...Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Basal ganglia contributions to motor control: a vigorous tutor Robert S Turner1 and Michel Desmurget2 The roles of the basal ganglia (BG) in motor control are much debated. Many influential hypotheses have grown from studies in which output signals of the BG were not blocked, but pathologically disturbed. A weakness of that approach is that the resulting behavioral impairments reflect degraded function of the BG per se mixed together with secondary dysfunctions of BG-recipient brain areas. To overcome that limitation, several studies have focused on the main skeletomotor output region of the BG, the globus pallidus internus (GPi). Using single-cell recording and inactivation protocols these studies provide consistent support for two hypotheses: the BG modulates movement performance (‘vigor’) according to motivational factors (i.e. context-specific cost/reward functions) and the BG contributes to motor learning. Results from these studies also add to the problems that confront theories positing that the BG selects movement, inhibits unwanted motor responses, corrects errors on-line, or stores and produces well-learned motor skills. Addresses 1 Department of Neurobiology, Systems Neuroscience Institute and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA 2 Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, UMR5229 CNRS, 67 Blvd. Pinel, 69500 Bron, France Corresponding author: Turner, Robert S (rturner@pitt...
Words: 3279 - Pages: 14
...Saktidhar (Sakti) is a happy and curious boy. He was referred for an occupational therapy consultation due to concerns with his fine motor skills. He currently attends kindergarten class at the Valley program. His parents describe him as a happy and inquisitive child. He likes playing with Lego. He was diagnosed with autism at the age of four years. He exhibited mild developmental delays. He sat independently at the age of 8 months and walked at the age of 13 months. He demonstrates some speech and language delays. This report is based on the standardized test administered as a part of the consultation session and clinical observations made during this session. Sakti came for the session with his parents. He was cooperative and participated in the activities that were officered to him. He engaged in 1-2 rounds of reciprocal conversation. However, throughout the evaluation, he constantly asked questions that were not relevant to the activities. He was able to filter out extraneous visual and auditory...
Words: 1504 - Pages: 7
...Spring 12 Mirror Neurons In Motor and Social Acts The authors who ushered in what might be considered the most critical finding of 21st century neuroscience to date—the discovery of mirror neurons (MNs)—contend that MNs underlie simulation theories of action understanding and mindreading (Gallese & Goldman, 1998); Gallese et al., (2004). The mechanism that allows mirroring of action is referred to as the ‘direct-matching hypothesis,’ (Rizzolatti et al., 2001), and the claim is based on the response properties of MNs in monkeys. The discovery of MNs is important in that if the implications of their function are properly understood, it lays a foundation for explanations of not only understanding of action and other minds (Gallese, 2003), but for other big questions, such as the evolution of language (Rizzolatti & Arbib, 1998). The concern of this paper is MN function as a feature at the core of the stronger claims. Alternative theorists challenge the characterization of the MN role as ‘mirroring’ action, as their findings show that mirroring cannot be direct and must rely on an interpretation of the observed action. They claim: a) MNs do not simulate with enough precision to be referred to as ‘mirroring,’ in which they are said to simulate an agent’s motor program onto the very same motor repertoire of an observer not performing the act; b) mirror neuron activation is predictive of action, not replicative; and c) the function of these neurons supports a model that is generative...
Words: 4877 - Pages: 20
...evaluation is to observe TC’s physical development; a baby girl aged four months and twenty nine days. Physical development is defined as “the way that the body increases in skill and becomes more complex in its performance” (Beaver and Brewster et al 1994). A physical development assessment includes both, gross and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are those where the baby uses the large muscles of the body such as head, arms or legs, and the associated movements: crawling, walking… On the other hand, for the fine motor skills the baby uses smaller muscle movements such as fingers or feet and it involves hand-eye coordination. According to Arnold Gesell’s theory, the development of the motor skills in babies and children is determined in stages, in a specific order and timeframe, depending on their genetic plan. Gesell defined some of the first developmental norms or milestones. In contrast, Ester Thelen not only believed that the babies develop their motor skills depending on how they behave on the environment, but also that they modify their movements depending on the results of their actions. With regard of TC’s physical development, in terms of gross motor skills, while lying on the mat in supine position, TC has complete control of her head, keeping it in central position and moving it side to side when something calls her attention. She also kicked strongly using alternate feet while on the mat or while changing her nappy, skill that babies of her age range do (Flood...
Words: 1260 - Pages: 6
...states or intention of another individuals. (Brothers, Ring, & Kling, 1990, p. 199) Perceiving Other People’s Actions and Motor Resonance Humans are adapted to living in social groups with complex patterns of social interactions. Understanding the meaning of other people’s behavior is an essential aspect of human communication, and a large amount of our daily life is spent watching and interpreting the actions of others (Barresi & Moore, 1996). The neural mechanism underlying our ability to represent others’ goals by the mere observation of their motor actions has been the target of considerable research. Behavioral experiments had suggested that the system for generating and representing actions is also used in the perception of actions (Knoblich & Prinz, 2001). This approach was strengthened by the discovery of “mirror” neurons in the macaque monkey brain, a class of neurons found in the parietal and the premotor cortex. They were seen to discharge not only when the monkey performed an action but also when the monkey was observing an experimenter or another monkey performing the same action (di Pellegrino, Fadiga, Fogassi, Gallese, & Rizzolatti, 1992). Similarly, neuroimaging studies in humans have revealed parietal (PAR) and premotor (PM) activations both during execution and action observation, suggesting that action observation automatically triggers action representations (Grèzes, Armony, Rowe, & Passingham, 2003). The superior temporal sulcus (STS),...
Words: 5840 - Pages: 24
...she has tripled her birth weight in the first year as she should have according to the book. She has no known cognitive or physical disorders. The observation took place at their home, and lasted 45 minutes. Biosocial Development: As M.P entered the room she quickly approached me and stared at me. Once her mom said "Sweetie this is Ashley say hello", she said hey and hid behind her mom. She was showing stranger wariness because she didn't smile and she hid behind her mother as if she was scared. Atfer she stared at me for couple of mintues she got bored and started running around the living room. Based on this observation she has developed Gross motor skills. According to Berger, gross motor skills are physical abilities involving large body movements, such as walking and jumping. According to the chart 95% of all infants master running around 20 months. M.P then went into the kitchen looked around her and reached for a fork and a spoon and grabbed one in each hand making a fist. She showed development of fine motor skills. According to Berger fine motor skills are physical abilities involving small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as drawing and picking up a coin. Berger states that toward the end of the first year and throughout the second, finger skills improve, as babies master the pincer movement and self-feeding. According to this information M.P being 21-months old is inside the range of this skill and within the norm. While she was eating...
Words: 525 - Pages: 3
...------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Student: Viviane Stewart ------------------------------------------------- Date: 05/04/2016 ------------------------------------------------- Contents Aim 3 Planning 3 Implementation 4 Evaluation 7 Theorists of child developmental stages 9 Role of the adult 10 Recommendations 11 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 12 Appendix 13 Child observation (Play activity) 14 Aim In this assignment my aim is to plan and implement one activity to a child aged 4 and half years in my work placement. This activity will look on the holistic development of this particular child. Planning To begin this assignment I had to first plan an activity for TC that would allow me to look at the whole development of a child at his age by doing an observation in which can be found at the appendix. The activity is structured, where children can play in a guided manner but also give them the opportunity to play freely. I had in mind the importance of consulting with my supervisor to know...
Words: 2858 - Pages: 12
...beginning and work your way up until you have the ability to do it well. g. Practice: repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire h. Progression: a development toward a destination or a more advanced state i. Feedback reinforcement: whatever is reinforced will probably become part of the person’s behavior j. Part vs. whole learning: parts separately or whole the entire skill in one dose. a. Gross Skill: the abilities usually acquired during infancy and early childhood as part of a child’s motor development. b. Fine Skill: is the coordination of small muscle movements usually involving the synchronization of hands and fingers with the eyes. c. Discrete: one unit long skills with a fixed beginning, and ending. d. Serial: contains a series of discrete movements e. Continuous: A motor skill with arbitrary beginning and end points. These skills usually involve repetitive movements. f. Open: A skill that involves a nonstable unpredictable environment where an object or environmental context is in motion and determines when to begin the...
Words: 1401 - Pages: 6
...An fMRI study showed that supplementary motor area (SMA) was activated during both in- and anti-phase pattern (in-phase: homologous muscles activated at the same time, anti-phase: homologous muscles alternating) but also magnitude of SMA activation was greater during antiphase coordination relative to in-phase coordination(Debaere et al., 2001). These patterns are inherently stable patterns however patients have brain lesion lose ability for control of basic bimanual coordination. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that motor cortex stimulation with noninvasive techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances motor function in stroke patients (Schlaug, Renga, & Nair, 2008). These studies showed that positive...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
...Section II: 1.Dynamic systems theory (Adolph, Karasik, & Tamis-LeMonda, 2010; Thelen & Smith, 2006). Infants assemble motor skills for perceiving and acting, which are coupled together. In order to develop motor skills, infants must perceive something in the environment that motivates them to act, then use their perceptions to fine-tune their movements. Motor skills thus present solution to the infant's goals. No matter what the kids do their behaviors reflect their aims. Such as kids are trying to climb to the high places to get the toys they want, kids are trying to touch the picture and point it to others, and they can stand and kick a ball without falling and stand and throw a ball. Both the gross motor skills (e.g. Moving their arms and walking) and fine motor skills (e.g. Grasping a toy, using a spoon, or anything that requires finger dexterity) can be seen during their movement. Erikson (1968) stressed that independence is an important issue in the second year of life. Erikson's second stage of development is identified as autonomy versus shame and doubt. Autonomy builds as the infant's mental and motor abilities develop. At this point, not only can infants walk, but they can also climb, open and close, drop, push and pull, and hold and let go. From my observation I found that the kids have the ability to put several toys into a basket. And they can also open the door of the cabinet. What's more the boy who climbed to the high place successfully was yelled and very excited...
Words: 275 - Pages: 2
...In a review of available evidence on motor and cognitive processes, four conclusions were described by Diamond (2000). First, neuroimaging studies frequently point out that tasks that activate the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with attention, also activate areas of the brain necessary to motor processing, specifically the cerebellum. Second, damage to certain areas of the prefrontal cortex or cerebellum often results in a reduction of activity in parts of the other area (i.e., damage to the prefrontal cortex results in activity reduction in the cerebellum and vice versa,) suggesting that these two regions are dependent on each other for normal functioning. Third, children who are diagnosed with cognitive disorders (e.g., ADHD and dyslexia,) often experience motor impairments; furthermore, children with motor impairments frequently exhibit learning difficulties. Lastly, Diamond suggested...
Words: 480 - Pages: 2
...Overconfidence iii. We tend to think we know more than we do c) The Scientific Attitude iv. Curiosity 1. Empirical approach v. Skepticism = persistently asking two questions: What do you mean? How do you know? 2. Scientific attitude: being skeptical but not cynical, open but not gullible vi. Humility = an awareness of our own vulnerability to error and an openness to surprises and new perspectives d) Critical Thinking ii. How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions? e) The Scientific Method vii. A scientific theory explains through an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviour or events. viii. Hypotheses ix. We should be aware that it can bias subjective observations x. Operational functions = a statement of the procedures used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test xi. Replicate – repeat xii. Finally – organizepredictionsrevised theory xiii. We can test our hypotheses and refine our theories using … f) Description xiv. The Case Study 3. The case study examines one individual in depth in hopes of revealing things true of us all. 4. Suggest directions for further study 5. Show us what can happen 6. May mislead us if the individual being...
Words: 4656 - Pages: 19
...Cognitive Effort and Skill Acquisition According to Newell (1991), “the information processing and cognitive frameworks have had considerable impact on concepts of motor skill acquisition domain over the last two decades.” However, some researchers have found out that “these influences have been indirect.” For what we call, the information processing approach, it “has been concerned primarily with performance, not learning and has emphasized the processes that support performance.” Moreover, “only the attentional accounts of skill learning have treated issues of direct relevance to the changes that occur with practice.” The focus on this field “has been on the how of information processing, with no direct examination of the informational support...
Words: 1972 - Pages: 8
...influence * Understand the meaning of a theory a theory organizes facts systematically and guides scientific reaserach * **Compare and contrast basic and applied research Basic research is to seek new knowledge and expore and advance scientific understanding. Applied research is to solve practical problems and improve the quality of life * Compare and contrast naturalistic and laboratory observations, case studies and survey research, including their advantages and limitations. Naturalistic Observation – where reasearchers observe behavior in its natural setting without attempting to influence or control it. It allows study of behavior in normal settings but you have to wait for things to happen and observer bias distrots observations. Laboratory Observation- Studying behavior in a labortatory, Reasearchers have more control and use morepresise equipment to measure responses but they lose sontaneirt that occurs when behaviours take place in a more natural setting Case study – an in depth study of one or a few participants consisting of info gathered through observations, interviews and psychological testing. Good for studying people who have uncommon psychological or physiological disorders or brain injury. But reasearchers cannot establish the causje of observed behaviours. Surevey- a method of study in which reasearchers use interviews and or questionnaires to gather info about attitudes, beliefs, experiences or behaviours of a group or people. It provides highly...
Words: 844 - Pages: 4
...Young children play when they aren’t eating, sleeping, or complying with wishes of adults. Discuss why is play important for: (a) motor development: According to Parent Magazine (n.d.) “…fine motor abilities allow for increasing independence in smaller but equally significant matters: opening doors, zipping zippers, brushing teeth, washing hands, and so on” (par. 1). It important for children to develop and increase their motor skills, so they are able to do the task that needed to be done as preschoolers. Parent Magazine stats (n.d.), “fine motor skills also open new doors to exploration, learning, and creative expression” (par. 2). Children are using their fine motor skills such as their hands and figures to be able to hold a pencil to...
Words: 1601 - Pages: 7
