Principles of Motor Learning

Define motor learning

 Motor learning is a set of processes associated with practice or experience leading to

relatively permanent changes in the capability for producing skilled action.
 Motor learning involves learning strategies for sensing as well as moving. It involves
perception, cognition and action.

Summarize the theories of motor learning

Adam’s closed-loop theory

 In a closed-loop process, sensory feedback is used for the production of skilled movement.
 Sensory feedback from the ongoing movement is compared within the nervous system with
the stored memory of the intended movement.
 Memory trace selects and initiates the movement.
 Perceptual trace, carries out the movement and detects errors.
 Accuracy of the movement is directly proportional to the strength of the perceptual trace.
 Patient must practice the movement repeatedly to increase the perceptual trace.

Limitations:

Adams' closed-loop theory could not explain open-loop movements, that is, movements made in the
absence of sensory feedback.

Clinical implications

 Perform same exact movement repeatedly to one accurate end point

 Increase Practice → Increase Learning
 Errors produced during learning → Increase strength of incorrect perceptual
trace

Schmidt's Schema Theory

 Open-loop concept
 “Schema” is a set of rules for producing movements
 After an individual makes a movement, four things are stored in memory:
 o the initial movement conditions, such as the position of the body and the weight of
the object;
o the parameters in the generalized motor program;
o the outcome of the movement
o the sensory consequences of the movement
 This information is stored in the form of recall schema and recognition schema
 The recall schema (motor) is used for the selection of a specific response
 Recognition schema (sensory) evaluates the response correctness and informs the learner
about the errors of a movement.
 When the movement is over, the error signal is sent to the schema and the schema is
modified as a result of the sensory feedback and knowledge of results.
 Thus, according to this theory, learning consists of the ongoing process of updating the
recognition and recall schemas with each movement that is made.

Limitations

 There is no consistent research finding in support of variable practice

 Lacks specificity
 Unable to explain immediate acquisition of new types of coordination or new forms of
movement

Clinical implications

 Optimal Learning occurs when task is practiced under different conditions

 Positive benefits for error production (learn from own mistakes)
 Schema has rules for all stored elements, not just correct elements
 Variability of practice helps to improve motor learning

Ecological theory/Newell’s theory of learning as exploration

 Proposed by Newell
 Based on Systems & Ecological Motor Control Theories
 According to this theory, motor learning increases coordination between
perception and action through task and environmental constraints.
 Involves use of perceptual cues that are most relevant to the performance of
specific task.
 Exploring motor workspace involves exploring range of movements to select
the most appropriate movement
 Incorporate the relevant perceptual cues and optimal movement strategies
for a specific task.

Clinical implications

 Patient learns to distinguish relevant perceptual cues important to action.

 Eg: while learning to reach for a glass, characteristics as the size of the glass, how
slippery the surface is, how full it is, are essential perceptual cues that help us develop
optimal movement strategies for grasping any variation of glasses. Various sensory cues help
us to create optimal motor strategies. If a perceptual cue suggests a heavy glass, we grasp
 with more force. If the glass is full, we modulate our speed and trajectory to accommodate
the situation.

Outline the stages of motor learning

According to Fitts and Posner Model:

 Cognitive stage
 Associative stage
 Autonomous stage

Cognitive stage – What to do?

 Movements are slow, inconsistent and inefficient

 Considerable cognitive activity is required
 Learner understands the nature of task
 Large parts of the movement are controlled consciously
 • Practice sessions are:
o performance focused
o less variable
o incorporate a clear mental image (technical & visual)
 Early Cognitive - Essential Elements were not observed or not present

• Late Cognitive - Essential elements are starting to appear

Associative stage – How to do?

 Movements are more fluid, reliable and efficient

 Less cognitive activity is required
 Some parts of movement are controlled consciously, some automatically
 Practice sessions link performance and results, conditions can be varied.
 Clear Mental Image = Accurate Performance
 Early Associative- Essential elements appear, but not with consistency.
 Late Associative - Essential elements appear regularly at a satisfactory level

Autonomous stage – How to succeed?

 Movements are accurate, consistent and efficient.

 Little or no cognitive activity is required.
 Movement is largely controlled automatically
 Practice sessions are more result oriented
 Focus is on greater range of movement, speed, acceleration and use of skill in a novel
situation
 Early Autonomous- Essential elements appear frequently above required level.
 Late Autonomous - Essential elements appear continuously at a superior level.
 Features Cognitive Associative Autonomous
Degree of attention to High Medium Low
task
Sensory assistance Verbal directions Proprioception Very little
used for learning Gestalt of the task Error detection
Visually guided Error correction
Less visual
dependence
Type of feedback Open loop Open loop Closed loop

Using this theory of motor learning we would learn to reach a glass in the following way.

 Your first experience of using the glass would require a great deal of attention and conscious
thought. You might make a lot of errors and spill a lot of water, while you experimented with
different movement strategies to accomplish the task.
 Moving into the second stage, however, the movement toward the glass would be refined
and you would use an optimal strategy. At this point the task wouldn't require your full
attention.
 In the third autonomous stage, you would be able to reach for the glass while carrying on a
conversation or while doing other tasks.

Factors affecting motor learning

 Verbal instructions
 Practice
 Active participation and motivation
 Possibility of errors
 Postural control
 Memory
 Feedback
 Abilities
o Cognitive abilities
o Perceptual speed ability
o Psychomotor ability
 Alertness, memory, speed of processing information, speed and accuracy of movements and
uniqueness of the setting
 Pathology present, the number and type of impairments, recovery potential and general
health status, and comorbidities

Principles of acquiring motor skills

 Principle of interest
o Attitude towards learning a skill determines the amount and kind of learning that
takes place
o Therapy must provoke interest and motivation
  Principle of practice
o Practicing the motor skill correctly is essential for learning to take place
o Therapy, practice, practice, practice
 Principle of Distributed Practice
o Short periods of intense practice will result in more learning than longer, massed
practice sessions
o Therapy – focus on distributed practice
 Principle of skill specificity
o Ability to perform one motor skill effectively is independent of the ability to perform
other motor skills
 Principle of whole-part learning
o The complexity of the skill to be learned and the learner’s ability determine whether
it is more efficient to teach the whole skill or break the skill into component parts
o Therapy – break the task into subtask, subsubtask, subsubsubtask
 Principle of transfer
o The more identical two tasks are, the greater the possibility that positive transfer will
occur.
o Therapy – practice conditions should match the conditions in which the motor skill is
going to be used.
 Principle of skill improvement
o The development of motor skills progresses from least mature to most mature. The
rate of progression and the amount of progress within an individual depends upon
the interaction of nature and nurture.
o Therapy – progressive
 Principle of feedback
o Internal and external feedback about motor performance is essential for learning to
take place.
 Principle of variable practice
o Block practice helps in performance while variable practice helps in learning.
Variable practice causes an increase in attention.

Principles of motor learning for planning physiotherapy management

Measures of motor learning

 Performance observations
 Retention tests – test the subject after a retention interval, typically greater than or equal to
24 hours
 Transfer tests – choose the same task or a variation of the task eg: different speed or lighting
conditions for walking
 Adaptability
 Resistance to contextual change