Motor Skill Learning

Part 4 Midterm
10/17/22
How Motor Actions are controlled

Motor, in simpler words, movement, is controlled in one of two systems; closed-loop or

open-loop system. Open loop processes do not require any feedback to be executed. Open loop
processes are executed without regards to the effects that they may have on the environment,
as well as structured in advance to the movement. This process is typically used with quicker
movements that are less than 200ms. For example, while throwing a dart, once the dart has left
your hand, there is no time for determining an error or correctness of the path of the dart. It is
simply going to be accurate or not. On the other hand, closed loop processes require
information from the environment, known as feedback, to update the control center about
correctness of the movement to allow the movement to continue, or for further instruction to
fix the movement error. To provide input to the control center, the central nervous system,
feedback with be received through sensory receptors; two exteroceptors and five
proprioceptors that are from the environment. In a closed loop system, the duration of the
movement will be increased due to containing stages of information processing and conscious
decision-making occurring if an error has occurred and feedback is returned through the loop.
For example, while skiing, the skier will receive feedback indicating they may be losing balance
based upon joint receptors, Golgi tendon organs, and muscle spindles. The skier uses
continuous feedback as they head down the mountain, as they ski, using constant feedback, to
make corrections to the motor plan of skiing down the mountain without falling as they go. The
environment plays a role in which type of skill the motor movement may be. If the motor skill is
open, it will depend more on feedback from proprioceptors and exteroceptors since the
environment is unstable and constantly changing. On the contrary, if the motor skill is closed, it
will rely less on feedback to successfully complete the motor action.
Open-loop systems are also controlled by central pattern generators, located in the
spinal cord that produce oscillations to coordinate certain moves together simultaneously to
achieve multiple goals. This central control can also generate rapid movements specifically, fast
discrete tasks that are less than 150ms. Within a closed loop system during the motor
programming stage of the information processing stages, actions are controlled by the
generalized motor programs. GMP’s are developed over time with practice of a sequence of
movements that all pertain to the same invariant features of relative timing, order of events,
and relative force, that do not change, and certain parameters that do change like the selection
of which muscles are used, the time duration of how long it may last, and how strong the force
is that is produced for the movement to be successfully executed. The GMP also controls
impulses, which are the product of force and time of a particular movement. In the case of
one’s body, we could consider the forces produced by a muscle overtime to be acting on a
particular limb.