpha, beta after one hour of practice, to theta after three one-hour blocks. The control task did not trigger such EEG slowing, as reaching movements without learning did only left an alpha, beta trace in the resting state over a cluster reflecting the motor area contralateral to the movement. Further, continuous learning triggered performance deteriorations only in tests sharing the same neural substrate of the previously performed task. In other words, the visuo-motor learning task only affected performance in a motor test consisting in random reaching movements; conversely, visual sequence learning altered performance on a visual working memory test, but did not influence reaching movements. Also, the control condition did not affect performance in any of the two exercises. Performance decline, learning ability and local sleep were partially renormalized by a 90-minute nap but not by an equivalent period of wake. As such, the global EEG activity, computed as the mean power of all the electrodes, was not affected by either 90 minutes of sleep or quiet wake. However, the regions characterized by low frequency at rest benefited from the sleep period, as the low frequencies content partially decreased after the nap but not after quiet wake. Task related beta activity during motor practice presented similar magnitude and timing patterns in different brain areas, with a progressive increase with practice, in both young and older subjects, despite the older subjects performing slower, less accurate movements. Intriguingly, the motor areas showed a post movement beta synchronization having a peak between 15 and 18 Hz, as opposed to a frontal area that has it between 23 and 29 Hz. Finally, results did not reveal any direct relationship between EEG beta oscillations and performance indices. Altogether, these results indicate that local sleep and performance decrease can be triggered by prolonged learning in well rested subjects; furthermore, some amount of sleep can partially renormalize learning ability, EEG activity and performance. Also, differences in the brainnoscillations during motor activity can express separate processes underlying motor planning, execution and skills acquisition. The present study adds some important knowledge in the field of local sleep; in fact, it suggests that such phenomenon is triggered by sustained learning rather than sleep deprivation, thus being a plasticity-related phenomenon. Finally, the role of sleep on counterbalancing local sleep has been proved, despite additional studies are required to establish whether a full night of sleep rather than a specific amount of time is needed to fully restore learning ability and electrophysiological activity. In conclusion, the present findings are of importance in all the fields where sustained learning is required, such as rehabilitative programs, sport and military trainings, and must be taken into account when plasticity plays a fundamental role in the acquisition of new skills.