Journal of motor behavior
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Journal of motor behavior · Jan 2021
Do Tangential Finger Forces Utilize Mechanical Advantage During Moment of Force production?
This study investigated the beneficial effects of the utilization of mechanical advantage (MA) of finger tangential forces during the moment production. Subjects produced the resistive moment of force against the external torque while the moment arms of the tangential forces were systematically changed. ⋯ The indices of multi-finger coordination for the stabilization of the moment of forces and force direction increased with the moment arms. The current results provide evidence that the utilization of MA is associated with both the efficiency of force production and the stabilization of performance variables.
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Journal of motor behavior · Mar 2018
Targeted Memory Reactivation During Sleep, But Not Wake, Enhances Sensorimotor Skill Performance: A Pilot Study.
The benefits of sleep on memory consolidation have been enhanced for declarative and motor sequence learning through replaying classically conditioned auditory stimuli during sleep, known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR). However, it is unknown if TMR can influence performance of a sensorimotor skill, in the absence of the cognitive requirements of sequence learning. ⋯ In conclusion, this pilot study indicates that it is feasible to influence sensorimotor skill performance through TMR during sleep and may serve as a future adjunct to physical rehabilitation. Future studies will aim to confirm the present results with a larger sample size as well as investigate the effects of TMR during sleep on older adults both with and without a history of stroke.
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Journal of motor behavior · Jan 2015
The potential transformation of our species by neural enhancement.
Neural enhancement represents recovery of function that has been lost due to injury or disease pathology. Restoration of functional ability is the objective. For example, a neuroprosthetic to replace a forearm and hand lost to the ravages of war or industrial accident. ⋯ Approaching that functional level by use and integration of technology takes us toward the concept of a new species. This new subspecies--homo sapiens technologicus--is one that uses technology not just to assist but to change its own inherent biological function. The author uses examples from prosthetics and neuroprosthetics to address the issue of the limitations of constructs on the accepted range of human performance ability and aims to provide a cautionary view toward reflection on where our science may take the entire species.
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The authors explored changes in the postural preparation and movement times during jumps into targets of different sizes placed at different distances from the participant. Both movement and preparation times scaled with movement distance. ⋯ These observations show that the classical Fitts' law can be violated in tasks that involve a ballistic component. The data corroborate a hypothesis that Fitts' law originates at the level of movement planning.
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Journal of motor behavior · Mar 2009
Saccadic trajectories receive online correction: evidence for a feedback-based system of oculomotor control.
Although a considerable amount of research has investigated the planning and production of saccadic eye movements, it remains unclear whether (a) central planning processes prior to movement onset largely determine these eye movements or (b) they receive online correction during the actual trajectory. To investigate this issue, the authors measured the spatial position of the eye at specific kinematic markers during saccadic movements (i.e., peak acceleration, peak velocity, peak deceleration, saccade endpoint). ⋯ In Experiment 2, the authors examined the online control of saccades made from stored target information after delays of 500, 1,500, and 3,500 ms. Findings evince a robust and consistent feedback-based system of online oculomotor control during saccadic eye movements.