Human Motor Control is a elementary introduction to the field of motor control, stressing psychological, physiological, and computational approaches. Human Motor Control cuts across all disciplines which are defined with respect to movement: physical education, dance, physical therapy, robotics, and so on. The book is organized around major activity areas. - A comprehensive presentation of the major problems and topics in human motor control - Incorporates applications of work that lie outside traditional sports or physical education teaching
Why should anyone be interested in studying motor skills? This book is based on the contrary belief that the determinants of motor skill and the conjoint problems of how movements are coordinated and controlled are fundamentally important to anyone concerned with understanding human behavior. This includes psychologists, but applies even more especially to other disciplines-such as physical education and kinesiology-for which the subject of movement is particularly germane. In fact, this book is written primarily for undergraduates in kinesiology and physical education as well as psychology, and it may also be of interest to students in areas such as physical therapy, engineering and computer science.
This book provides an overview of human development and includes the relationship between motor development and cognitive and social development. It explores factors affecting development, including effects of early stimulation and deprivation. The book addresses assessment in motor development.
Under the title The Coordination and Regulation of Movements, an English language version of six of the most important papers of the Russian physiologist Nicholas Bernstein was published in 1967 (Pergamon Press Ltd.). That work has been out of print for some years, but in view of the frequency of its citation in recent works on movement control, a republication was considered desirable. However, since some of the papers in the first edition were written in the 1930's, it was felt that readers' interests would be better served if, after each chapter, an evaluation of the work and, where necessary, an update of the data in the light of more recent findings was included. Contributors of international renown provide such chapters.
Under the title The Coordination and Regulation of Movements, an English language version of six of the most important papers of the Russian physiologist Nicholas Bernstein was published in 1967 (Pergamon Press Ltd.). That work has been out of print for some years, but in view of the frequency of its citation in recent works on movement control, a republication was considered desirable. However, since some of the papers in the first edition were written in the 1930's, it was felt that readers' interests would be better served if, after each chapter, an evaluation of the work and, where necessary, an update of the data in the light of more recent findings was included. Contributors of international renown provide such chapters.
Motor Learning and Development, Second Edition With Web Resource, provides a foundation for understanding how humans acquire and continue to hone their movement skills throughout the life span.
Our motor skills determine how well we perform in athletics, dance, music, and in carrying out countless daily chores. While our proficiency at performing individual actions and synthesizing them into seamless sequences limits our athletic and artistic talents, we are not perpetually bound by such limitations. The nervous system can acquire new, and modify old, motor behaviors through experience and practice. That is motor learning.The Acquisition of Motor Behavior in Vertebratesprovides a broad, multidisciplinary survey of recent research on the brain systems and mechanisms underlying motor learning. Following the editors' introduction, nineteen contributions report on the neurobiology of these higher brain functions and on diverse types of motor learning such as reflex adaptation, conditioned and instrumental reflex learning, visually guided actions, and complex sequences and skills.
This is an ideal text for motor behaviour and cognitive psychology courses, as well as a reference for professionals with an interest in motor behaviour and human movement. It explores how focus of attention can affect motor performance, particularly the learning of motor skills.
Motor Control in Everyday Actions presents 47 true stories that illustrate the phenomena of motor control, learning, perception, and attention in sport, physical activity, home, and work environments. At times humorous and sometimes sobering, this unique text provides an accessible application-to-research approach to spark critical thinking, class discussion, and new ideas for research. The stories in Motor Control in Everyday Actions illustrate the diversity and complexity of research in perception and action and motor skill acquisition. More than interesting anecdotes, these stories offer concrete examples of how motor behavior, motor control, and perception and action errors affect the lives of both well-known and ordinary individuals in various situations and environments. Readers will be entertained with real-life stories that illustrate how research in motor control is applicable to real life: •Choking Under Pressure examines information processing and how it changes under pressure. •The Gimme Putt shows how Schmidt’s law can be used to predict the accuracy of golf putts. •Turn Right at the Next Gorilla examines inattention blindness and its role in traffic accidents. •The Farmers’ Market describes reasons why a man drives his car through a crowded open-air market, killing and injuring dozens of shoppers in the process. •Craps and Weighted Bats describes the curious role of myths and superstition in how we play games. •And 42 other examples of motor control in everyday actions will both entertain and inform. Each story is followed by a set of self-directed activities that are progressively more complex. These activities, plus the additional notes and suggested readings and websites at the conclusion of each story, provide a starting point for critical thinking about the reasons why human actions sometimes go awry. A reader-friendly writing style and easy-to-follow analysis and conclusions assist students in gaining mastery of the issues presented, conceptualizing new research projects, and applying the content to current research. The stories are grouped into three parts, beginning with situations involving errors and mistakes in perception, action, or decision making. Next, stories investigating varied techniques for studying perception and action are presented. The remaining scenarios provide readers with a look at research focusing on the motor learning process as well as some of the unexpected discoveries resulting from those investigations. Motor Control in Everyday Actions will engage its readers—not only through the central topic of the story but also in the fundamental concepts involving perception, action, and learning. Used as a springboard for new research or as a catalyst for engaging discussion, Motor Control in Everyday Actions offers perspectives that will enhance understanding of how human beings interact with their world.
This book is the first to view the effects of development, aging, and practice on the control of human voluntary movement from a contemporary context. Emphasis is on the links between progress in basic motor control research and applied areas such as motor disorders and motor rehabilitation. Relevant to both professionals in the areas of motor control, movement disorders, and motor rehabilitation, and to students starting their careers in one of these actively developed areas.
