Chapter 5: Motor Control Theories

*Actions are continuously adapted to the environment*

Theory and Pro Practice

- What is a theory?
o Accurately describes a large class of observations
o Makes definie predictions about results of future observations
- Motor learning and control theories focus on:
o Explaining human movement behaviour
o Provide explanations about why people perfom skills as they do
- How does a theory have relevance?
o S.I*not testable

Motor control theory

- Describes and explain how the nervous system produces coordinated movement during
motor skill perofmance in a variety of enviornments
- 2 important terms:
o Coordination
 Patterning of body and limb motions relative to the patterning of
environmental objects and events
 2 parts to consider:
 Relations among joints and body segment at a specific point of time
 Relation between pattern of corrdition and the environment so the
action can be accomplished
o Degree of freedom problem
 Degree of freedom: # of independent elements in a system and the ways
each element can act
 Degree of freedom problem: how to control the df to make a complex
system act in a specific way
 The control of a helicopters flight
 For the control of movement:
o How does the nervous system control many df of muscles,
libs, joints to enable a person to perform an action as
intended?

2 general types of control systems Oct 2nd 2015

- See notebook for drawing