An Expressive Bodily Movement Repertoire for Marimba Performance, Revealed through Observers' Laban Effort-Shape Analyses, and Allied Musical Features: Two Case Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Broughton, Mary C.; Davidson, Jane W.

2016-01-01

Musicians' expressive bodily movements can influence observers' perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers' music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies—one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers' perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players' bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the types and locations of actions

An expressive bodily movement repertoire for marimba performance, revealed through observers’ Laban effort-shape analyses, and allied musical features: two case studies

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Mary C Broughton

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Musicians’ expressive bodily movements can influence observers’ perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers’ music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies – one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers’ perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players’ bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the

An Expressive Bodily Movement Repertoire for Marimba Performance, Revealed through Observers' Laban Effort-Shape Analyses, and Allied Musical Features: Two Case Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Broughton, Mary C; Davidson, Jane W

2016-01-01

Musicians' expressive bodily movements can influence observers' perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers' music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies-one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers' perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players' bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the types and locations of actions

Habitat selection and post-release movement of reintroduced brown treecreeper individuals in restored temperate woodland.

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Victoria A Bennett

Full Text Available It is essential to choose suitable habitat when reintroducing a species into its former range. Habitat quality may influence an individual's dispersal decisions and also ultimately where they choose to settle. We examined whether variation in habitat quality (quantified by the level of ground vegetation cover and the installation of nest boxes influenced the movement, habitat choice and survival of a reintroduced bird species. We experimentally reintroduced seven social groups (43 individuals of the brown treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus into two nature reserves in south-eastern Australia. We radio-tracked 18 brown treecreepers from release in November 2009 until February 2010. We observed extensive movements by individuals irrespective of the release environment or an individual's gender. This indicated that individuals were capable of dispersing and actively selecting optimum habitat. This may alleviate pressure on wildlife planners to accurately select the most optimum release sites, so long as the species' requirements are met. There was significant variation in movement between social groups, suggesting that social factors may be a more important influence on movement than habitat characteristics. We found a significant effect of ground vegetation cover on the likelihood of settlement by social groups, with high rates of settlement and survival in dry forests, rather than woodland (where the species typically resides, which has implications for the success of woodland restoration. However, overall the effects of variation in habitat quality were not as strong as we had expected, and resulted in some unpredicted effects such as low survival and settlement in woodland areas with medium levels of ground vegetation cover. The extensive movement by individuals and unforeseen effects of habitat characteristics make it difficult to predict the outcome of reintroductions, the movement behaviour and habitat selection of reintroduced individuals

Human motor cortical activity recorded with Micro-ECoG electrodes, during individual finger movements.

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Wang, W; Degenhart, A D; Collinger, J L; Vinjamuri, R; Sudre, G P; Adelson, P D; Holder, D L; Leuthardt, E C; Moran, D W; Boninger, M L; Schwartz, A B; Crammond, D J; Tyler-Kabara, E C; Weber, D J

2009-01-01

In this study human motor cortical activity was recorded with a customized micro-ECoG grid during individual finger movements. The quality of the recorded neural signals was characterized in the frequency domain from three different perspectives: (1) coherence between neural signals recorded from different electrodes, (2) modulation of neural signals by finger movement, and (3) accuracy of finger movement decoding. It was found that, for the high frequency band (60-120 Hz), coherence between neighboring micro-ECoG electrodes was 0.3. In addition, the high frequency band showed significant modulation by finger movement both temporally and spatially, and a classification accuracy of 73% (chance level: 20%) was achieved for individual finger movement using neural signals recorded from the micro-ECoG grid. These results suggest that the micro-ECoG grid presented here offers sufficient spatial and temporal resolution for the development of minimally-invasive brain-computer interface applications.

An individual-based model of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) movement in the tropical Pacific ocean

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Scutt Phillips, Joe; Sen Gupta, Alex; Senina, Inna; van Sebille, Erik; Lange, Michael; Lehodey, Patrick; Hampton, John; Nicol, Simon

2018-05-01

The distribution of marine species is often modeled using Eulerian approaches, in which changes to population density or abundance are calculated at fixed locations in space. Conversely, Lagrangian, or individual-based, models simulate the movement of individual particles moving in continuous space, with broader-scale patterns such as distribution being an emergent property of many, potentially adaptive, individuals. These models offer advantages in examining dynamics across spatiotemporal scales and making comparisons with observations from individual-scale data. Here, we introduce and describe such a model, the Individual-based Kinesis, Advection and Movement of Ocean ANimAls model (Ikamoana), which we use to replicate the movement processes of an existing Eulerian model for marine predators (the Spatial Ecosystem and Population Dynamics Model, SEAPODYM). Ikamoana simulates the movement of either individual or groups of animals by physical ocean currents, habitat-dependent stochastic movements (kinesis), and taxis movements representing active searching behaviours. Applying our model to Pacific skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), we show that it accurately replicates the evolution of density distribution simulated by SEAPODYM with low time-mean error and a spatial correlation of density that exceeds 0.96 at all times. We demonstrate how the Lagrangian approach permits easy tracking of individuals' trajectories for examining connectivity between different regions, and show how the model can provide independent estimates of transfer rates between commonly used assessment regions. In particular, we find that retention rates in most assessment regions are considerably smaller (up to a factor of 2) than those estimated by this population of skipjack's primary assessment model. Moreover, these rates are sensitive to ocean state (e.g. El Nino vs La Nina) and so assuming fixed transfer rates between regions may lead to spurious stock estimates. A novel feature of the

Purposeful Goal-Directed Movements Give Rise to Higher Tactile Discrimination Performance

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Georgiana Juravle

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Tactile perception is inhibited during goal-directed reaching movements (sensory suppression. Here, participants performed simple reaching or exploratory movements (where contact with the table surface was maintained. We measured tactile discrimination thresholds for vibratory stimuli delivered to participants' wrists while executing the movement, and while at rest. Moreover, we measured discrimination performance (in a same vs. different task for the materials covering the table surface, during the execution of the different movements. The threshold and discrimination tasks could be performed either singly or together, both under active movement and passive conditions (ie, no movement required, but with tactile stimulation. Thresholds measured at rest were significantly lower than thresholds measured during both active movements and passive touches. This provides a clear indication of sensory suppression during movement execution. Moreover, the discrimination data revealed main effects of task (single vs. dual, movement execution type (passive vs. active, and movement type (reach vs. exploration: Discrimination performance was significantly higher under conditions of single-tasking, active movements, as well as exploratory movements. Therefore, active movement of the hand with the purpose of gaining tactual information about the surface of the table gives rise to enhanced performance, thus suggesting that we feel more when we need to; It would appear that tactual information is prioritized when relevant for the movement being executed.

Memory for self-performed actions in individuals with Asperger syndrome.

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Tiziana Zalla

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Memory for action is enhanced if individuals are allowed to perform the corresponding movements, compared to when they simply listen to them (enactment effect. Previous studies have shown that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD have difficulties with processes involving the self, such as autobiographical memories and self performed actions. The present study aimed at assessing memory for action in Asperger Syndrome (AS. We investigated whether adults with AS would benefit from the enactment effect when recalling a list of previously performed items vs. items that were only visually and verbally experienced through three experimental tasks (Free Recall, Old/New Recognition and Source Memory. The results showed that while performance on Recognition and Source Memory tasks was preserved in individuals with AS, the enactment effect for self-performed actions was not consistently present, as revealed by the lower number of performed actions being recalled on the Free Recall test, as compared to adults with typical development. Subtle difficulties in encoding specific motor and proprioceptive signals during action execution in individuals with AS might affect retrieval of relevant personal episodic information. These disturbances might be associated to an impaired action monitoring system.

Memory for self-performed actions in individuals with Asperger syndrome.

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Zalla, Tiziana; Daprati, Elena; Sav, Anca-Maria; Chaste, Pauline; Nico, Daniele; Leboyer, Marion

2010-10-12

Memory for action is enhanced if individuals are allowed to perform the corresponding movements, compared to when they simply listen to them (enactment effect). Previous studies have shown that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have difficulties with processes involving the self, such as autobiographical memories and self performed actions. The present study aimed at assessing memory for action in Asperger Syndrome (AS). We investigated whether adults with AS would benefit from the enactment effect when recalling a list of previously performed items vs. items that were only visually and verbally experienced through three experimental tasks (Free Recall, Old/New Recognition and Source Memory). The results showed that while performance on Recognition and Source Memory tasks was preserved in individuals with AS, the enactment effect for self-performed actions was not consistently present, as revealed by the lower number of performed actions being recalled on the Free Recall test, as compared to adults with typical development. Subtle difficulties in encoding specific motor and proprioceptive signals during action execution in individuals with AS might affect retrieval of relevant personal episodic information. These disturbances might be associated to an impaired action monitoring system.

Evaluation of EEG Features in Decoding Individual Finger Movements from One Hand

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Ran Xiao

2013-01-01

Full Text Available With the advancements in modern signal processing techniques, the field of brain-computer interface (BCI is progressing fast towards noninvasiveness. One challenge still impeding these developments is the limited number of features, especially movement-related features, available to generate control signals for noninvasive BCIs. A few recent studies investigated several movement-related features, such as spectral features in electrocorticography (ECoG data obtained through a spectral principal component analysis (PCA and direct use of EEG temporal data, and demonstrated the decoding of individual fingers. The present paper evaluated multiple movement-related features under the same task, that is, discriminating individual fingers from one hand using noninvasive EEG. The present results demonstrate the existence of a broadband feature in EEG to discriminate individual fingers, which has only been identified previously in ECoG. It further shows that multiple spectral features obtained from the spectral PCA yield an average decoding accuracy of 45.2%, which is significantly higher than the guess level (P<0.05 and other features investigated (P<0.05, including EEG spectral power changes in alpha and beta bands and EEG temporal data. The decoding of individual fingers using noninvasive EEG is promising to improve number of features for control, which can facilitate the development of noninvasive BCI applications with rich complexity.

Blurring emotional memories using eye movements: individual differences and speed of eye movements

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Kevin van Schie

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background: In eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR, patients make eye movements (EM while recalling traumatic memories. Making EM taxes working memory (WM, which leaves less resources available for imagery of the memory. This reduces memory vividness and emotionality during future recalls. WM theory predicts that individuals with small working memory capacities (WMCs benefit more from low levels of taxing (i.e., slow EM whereas individuals with large WMC benefit more from high levels of taxing (i.e., fast EM. Objective: We experimentally examined and tested four prespecified hypotheses regarding the role of WMC and EM speed in reducing emotionality and vividness ratings: 1 EM—regardless of WMC and EM speed—are more effective compared to no dual task, 2 increasing EM speed only affects the decrease in memory ratings irrespective of WMC, 3 low-WMC individuals—compared to high-WMC individuals—benefit more from making either type of EM, 4 the EM intervention is most effective when—as predicted by WM theory—EM are adjusted to WMC. Method: Undergraduates with low (n=31 or high (n=35 WMC recalled three emotional memories and rated vividness and emotionality before and after each condition (recall only, recall + slow EM, and recall + fast EM. Results: Contrary to the theory, the data do not support the hypothesis that EM speed should be adjusted to WMC (hypothesis 4. However, the data show that a dual task in general is more effective in reducing memory ratings than no dual task (hypothesis 1, and that a more cognitively demanding dual task increases the intervention's effectiveness (hypothesis 2. Conclusions: Although adjusting EM speed to an individual's WMC seems a straightforward clinical implication, the data do not show any indication that such a titration is helpful.

Movement retraining using real-time feedback of performance.

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Hunt, Michael Anthony

2013-01-17

Any modification of movement - especially movement patterns that have been honed over a number of years - requires re-organization of the neuromuscular patterns responsible for governing the movement performance. This motor learning can be enhanced through a number of methods that are utilized in research and clinical settings alike. In general, verbal feedback of performance in real-time or knowledge of results following movement is commonly used clinically as a preliminary means of instilling motor learning. Depending on patient preference and learning style, visual feedback (e.g. through use of a mirror or different types of video) or proprioceptive guidance utilizing therapist touch, are used to supplement verbal instructions from the therapist. Indeed, a combination of these forms of feedback is commonplace in the clinical setting to facilitate motor learning and optimize outcomes. Laboratory-based, quantitative motion analysis has been a mainstay in research settings to provide accurate and objective analysis of a variety of movements in healthy and injured populations. While the actual mechanisms of capturing the movements may differ, all current motion analysis systems rely on the ability to track the movement of body segments and joints and to use established equations of motion to quantify key movement patterns. Due to limitations in acquisition and processing speed, analysis and description of the movements has traditionally occurred offline after completion of a given testing session. This paper will highlight a new supplement to standard motion analysis techniques that relies on the near instantaneous assessment and quantification of movement patterns and the display of specific movement characteristics to the patient during a movement analysis session. As a result, this novel technique can provide a new method of feedback delivery that has advantages over currently used feedback methods.

Modeling and performance analysis of movement-based group location management using RFID sensing in public transportation systems.

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Chung, Yun Won

2012-11-22

Location management, which consists of location registration and paging, is essential to provide mobile communication services to mobile stations (MSs). Since MSs riding on a public transportation system (TS) generates significant location registration signaling loads simultaneously when a TS with riding MSs moves between location areas (LAs), group location management was proposed. Under the group location management, an MS performs group registration when it gets on a TS and performs group deregistration when it gets off a TS. Then, only a TS updates its current location when it changes LA, on behalf of all riding MSs. In this paper, movement-based group location management using radio frequency identification (RFID) is proposed, where the MS's getting on and getting off behaviors are detected using RFID and only location update of a TS is carried out if the number of crossed cells from the last updated cell exceeds a predefined movement threshold, on behalf of all riding MSs. Then, we develop an analytical model for the performance analysis of the movement-based group location management and analyze the effects of various parameters on the performance. The results show that the movement-based group location management has reduced signaling cost compared with movement-based individual location management, and optimal performance can be achieved by choosing appropriate movement threshold values.

Relationship between masticatory performance using a gummy jelly and masticatory movement.

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Uesugi, Hanako; Shiga, Hiroshi

2017-10-01

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between masticatory performance using a gummy jelly and masticatory movement. Thirty healthy males were asked to chew a gummy jelly on their habitual chewing side for 20s, and the parameters of masticatory performance and masticatory movement were calculated as follows. For evaluating the masticatory performance, the amount of glucose extraction during chewing of a gummy jelly was measured. For evaluating the masticatory movement, the movement of the mandibular incisal point was recorded using the MKG K6-I, and ten parameters of the movement path (opening distance and masticatory width), movement rhythm (opening time, closing time, occluding time, and cycle time), stability of movement (stability of path and stability of rhythm), and movement velocity (opening maximum velocity and closing maximum velocity) were calculated from 10 cycles of chewing beginning with the fifth cycle. The relationship between the amount of glucose extraction and parameters representing masticatory movement was investigated and then stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed. The amount of glucose extraction was associated with 7 parameters representing the masticatory movement. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that the opening distance, closing time, stability of rhythm, and closing maximum velocity were the most important factors affecting the glucose extraction. From these results it was suggested that there was a close relation between masticatory performance and masticatory movement, and that the masticatory performance could be increased by rhythmic, rapid and stable mastication with a large opening distance. Copyright © 2017 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting individual differences in decision-making process from signature movement styles: an illustrative study of leaders.

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Connors, Brenda L; Rende, Richard; Colton, Timothy J

2013-01-01

There has been a surge of interest in examining the utility of methods for capturing individual differences in decision-making style. We illustrate the potential offered by Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA), an observational methodology that has been used in business and by the US Department of Defense to record body movements that provide predictive insight into individual differences in decision-making motivations and actions. Twelve military officers participated in an intensive 2-h interview that permitted detailed and fine-grained observation and coding of signature movements by trained practitioners using MPA. Three months later, these subjects completed four hypothetical decision-making tasks in which the amount of information sought out before coming to a decision, as well as the time spent on the tasks, were under the partial control of the subject. A composite MPA indicator of how a person allocates decision-making actions and motivations to balance both Assertion (exertion of tangible movement effort on the environment to make something occur) and Perspective (through movements that support shaping in the body to perceive and create a suitable viewpoint for action) was highly correlated with the total number of information draws and total response time-individuals high on Assertion reached for less information and had faster response times than those high on Perspective. Discussion focuses on the utility of using movement-based observational measures to capture individual differences in decision-making style and the implications for application in applied settings geared toward investigations of experienced leaders and world statesmen where individuality rules the day.

Predicting Individual Differences in Decision-Making Process From Signature Movement Styles: An Illustrative Study of Leaders

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Brenda L. Connors

2013-09-01

Full Text Available There has been a surge of interest in examining the utility of methods for capturing individual differences in decision-making style. We illustrate the potential offered by Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA, an observational methodology that has been used in business and by the U.S. Department of Defense to record body movements that provide predictive insight into individual differences in decision-making motivations and actions. Twelve military officers participated in an intensive two-hour interview that permitted detailed and fine-grained observation and coding of signature movements by trained practitioners using MPA. Three months later, these subjects completed four hypothetical decision-making tasks in which the amount of information sought out before coming to a decision, as well as the time spent on the tasks, were under the partial control of the subject. A composite MPA indicator of how a person allocates decision-making actions and motivations to balance both Assertion (exertion of tangible movement effort on the environment to make something occur and Perspective (through movements that support shaping in the body to perceive and create a suitable environment for action was highly correlated with the total number of information draws and total response time – individuals high on Assertion reached for less information and had faster response times than those high on Perspective. Discussion focuses on the utility of using movement-based observational measures to capture individual differences in decision-making style and the implications for application in applied settings geared toward investigations of experienced leaders and world statesmen where individuality rules the day.

Shared periodic performer movements coordinate interactions in duo improvisations

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Jakubowski, Kelly; Moran, Nikki; Keller, Peter E.

2018-01-01

Human interaction involves the exchange of temporally coordinated, multimodal cues. Our work focused on interaction in the visual domain, using music performance as a case for analysis due to its temporally diverse and hierarchical structures. We made use of two improvising duo datasets—(i) performances of a jazz standard with a regular pulse and (ii) non-pulsed, free improvizations—to investigate whether human judgements of moments of interaction between co-performers are influenced by body movement coordination at multiple timescales. Bouts of interaction in the performances were manually annotated by experts and the performers’ movements were quantified using computer vision techniques. The annotated interaction bouts were then predicted using several quantitative movement and audio features. Over 80% of the interaction bouts were successfully predicted by a broadband measure of the energy of the cross-wavelet transform of the co-performers’ movements in non-pulsed duos. A more complex model, with multiple predictors that captured more specific, interacting features of the movements, was needed to explain a significant amount of variance in the pulsed duos. The methods developed here have key implications for future work on measuring visual coordination in musical ensemble performances, and can be easily adapted to other musical contexts, ensemble types and traditions. PMID:29515867

An exploratory investigation on the use of closed-loop electrical stimulation to assist individuals with stroke to perform fine movements with their hemiparetic arm

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Brian eLew

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Stroke is the leading cause of upper limb impairments resulting in disability. Modern rehabilitation includes training with robotic exoskeletons and functional electrical stimulation (FES. However, there is a gap in knowledge to define the detailed use of FES in stroke rehabilitation. In this paper, we explore applying closed-loop FES to the upper extremities (UE of healthy volunteers and individuals with a hemiparetic arm resulting from stroke. We used a set of gyroscopes to monitor arm movements and used a non-linear controller, namely the robust integral of the sign of the error (RISE, to assess the viability of controlling FES in closed-loop. Further, we explored the application of closed-loop FES in improving functional tasks performed by individuals with stroke. Four healthy individuals of ages 27 to 32 years old and five individuals with stroke of ages 61 to 83 years old participated in this study. We used the Rehastim FES unit (Hasomed Ltd. with real-time modulation of pulse width and amplitude. Both healthy and stroke individuals were tested in RISE controlled single and multi-joint upper limb motions following first a sinusoidal trajectory. Individuals with stroke were also asked to perform the following functional tasks: picking up a basket, picking and placing an object on a table, cutting a pizza, pulling back a chair, eating with a spoon, as well as using a stapler and grasping a pen. Healthy individuals were instructed to keep their arm relaxed during the experiment. Most individuals with stroke were able to follow the sinusoid trajectories with their arm joints under the sole excitation of the closed-loop controlled FES. One individual with stroke who was unable to perform any of the functional tasks independently, succeeded in completing all the tasks when FES was used. Three other individuals with stroke, who were unable to complete a few tasks independently, completed some of them when FES was used. The remaining stroke

Individualized margins in 3D conformal radiotherapy planning for lung cancer: analysis of physiological movements and their dosimetric impacts.

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Germain, François; Beaulieu, Luc; Fortin, André

2008-01-01

In conformal radiotherapy planning for lung cancer, respiratory movements are not taken into account when a single computed tomography (CT) scan is performed. This study examines tumor movements to design individualized margins to account for these movements and evaluates their dosimetric impacts on planning volume. Fifteen patients undergoing CT-based planning for radical radiotherapy for localized lung cancer formed the study cohort. A reference plan was constructed based on reference gross, clinical, and planning target volumes (rGTV, rCTV, and rPTV, respectively). The reference plans were compared with individualized plans using individualized margins obtained by using 5 serial CT scans to generate individualized target volumes (iGTV, iCTV, and iPTV). Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy was used for plan generation using 6- and 23-MV photon beams. Ten plans for each patient were generated and dose-volume histograms (DVHs) were calculated. Comparisons of volumetric and dosimetric parameters were performed using paired Student t-tests. Relative to the rGTV, the total volume occupied by the superimposed GTVs increased progressively with each additional CT scans. With the use of all 5 scans, the average increase in GTV was 52.1%. For the plans with closest dosimetric coverage, target volume was smaller (iPTV/rPTV ratio 0.808) but lung irradiation was only slightly decreased. Reduction in the proportion of lung tissue that received 20 Gy or more outside the PTV (V20) was observed both for 6-MV plans (-0.73%) and 23-MV plans (-0.65%), with p = 0.02 and p = 0.04, respectively. In conformal RT planning for the treatment of lung cancer, the use of serial CT scans to evaluate respiratory motion and to generate individualized margins to account for these motions produced only a limited lung sparing advantage.

Individualized Margins in 3D Conformal Radiotherapy Planning for Lung Cancer: Analysis of Physiological Movements and Their Dosimetric Impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Germain, Francois; Beaulieu, Luc; Fortin, Andre

2008-01-01

In conformal radiotherapy planning for lung cancer, respiratory movements are not taken into account when a single computed tomography (CT) scan is performed. This study examines tumor movements to design individualized margins to account for these movements and evaluates their dosimetric impacts on planning volume. Fifteen patients undergoing CT-based planning for radical radiotherapy for localized lung cancer formed the study cohort. A reference plan was constructed based on reference gross, clinical, and planning target volumes (rGTV, rCTV, and rPTV, respectively). The reference plans were compared with individualized plans using individualized margins obtained by using 5 serial CT scans to generate individualized target volumes (iGTV, iCTV, and iPTV). Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy was used for plan generation using 6- and 23-MV photon beams. Ten plans for each patient were generated and dose-volume histograms (DVHs) were calculated. Comparisons of volumetric and dosimetric parameters were performed using paired Student t-tests. Relative to the rGTV, the total volume occupied by the superimposed GTVs increased progressively with each additional CT scans. With the use of all 5 scans, the average increase in GTV was 52.1%. For the plans with closest dosimetric coverage, target volume was smaller (iPTV/rPTV ratio 0.808) but lung irradiation was only slightly decreased. Reduction in the proportion of lung tissue that received 20 Gy or more outside the PTV (V20) was observed both for 6-MV plans (-0.73%) and 23-MV plans (-0.65%), with p = 0.02 and p = 0.04, respectively. In conformal RT planning for the treatment of lung cancer, the use of serial CT scans to evaluate respiratory motion and to generate individualized margins to account for these motions produced only a limited lung sparing advantage

Navigational efficiency in a biased and correlated random walk model of individual animal movement.

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Bailey, Joseph D; Wallis, Jamie; Codling, Edward A

2018-01-01

Understanding how an individual animal is able to navigate through its environment is a key question in movement ecology that can give insight into observed movement patterns and the mechanisms behind them. Efficiency of navigation is important for behavioral processes at a range of different spatio-temporal scales, including foraging and migration. Random walk models provide a standard framework for modeling individual animal movement and navigation. Here we consider a vector-weighted biased and correlated random walk (BCRW) model for directed movement (taxis), where external navigation cues are balanced with forward persistence. We derive a mathematical approximation of the expected navigational efficiency for any BCRW of this form and confirm the model predictions using simulations. We demonstrate how the navigational efficiency is related to the weighting given to forward persistence and external navigation cues, and highlight the counter-intuitive result that for low (but realistic) levels of error on forward persistence, a higher navigational efficiency is achieved by giving more weighting to this indirect navigation cue rather than direct navigational cues. We discuss and interpret the relevance of these results for understanding animal movement and navigation strategies. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Mixed Movements/performance-based drawing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brabrand, Helle

2010-01-01

Mixed Movements is a research project engaged in performance-based architectural drawing. The project experiments with drawing-series as montages of materials and forces, making the drawing appear in its changing character. The moving components are conditioned by different circumstances...... that question each other, working as well with space-time motives as with expressions and techniques. A series poses questions both to the kind of forces it raises as well as to the kind of sensual affects it produces – to how the body resonates with the rhythms and tensions that appear in the drawing....... A drawing-series is then both a machine, a diagram, and an appearance, what we call a resonance-model, creating links between tectonic and drawing constructions, kinaesthetic competences and actual body-movements....

Uniting statistical and individual-based approaches for animal movement modelling.

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Latombe, Guillaume; Parrott, Lael; Basille, Mathieu; Fortin, Daniel

2014-01-01

The dynamic nature of their internal states and the environment directly shape animals' spatial behaviours and give rise to emergent properties at broader scales in natural systems. However, integrating these dynamic features into habitat selection studies remains challenging, due to practically impossible field work to access internal states and the inability of current statistical models to produce dynamic outputs. To address these issues, we developed a robust method, which combines statistical and individual-based modelling. Using a statistical technique for forward modelling of the IBM has the advantage of being faster for parameterization than a pure inverse modelling technique and allows for robust selection of parameters. Using GPS locations from caribou monitored in Québec, caribou movements were modelled based on generative mechanisms accounting for dynamic variables at a low level of emergence. These variables were accessed by replicating real individuals' movements in parallel sub-models, and movement parameters were then empirically parameterized using Step Selection Functions. The final IBM model was validated using both k-fold cross-validation and emergent patterns validation and was tested for two different scenarios, with varying hardwood encroachment. Our results highlighted a functional response in habitat selection, which suggests that our method was able to capture the complexity of the natural system, and adequately provided projections on future possible states of the system in response to different management plans. This is especially relevant for testing the long-term impact of scenarios corresponding to environmental configurations that have yet to be observed in real systems.

Individual-level movement bias leads to the formation of higher-order social structure in a mobile group of baboons.

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Bonnell, Tyler R; Clarke, Parry M; Henzi, S Peter; Barrett, Louise

2017-07-01

In mobile social groups, influence patterns driving group movement can vary between democratic and despotic. The arrival at any single pattern of influence is thought to be underpinned by both environmental factors and group composition. To identify the specific patterns of influence driving travel decision-making in a chacma baboon troop, we used spatially explicit data to extract patterns of individual movement bias. We scaled these estimates of individual-level bias to the level of the group by constructing an influence network and assessing its emergent structural properties. Our results indicate that there is heterogeneity in movement bias: individual animals respond consistently to particular group members, and higher-ranking animals are more likely to influence the movement of others. This heterogeneity resulted in a group-level network structure that consisted of a single core and two outer shells. Here, the presence of a core suggests that a set of highly interdependent animals drove routine group movements. These results suggest that heterogeneity at the individual level can lead to group-level influence structures, and that movement patterns in mobile social groups can add to the exploration of both how these structures develop (i.e. mechanistic aspects) and what consequences they have for individual- and group-level outcomes (i.e. functional aspects).

Alpha band functional connectivity correlates with the performance of brain-machine interfaces to decode real and imagined movements

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Hisato eSugata

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Brain signals recorded from the primary motor cortex (M1 are known to serve a significant role in coding the information brain-machine interfaces (BMIs need to perform real and imagined movements, and also to form several functional networks with motor association areas. However, whether functional networks between M1 and other brain regions, such as these motor association areas, are related to performance of BMIs is unclear. To examine the relationship between functional connectivity and performance of BMIs, we analyzed the correlation coefficient between performance of neural decoding and functional connectivity over the whole brain using magnetoencephalography. Ten healthy participants were instructed to execute or imagine three simple right upper limb movements. To decode the movement type, we extracted 40 virtual channels in the left M1 via the beamforming approach, and used them as a decoding feature. In addition, seed-based functional connectivities of activities in the alpha band during real and imagined movements were calculated using imaginary coherence. Seed voxels were set as the same virtual channels in M1. After calculating the imaginary coherence in individuals, the correlation coefficient between decoding accuracy and strength of imaginary coherence was calculated over the whole brain. The significant correlations were distributed mainly to motor association areas for both real and imagined movements. These regions largely overlapped with brain regions that had significant connectivity to M1. Our results suggest that use of the strength of functional connectivity between M1 and motor association areas has the potential to improve the performance of BMIs to perform real and imagined movements.

Predicting individual differences in decision-making process from signature movement styles: an illustrative study of leaders

OpenAIRE

Connors, Brenda L.; Rende, Richard; Colton, Timothy J.

2013-01-01

There has been a surge of interest in examining the utility of methods for capturing individual differences in decision-making style. We illustrate the potential offered by Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA), an observational methodology that has been used in business and by the US Department of Defense to record body movements that provide predictive insight into individual differences in decision-making motivations and actions. Twelve military officers participated in an intensive 2-h intervie...

Individual Differences in the Processing of Written Sarcasm and Metaphor: Evidence from Eye Movements

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Olkoniemi, Henri; Ranta, Henri; Kaakinen, Johanna K.

2016-01-01

The present study examined individual differences in the processing of different forms of figurative language. Sixty participants read sarcastic, metaphorical, and literal sentences embedded in story contexts while their eye movements were recorded, and responded to a text memory and an inference question after each story. Individual differences…

Leadership development of individuals with developmental disabilities in the self-advocacy movement.

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Caldwell, J

2010-11-01

Exploring the life stories of leaders in the self-advocacy movement can expand our knowledge about leadership development of individuals with developmental disabilities. A better understanding of this process may assist with supporting the movement and leadership development of youth with disabilities. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 leaders in the self-advocacy movement within the USA in order to explore their life stories. Purposeful sampling contributed to a diverse sample of leaders. A grounded theory approach led to the identification of major themes and factors associated with their leadership development. Four major themes emerged: (1) disability oppression and resistance; (2) environmental supports and relationships; (3) leadership skills; and (4) advanced leadership opportunities. Findings have conceptual and practical relevance for future interventions and research. © 2010 The Author. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

FMS Scores Change With Performers' Knowledge of the Grading Criteria-Are General Whole-Body Movement Screens Capturing "Dysfunction"?

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Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; Callaghan, Jack P; McGill, Stuart M

2015-11-01

Deficits in joint mobility and stability could certainly impact individuals' Functional Movement Screen (FMS) scores; however, it is also plausible that the movement patterns observed are influenced by the performers' knowledge of the grading criteria. Twenty-one firefighters volunteered to participate, and their FMS scores were graded before and immediately after receiving knowledge of the movement patterns required to achieve a perfect score on the FMS. Standardized verbal instructions were used to administer both screens, and the participants were not provided with any coaching or feedback. Time-synchronized sagittal and frontal plane videos were used to grade the FMS. The firefighters significantly (p injury risk.

Separating timing, movement conditions and individual differences in the analysis of human movement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raket, Lars Lau; Grimme, Britta; Schöner, Gregor

2016-01-01

mixed-effects models as viable alternatives to conventional analysis frameworks. The model is then combined with a novel factor-analysis model that estimates the low-dimensional subspace within which movements vary when the task demands vary. Our framework enables us to visualize different dimensions......A central task in the analysis of human movement behavior is to determine systematic patterns and differences across experimental conditions, participants and repetitions. This is possible because human movement is highly regular, being constrained by invariance principles. Movement timing...

Key properties of expert movement systems in sport : an ecological dynamics perspective.

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Seifert, Ludovic; Button, Chris; Davids, Keith

2013-03-01

This paper identifies key properties of expertise in sport predicated on the performer-environment relationship. Weaknesses of traditional approaches to expert performance, which uniquely focus on the performer and the environment separately, are highlighted by an ecological dynamics perspective. Key properties of expert movement systems include 'multi- and meta-stability', 'adaptive variability', 'redundancy', 'degeneracy' and the 'attunement to affordances'. Empirical research on these expert system properties indicates that skill acquisition does not emerge from the internal representation of declarative and procedural knowledge, or the imitation of expert behaviours to linearly reduce a perceived 'gap' separating movements of beginners and a putative expert model. Rather, expert performance corresponds with the ongoing co-adaptation of an individual's behaviours to dynamically changing, interacting constraints, individually perceived and encountered. The functional role of adaptive movement variability is essential to expert performance in many different sports (involving individuals and teams; ball games and outdoor activities; land and aquatic environments). These key properties signify that, in sport performance, although basic movement patterns need to be acquired by developing athletes, there exists no ideal movement template towards which all learners should aspire, since relatively unique functional movement solutions emerge from the interaction of key constraints.

Altered movement patterns and muscular activity during single and double leg squats in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament injury.

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Trulsson, Anna; Miller, Michael; Hansson, Gert-Åke; Gummesson, Christina; Garwicz, Martin

2015-02-13

Individuals with Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury often show altered movement patterns, suggested to be partly due to impaired sensorimotor control. Here, we therefore aimed to assess muscular activity during movements often used in ACL-rehabilitation and to characterize associations between deviations in muscular activity and specific altered movement patterns, using and further exploring the previously developed Test for substitution Patterns (TSP). Sixteen participants (10 women) with unilateral ACL rupture performed Single and Double Leg Squats (SLS; DLS). Altered movement patterns were scored according to TSP, and Surface Electromyography (SEMG) was recorded bilaterally in six hip, thigh and shank muscles. To quantify deviations in muscular activity, SEMG ratios were calculated between homonymous muscles on injured and non-injured sides, and between antagonistic muscles on the same side. Correlations between deviations of injured/non-injured side SEMG ratios and specific altered movement patterns were calculated. Injured/non-injured ratios were low at transition from knee flexion to extension in quadriceps in SLS, and in quadriceps and hamstrings in DLS. On injured side, the quadriceps/hamstrings ratio prior to the beginning of DLS and end of DLS and SLS, and tibialis/gastrocnemius ratio at end of DLS were lower than on non-injured side. Correlations were found between specific altered movement patterns and deviating muscular activity at transition from knee flexion to extension in SLS, indicating that the more deviating the muscular activity on injured side, the more pronounced the altered movement pattern. "Knee medial to supporting foot" correlated to lower injured/non-injured ratios in gluteus medius (rs = -0.73, p = 0.001), "lateral displacement of hip-pelvis-region" to lower injured/non-injured ratios in quadriceps (rs = -0.54, p = 0.03) and "displacement of trunk" to higher injured/non-injured ratios in gluteus medius (rs = 0.62, p = 0

ASD Is Not DLI: Individuals With Autism and Individuals With Syntactic DLI Show Similar Performance Level in Syntactic Tasks, but Different Error Patterns.

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Sukenik, Nufar; Friedmann, Naama

2018-01-01

Do individuals with autism have a developmental syntactic impairment, DLI (formerly known as SLI)? In this study we directly compared the performance of 18 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged 9;0-18;0 years with that of 93 individuals with Syntactic-Developmental Language Impairment (SyDLI) aged 8;8-14;6 (and with 166 typically-developing children aged 5;2-18;1). We tested them using three syntactic tests assessing the comprehension and production of syntactic structures that are known to be sensitive to syntactic impairment: elicitation of subject and object relative clauses, reading and paraphrasing of object relatives, and repetition of complex syntactic structures including Wh questions, relative clauses, topicalized sentences, sentences with verb movement, sentences with A-movement, and embedded sentences. The results were consistent across the three tasks: the overall rate of correct performance on the syntactic tasks is similar for the children with ASD and those with SyDLI. However, once we look closer, they are very different. The types of errors of the ASD group differ from those of the SyDLI group-the children with ASD provide various types of pragmatically infelicitous responses that are not evinced in the SyDLI or in the age equivalent typically-developing groups. The two groups (ASD and SyDLI) also differ in the pattern of performance-the children with SyDLI show a syntactically-principled pattern of impairment, with selective difficulty in specific sentence types (such as sentences derived by movement of the object across the subject), and normal performance on other structures (such as simple sentences). In contrast, the ASD participants showed generalized low performance on the various sentence structures. Syntactic performance was far from consistent within the ASD group. Whereas all ASD participants had errors that can originate in pragmatic/discourse difficulties, seven of them had completely normal syntax in the structures we

Functional Movement Screen Scores and Physical Performance among Youth Elite Soccer Players

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Bruno Silva

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study had two main objectives: (1 to determine if differences in Functional Movement Screen (FMS scores exist between two levels of competition; and (2 to analyze the association between FMS individual and overall scores and physical performance variables of lower-limb power (jumps, repeated sprint ability and shot speed. Twenty-two Under 16 (U16 and twenty-six Under 19 (U19 national competitive soccer players participated in this study. All participants were evaluated according to anthropometrics, FMS, jump performance, instep kick speed and anaerobic performance. There were no significant differences in the individual FMS scores between competitive levels. There were significant negative correlations between hurdle step (right and Running-based Anaerobic Sprint Test (RAST power average ( ρ = −0.293; p = 0.043 and RAST fatigue index (RAST FatIndex ( ρ = −0.340; p = 0.018. The hurdle step (left had a significant negative correlation to squat jump (SJ ( ρ = −0.369; p = 0.012. Rotary stability had a significant negative correlation to RAST fatigue index (Right: ρ = −0.311; p = 0.032. Left: ρ = −0.400; p = 0.005. The results suggest that individual FMS scores may be better discriminants of performance than FMS total score and established minimal association between FMS scores and physical variables. Based on that, FMS may be suitable for the purposes of determining physical function but not for discriminating physical performance.

An ICA-EBM-Based sEMG Classifier for Recognizing Lower Limb Movements in Individuals With and Without Knee Pathology.

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Naik, Ganesh R; Selvan, S Easter; Arjunan, Sridhar P; Acharyya, Amit; Kumar, Dinesh K; Ramanujam, Arvind; Nguyen, Hung T

2018-03-01

Surface electromyography (sEMG) data acquired during lower limb movements has the potential for investigating knee pathology. Nevertheless, a major challenge encountered with sEMG signals generated by lower limb movements is the intersubject variability, because the signals recorded from the leg or thigh muscles are contingent on the characteristics of a subject such as gait activity and muscle structure. In order to cope with this difficulty, we have designed a three-step classification scheme. First, the multichannel sEMG is decomposed into activities of the underlying sources by means of independent component analysis via entropy bound minimization. Next, a set of time-domain features, which would best discriminate various movements, are extracted from the source estimates. Finally, the feature selection is performed with the help of the Fisher score and a scree-plot-based statistical technique, prior to feeding the dimension-reduced features to the linear discriminant analysis. The investigation involves 11 healthy subjects and 11 individuals with knee pathology performing three different lower limb movements, namely, walking, sitting, and standing, which yielded an average classification accuracy of 96.1% and 86.2%, respectively. While the outcome of this study per se is very encouraging, with suitable improvement, the clinical application of such an sEMG-based pattern recognition system that distinguishes healthy and knee pathological subjects would be an attractive consequence.

Effects of Intensive Crew Training on Individual and Collective Characteristics of Oar Movement in Rowing as a Coxless Pair

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Mathieu Feigean

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This case study examined how two rowers adapted their rowing patterns following crew training as a newly formed coxless pair. The two participants were expert (double-oar single scull-boat rowers. Performing as a crew in the coxless-pair’s sweep-boat, where each rower operates a single oar, on-the-water data were collected before and after a 6-week intensive team-training program. Rowing patterns were characterized by the horizontal oar angle, oar angular velocity and linear oar-water velocity profiles during the catch (minimal oar angle to finish (maximal oar angle half-cycles of the propulsive water phase. After crew training, rowers demonstrated a tighter synchronization and a closer correspondence in oar angle at the moment of catch, together with a closer matching of the evolution over time of their subsequent oar movements. Most likely due to the inherent asymmetries involved in sweep-boat rowing, the stroke rower also developed a somewhat longer-duration larger-amplitude oar movement than the bow rower. Remarkably, both rowers revealed changes in the inter-cycle variability of their individual patterns of rowing. While the initially more variable stroke rower improved the consistency of his rowing pattern over practice, the initially highly consistent bow rower on the contrary relaxed his tendency to always perform in the same way. We discuss how the crew performance changed over training and to what extent it was associated with changes in individual behaviors. Along the way we demonstrate that the often-used measure of average continuous relative phase does not adequately capture the particularities of the coordination pattern observed. Overall, the results obtained at the individual level of analysis suggest that team benefits were obtained through distinct adaptations of the rowers’ individual rowing patterns.

Laterality of repetitive finger movement performance and clinical features of Parkinson's disease.

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Stegemöller, Elizabeth; Zaman, Andrew; MacKinnon, Colum D; Tillman, Mark D; Hass, Chris J; Okun, Michael S

2016-10-01

Impairments in acoustically cued repetitive finger movement often emerge at rates near to and above 2Hz in persons with Parkinson's Disease (PD) in which some patients move faster (hastening) and others move slower (bradykinetic). The clinical features impacting this differential performance of repetitive finger movement remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare repetitive finger movement performance between the more and less affected side, and the difference in clinical ratings among performance groups. Forty-one participants diagnosed with idiopathic PD completed an acoustically cued repetitive finger movement task while "on" medication. Eighteen participants moved faster, 10 moved slower, and 13 were able to maintain the appropriate rate at rates above 2Hz. Clinical measures of laterality, disease severity, and the UPDRS were obtained. There were no significant differences between the more and less affected sides regardless of performance group. Comparison of disease severity, tremor, and rigidity among performance groups revealed no significant differences. Comparison of posture and postural instability scores revealed that the participants that demonstrated hastening had worse posture and postural instability scores. Consideration of movement rate during the clinical evaluation of repetitive finger movement may provide additional insight into varying disease features in persons with PD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance of a wearable acoustic system for fetal movement discrimination.

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Jonathan Lai

Full Text Available Fetal movements (FM are a key factor in clinical management of high-risk pregnancies such as fetal growth restriction. While maternal perception of reduced FM can trigger self-referral to obstetric services, maternal sensation is highly subjective. Objective, reliable monitoring of fetal movement patterns outside clinical environs is not currently possible. A wearable and non-transmitting system capable of sensing fetal movements over extended periods of time would be extremely valuable, not only for monitoring individual fetal health, but also for establishing normal levels of movement in the population at large. Wearable monitors based on accelerometers have previously been proposed as a means of tracking FM, but such systems have difficulty separating maternal and fetal activity and have not matured to the level of clinical use. We introduce a new wearable system based on a novel combination of accelerometers and bespoke acoustic sensors as well as an advanced signal processing architecture to identify and discriminate between types of fetal movements. We validate the system with concurrent ultrasound tests on a cohort of 44 pregnant women and demonstrate that the garment is capable of both detecting and discriminating the vigorous, whole-body 'startle' movements of a fetus. These results demonstrate the promise of multimodal sensing for the development of a low-cost, non-transmitting wearable monitor for fetal movements.

ASD Is Not DLI: Individuals With Autism and Individuals With Syntactic DLI Show Similar Performance Level in Syntactic Tasks, but Different Error Patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nufar Sukenik

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Do individuals with autism have a developmental syntactic impairment, DLI (formerly known as SLI? In this study we directly compared the performance of 18 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD aged 9;0–18;0 years with that of 93 individuals with Syntactic-Developmental Language Impairment (SyDLI aged 8;8–14;6 (and with 166 typically-developing children aged 5;2–18;1. We tested them using three syntactic tests assessing the comprehension and production of syntactic structures that are known to be sensitive to syntactic impairment: elicitation of subject and object relative clauses, reading and paraphrasing of object relatives, and repetition of complex syntactic structures including Wh questions, relative clauses, topicalized sentences, sentences with verb movement, sentences with A-movement, and embedded sentences. The results were consistent across the three tasks: the overall rate of correct performance on the syntactic tasks is similar for the children with ASD and those with SyDLI. However, once we look closer, they are very different. The types of errors of the ASD group differ from those of the SyDLI group—the children with ASD provide various types of pragmatically infelicitous responses that are not evinced in the SyDLI or in the age equivalent typically-developing groups. The two groups (ASD and SyDLI also differ in the pattern of performance—the children with SyDLI show a syntactically-principled pattern of impairment, with selective difficulty in specific sentence types (such as sentences derived by movement of the object across the subject, and normal performance on other structures (such as simple sentences. In contrast, the ASD participants showed generalized low performance on the various sentence structures. Syntactic performance was far from consistent within the ASD group. Whereas all ASD participants had errors that can originate in pragmatic/discourse difficulties, seven of them had completely normal syntax

Impairment in emotion perception from body movements in individuals with bipolar I and bipolar II disorder is associated with functional capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaskinn, Anja; Lagerberg, Trine Vik; Bjella, Thomas D; Simonsen, Carmen; Andreassen, Ole A; Ueland, Torill; Sundet, Kjetil

2017-12-01

Individuals with bipolar disorder present with moderate impairments in social cognition during the euthymic state. The impairment extends to theory of mind and to the perception of emotion in faces and voices, but it is unclear if emotion perception from body movements is affected. The main aim of this study was to examine if participants with bipolar disorder perform worse than healthy control participants on a task using point-light displays of human full figures moving in a manner indicative of a basic emotion (angry, happy, sad, fearful, neutral/no emotion). A secondary research question was whether diagnostic subtypes (bipolar I, bipolar II) and history of psychosis impacted on this type of emotion perception. Finally, symptomatic, neurocognitive, and functional correlates of emotion perception from body movements were investigated. Fifty-three individuals with bipolar I (n = 29) or bipolar II (n = 24) disorder, and 84 healthy control participants were assessed for emotion perception from body movements. The bipolar group also underwent clinical, cognitive, and functional assessment. Research questions were analyzed using analyses of variance and bivariate correlations. The bipolar disorder group differed significantly from healthy control participants for emotion perception from body movements (Cohen's d = 0.40). Analyses of variance yielded no effects of sex, diagnostic subtype (bipolar I, bipolar II), or history of psychosis. There was an effect of emotion, indicating that some emotions are easier to recognize. The lack of a significant group × emotion interaction effect points, however, to this being so regardless of the presence of bipolar disorder. Performance was unrelated to manic and depressive symptom load but showed significant associations with neurocognition and functional capacity. Individuals with bipolar disorder had a small but significant impairment in the ability to perceive emotions from body movement. The impairment was global, i

Moved through Music: The Effect of Experienced Emotions on Performers' Movement Characteristics

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Van Zijl, Anemone G. W.; Luck, Geoff

2013-01-01

Do performers who feel sad move differently compared to those who express sadness? Although performers' expressive movements have been widely studied, little is known about how performers' experienced emotions affect such movements. To investigate this, we made 72 motion-capture recordings of eight violinists playing a melodic phrase in response…

Cervical radiofrequency neurotomy reduces central hyperexcitability and improves neck movement in individuals with chronic whiplash.

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Smith, Ashley Dean; Jull, Gwendolen; Schneider, Geoff; Frizzell, Bevan; Hooper, Robert Allen; Sterling, Michele

2014-01-01

This study aims to determine if cervical medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy reduces psychophysical indicators of augmented central pain processing and improves motor function in individuals with chronic whiplash symptoms. Prospective observational study of consecutive patients with healthy control comparison. Tertiary spinal intervention centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Fifty-three individuals with chronic whiplash associated disorder symptoms (Grade 2); 30 healthy controls. Measures were made at four time points: two prior to radiofrequency neurotomy, and 1- and 3-months post-radiofrequency neurotomy. Measures included: comprehensive quantitative sensory testing (including brachial plexus provocation test), nociceptive flexion reflex, and motor function (cervical range of movement, superficial neck flexor activity during the craniocervical flexion test). Self-report pain and disability measures were also collected. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance and Friedman's tests were performed to investigate the effect of time on the earlier measures. Differences between the whiplash and healthy control groups were investigated with two-tailed independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney tests. Following cervical radiofrequency neurotomy, there were significant early (within 1 month) and sustained (3 months) improvements in pain, disability, local and widespread hyperalgesia to pressure and thermal stimuli, nociceptive flexor reflex threshold, and brachial plexus provocation test responses as well as increased neck range of motion (all P  0.13) was measured. Attenuation of psychophysical measures of augmented central pain processing and improved cervical movement imply that these processes are maintained by peripheral nociceptive input. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Is having similar eye movement patterns during face learning and recognition beneficial for recognition performance? Evidence from hidden Markov modeling.

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Chuk, Tim; Chan, Antoni B; Hsiao, Janet H

2017-12-01

The hidden Markov model (HMM)-based approach for eye movement analysis is able to reflect individual differences in both spatial and temporal aspects of eye movements. Here we used this approach to understand the relationship between eye movements during face learning and recognition, and its association with recognition performance. We discovered holistic (i.e., mainly looking at the face center) and analytic (i.e., specifically looking at the two eyes in addition to the face center) patterns during both learning and recognition. Although for both learning and recognition, participants who adopted analytic patterns had better recognition performance than those with holistic patterns, a significant positive correlation between the likelihood of participants' patterns being classified as analytic and their recognition performance was only observed during recognition. Significantly more participants adopted holistic patterns during learning than recognition. Interestingly, about 40% of the participants used different patterns between learning and recognition, and among them 90% switched their patterns from holistic at learning to analytic at recognition. In contrast to the scan path theory, which posits that eye movements during learning have to be recapitulated during recognition for the recognition to be successful, participants who used the same or different patterns during learning and recognition did not differ in recognition performance. The similarity between their learning and recognition eye movement patterns also did not correlate with their recognition performance. These findings suggested that perceptuomotor memory elicited by eye movement patterns during learning does not play an important role in recognition. In contrast, the retrieval of diagnostic information for recognition, such as the eyes for face recognition, is a better predictor for recognition performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A movement ecology paradigm for unifying organismal movement research.

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Nathan, Ran; Getz, Wayne M; Revilla, Eloy; Holyoak, Marcel; Kadmon, Ronen; Saltz, David; Smouse, Peter E

2008-12-09

Movement of individual organisms is fundamental to life, quilting our planet in a rich tapestry of phenomena with diverse implications for ecosystems and humans. Movement research is both plentiful and insightful, and recent methodological advances facilitate obtaining a detailed view of individual movement. Yet, we lack a general unifying paradigm, derived from first principles, which can place movement studies within a common context and advance the development of a mature scientific discipline. This introductory article to the Movement Ecology Special Feature proposes a paradigm that integrates conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and empirical frameworks for studying movement of all organisms, from microbes to trees to elephants. We introduce a conceptual framework depicting the interplay among four basic mechanistic components of organismal movement: the internal state (why move?), motion (how to move?), and navigation (when and where to move?) capacities of the individual and the external factors affecting movement. We demonstrate how the proposed framework aids the study of various taxa and movement types; promotes the formulation of hypotheses about movement; and complements existing biomechanical, cognitive, random, and optimality paradigms of movement. The proposed framework integrates eclectic research on movement into a structured paradigm and aims at providing a basis for hypothesis generation and a vehicle facilitating the understanding of the causes, mechanisms, and spatiotemporal patterns of movement and their role in various ecological and evolutionary processes. "Now we must consider in general the common reason for moving with any movement whatever." (Aristotle, De Motu Animalium, 4th century B.C.).

A completely CAD/CAM individual transmission device for electronic mandible movement registration.

Science.gov (United States)

Krey, Karl-Friedrich; Kordaß, Bernd; Ruge, Sebastian

The connection of a device for the registration of mandibular movements depends on the coupling of the teeth with a paraocclusal adapter. This is normally done by individualizing a prefabricated metal support, either directly on the patient or in the dental laboratory. The goal was to create an individual paraocclusal adapter by means of additive computer-assisted design/computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) procedures, and to test it clinically. Starting from intraoral scans of the maxillary and mandibular teeth, an individual paraocclusal adapter was constructed by combining an adapter piece adapted to the tooth and jaw shape with a prefabricated standard part. This article describes step by step the design using the 3D CAD software, up until production by means of 3D printing. Initial clinical experience is also discussed.

The Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Explosive Performance and Optimal Individual Postactivation Potentiation Time

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Chia-Chi Wang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Creatine plays an important role in muscle energy metabolism. Postactivation potentiation (PAP is a phenomenon that can acutely increase muscle power, but it is an individualized process that is influenced by muscle fatigue. This study examined the effects of creatine supplementation on explosive performance and the optimal individual PAP time during a set of complex training bouts. Thirty explosive athletes performed tests of back squat for one repetition maximum (1RM strength and complex training bouts for determining the individual optimal timing of PAP, height and peak power of a counter movement jump before and after the supplementation. Subjects were assigned to a creatine or placebo group and then consumed 20 g of creatine or carboxymethyl cellulose per day for six days. After the supplementation, the 1RM strength in the creatine group significantly increased (p < 0.05. The optimal individual PAP time in the creatine group was also significant earlier than the pre-supplementation and post-supplementation of the placebo group (p < 0.05. There was no significant difference in jump performance between the groups. This study demonstrates that creatine supplementation improves maximal muscle strength and the optimal individual PAP time of complex training but has no effect on explosive performance.

Computational Model-Based Prediction of Human Episodic Memory Performance Based on Eye Movements

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Sato, Naoyuki; Yamaguchi, Yoko

Subjects' episodic memory performance is not simply reflected by eye movements. We use a ‘theta phase coding’ model of the hippocampus to predict subjects' memory performance from their eye movements. Results demonstrate the ability of the model to predict subjects' memory performance. These studies provide a novel approach to computational modeling in the human-machine interface.

Single-leg squats can predict leg alignment in dancers performing ballet movements in "turnout".

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Hopper, Luke S; Sato, Nahoko; Weidemann, Andries L

2016-01-01

The physical assessments used in dance injury surveillance programs are often adapted from the sports and exercise domain. Bespoke physical assessments may be required for dance, particularly when ballet movements involve "turning out" or external rotation of the legs beyond that typically used in sports. This study evaluated the ability of the traditional single-leg squat to predict the leg alignment of dancers performing ballet movements with turnout. Three-dimensional kinematic data of dancers performing the single-leg squat and five ballet movements were recorded and analyzed. Reduction of the three-dimensional data into a one-dimensional variable incorporating the ankle, knee, and hip joint center positions provided the strongest predictive model between the single-leg squat and the ballet movements. The single-leg squat can predict leg alignment in dancers performing ballet movements, even in "turned out" postures. Clinicians should pay careful attention to observational positioning and rating criteria when assessing dancers performing the single-leg squat.

Modelling group dynamic animal movement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langrock, Roland; Hopcraft, J. Grant C.; Blackwell, Paul G.

2014-01-01

makes its movement decisions relative to the group centroid. The basic idea is framed within the flexible class of hidden Markov models, extending previous work on modelling animal movement by means of multi-state random walks. While in simulation experiments parameter estimators exhibit some bias......, to date, practical statistical methods which can include group dynamics in animal movement models have been lacking. We consider a flexible modelling framework that distinguishes a group-level model, describing the movement of the group's centre, and an individual-level model, such that each individual......Group dynamic movement is a fundamental aspect of many species' movements. The need to adequately model individuals' interactions with other group members has been recognised, particularly in order to differentiate the role of social forces in individual movement from environmental factors. However...

Automatic Human Movement Assessment With Switching Linear Dynamic System: Motion Segmentation and Motor Performance.

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de Souza Baptista, Roberto; Bo, Antonio P L; Hayashibe, Mitsuhiro

2017-06-01

Performance assessment of human movement is critical in diagnosis and motor-control rehabilitation. Recent developments in portable sensor technology enable clinicians to measure spatiotemporal aspects to aid in the neurological assessment. However, the extraction of quantitative information from such measurements is usually done manually through visual inspection. This paper presents a novel framework for automatic human movement assessment that executes segmentation and motor performance parameter extraction in time-series of measurements from a sequence of human movements. We use the elements of a Switching Linear Dynamic System model as building blocks to translate formal definitions and procedures from human movement analysis. Our approach provides a method for users with no expertise in signal processing to create models for movements using labeled dataset and later use it for automatic assessment. We validated our framework on preliminary tests involving six healthy adult subjects that executed common movements in functional tests and rehabilitation exercise sessions, such as sit-to-stand and lateral elevation of the arms and five elderly subjects, two of which with limited mobility, that executed the sit-to-stand movement. The proposed method worked on random motion sequences for the dual purpose of movement segmentation (accuracy of 72%-100%) and motor performance assessment (mean error of 0%-12%).

Effects of modified constraint-induced movement therapy on reach-to-grasp movements and functional performance after chronic stroke: a randomized controlled study.

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Lin, K-C; Wu, C-Y; Wei, T-H; Lee, C-Y; Liu, J-S

2007-12-01

To evaluate changes in (1) motor control characteristics of the hemiparetic hand during the performance of a functional reach-to-grasp task and (2) functional performance of daily activities in patients with stroke treated with modified constraint-induced movement therapy. Two-group randomized controlled trial with pretreatment and posttreatment measures. Rehabilitation clinics. Thirty-two chronic stroke patients (21 men, 11 women; mean age=57.9 years, range=43-81 years) 13-26 months (mean 16.3 months) after onset of a first-ever cerebrovascular accident. Thirty-two patients were randomized to receive modified constraint-induced movement therapy (restraint of the unaffected limb combined with intensive training of the affected limb) or traditional rehabilitation for three weeks. Kinematic analysis was used to assess motor control characteristics as patients reached to grasp a beverage can. Functional outcomes were evaluated using the Motor Activity Log and Functional Independence Measure. There were moderate and significant effects of modified constraint-induced movement therapy on some aspects of motor control of reach-to-grasp and on functional ability. The modified constraint-induced movement therapy group preplanned reaching and grasping (P=0.018) more efficiently and depended more on the feedforward control of reaching (P=0.046) than did the traditional rehabilitation group. The modified constraint-induced movement therapy group also showed significantly improved functional performance on the Motor Activity Log (Pcontrol strategy during goal-directed reaching, a possible mechanism for the improved movement performance of stroke patients undergoing this therapy.

Understanding movement data and movement processes: current and emerging directions.

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Schick, Robert S; Loarie, Scott R; Colchero, Fernando; Best, Benjamin D; Boustany, Andre; Conde, Dalia A; Halpin, Patrick N; Joppa, Lucas N; McClellan, Catherine M; Clark, James S

2008-12-01

Animal movement has been the focus on much theoretical and empirical work in ecology over the last 25 years. By studying the causes and consequences of individual movement, ecologists have gained greater insight into the behavior of individuals and the spatial dynamics of populations at increasingly higher levels of organization. In particular, ecologists have focused on the interaction between individuals and their environment in an effort to understand future impacts from habitat loss and climate change. Tools to examine this interaction have included: fractal analysis, first passage time, Lévy flights, multi-behavioral analysis, hidden markov models, and state-space models. Concurrent with the development of movement models has been an increase in the sophistication and availability of hierarchical bayesian models. In this review we bring these two threads together by using hierarchical structures as a framework for reviewing individual models. We synthesize emerging themes in movement ecology, and propose a new hierarchical model for animal movement that builds on these emerging themes. This model moves away from traditional random walks, and instead focuses inference on how moving animals with complex behavior interact with their landscape and make choices about its suitability.

Analyzing Movements Development and Evaluation of the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality (BAS MQ).

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Sundén, A; Ekdahl, C; Horstman, V; Gyllensten, A L

2016-06-01

Limitations in everyday movements, physical activities are/or pain are the main reasons for seeking help from a physiotherapist. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality (BAS MQ) focusing on factor structure, validity and reliability and to explore whether BAS MQ could discriminate between healthy individuals and patients. BAS MQ assesses both limitations and resources concerning functional ability and quality of movements. The total sample in the study (n = 172) consisted of individuals with hip osteoarthritis (OA) (n = 132), individuals with psychiatric disorders (n = 33) and healthy individuals (n = 7). A factor analysis of the BAS MQ was performed for the total group. Inter-rater reliability was tested in a group of individuals with hip OA (n = 24). Concurrent validity was tested in a group of individuals with hip OA (n = 89). The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and the Hip Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) were chosen in the validation process. The factor analysis revealed three factors that together explained 60.8% of the total variance of BAS MQ. The inter-rater reliability was considered good or very good with a kappa value of 0.61. Significant correlations between BAS MQ and SF-36, HOOS and 6MWT in the subjects with hip OA confirmed the validity. The BAS MQ was able to discriminate between healthy individuals and individuals with physical and psychiatric limitations. Results of the study revealed that BAS MQ has a satisfactory factor structure. The inter-rater reliability and validity were acceptable in a group of individuals with hip OA. BAS MQ could be a useful assessment tool for physiotherapists when evaluating the quality of everyday movements in different patient groups. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effects of Direction and Index of Difficulty on Aiming Movements after Stroke

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Paola Ribeiro Coqueiro

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Brain hemispheres play different roles in the control of aiming movements that are impaired after unilateral stroke. It is not clear whether those roles are influenced by the direction and the difficulty of the task. Objective. To evaluate the influence of direction and index of difficulty (ID of the task on performance of ipsilesional aiming movements after unilateral stroke. Methods. Ten individuals with right hemisphere stroke, ten with left hemisphere stroke, and ten age- and gender-matched controls performed the aiming movements on a digitizing tablet as fast as possible. Stroke individuals used their ipsilesional arm. The direction (ipsilateral or contralateral, size (0.8 or 1.6 cm, and distance (9 or 18 cm of the targets, presented on a monitor, were manipulated and determined to be of different ID (3.5, 4.5, and 5.5. Results. Individuals with right hemisphere lesion were more sensitive to ID of the task, affecting planning and final position accuracy. Left hemisphere lesion generated slower and less smooth movements and was more influenced by target distance. Contralateral movements and higher ID increased planning demands and hindered movement execution. Conclusion. Right and left hemisphere damages are differentially influenced by task constraints which suggest their complementary roles in the control of aiming movements.

Anticipatory synergy adjustments reflect individual performance of feedforward force control.

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Togo, Shunta; Imamizu, Hiroshi

2016-10-06

We grasp and dexterously manipulate an object through multi-digit synergy. In the framework of the uncontrolled manifold (UCM) hypothesis, multi-digit synergy is defined as the coordinated control mechanism of fingers to stabilize variable important for task success, e.g., total force. Previous studies reported anticipatory synergy adjustments (ASAs) that correspond to a drop of the synergy index before a quick change of the total force. The present study compared ASA's properties with individual performances of feedforward force control to investigate a relationship of those. Subjects performed a total finger force production task that consisted of a phase in which subjects tracked target line with visual information and a phase in which subjects produced total force pulse without visual information. We quantified their multi-digit synergy through UCM analysis and observed significant ASAs before producing total force pulse. The time of the ASA initiation and the magnitude of the drop of the synergy index were significantly correlated with the error of force pulse, but not with the tracking error. Almost all subjects showed a significant increase of the variance that affected the total force. Our study directly showed that ASA reflects the individual performance of feedforward force control independently of target-tracking performance and suggests that the multi-digit synergy was weakened to adjust the multi-digit movements based on a prediction error so as to reduce the future error. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Velocity-based movement modeling for individual and population level inference.

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Ephraim M Hanks

Full Text Available Understanding animal movement and resource selection provides important information about the ecology of the animal, but an animal's movement and behavior are not typically constant in time. We present a velocity-based approach for modeling animal movement in space and time that allows for temporal heterogeneity in an animal's response to the environment, allows for temporal irregularity in telemetry data, and accounts for the uncertainty in the location information. Population-level inference on movement patterns and resource selection can then be made through cluster analysis of the parameters related to movement and behavior. We illustrate this approach through a study of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus movement in the Bering Sea, Alaska, USA. Results show sex differentiation, with female northern fur seals exhibiting stronger response to environmental variables.

Individual variation in ontogenetic niche shifts in habitat use and movement patterns of a large estuarine predator (Carcharhinus leucas).

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Matich, Philip; Heithaus, Michael R

2015-06-01

Ontogenetic niche shifts are common among animals, yet most studies only investigate niche shifts at the population level, which may overlook considerable differences among individuals in the timing and dynamics of these shifts. Such divergent behaviors within size-/age-classes have important implications for the roles a population-and specific age-classes-play in their respective ecosystem(s). Using acoustic telemetry, we tracked the movements of juvenile bull sharks in the Shark River Estuary of Everglades National Park, Florida, and found that sharks increased their use of marine microhabitats with age to take advantage of more abundant resources, but continued to use freshwater and estuarine microhabitats as refuges from marine predators. Within this population-level ontogenetic niche shift, however, movement patterns varied among individual sharks, with 47 % of sharks exhibiting condition-dependent habitat use and 53 % appearing risk-averse regardless of body condition. Among sharks older than age 0, fifty percent made regular movements between adjacent regions of the estuary, while the other half made less predictable movements that often featured long-term residence in specific regions. Individual differences were apparently shaped by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including individual responses to food-risk trade-offs and body condition. These differences appear to develop early in the lives of bull sharks, and persist throughout their residencies in nursery habitats. The widespread occurrence of intraspecific variation in behavior among mobile taxa suggests it is important in shaping population dynamics of at least some species, and elucidating the contexts and timing in which it develops and persists is important for understanding its role within communities.

Single-leg squats can predict leg alignment in dancers performing ballet movements in “turnout”

Science.gov (United States)

Hopper, Luke S; Sato, Nahoko; Weidemann, Andries L

2016-01-01

The physical assessments used in dance injury surveillance programs are often adapted from the sports and exercise domain. Bespoke physical assessments may be required for dance, particularly when ballet movements involve “turning out” or external rotation of the legs beyond that typically used in sports. This study evaluated the ability of the traditional single-leg squat to predict the leg alignment of dancers performing ballet movements with turnout. Three-dimensional kinematic data of dancers performing the single-leg squat and five ballet movements were recorded and analyzed. Reduction of the three-dimensional data into a one-dimensional variable incorporating the ankle, knee, and hip joint center positions provided the strongest predictive model between the single-leg squat and the ballet movements. The single-leg squat can predict leg alignment in dancers performing ballet movements, even in “turned out” postures. Clinicians should pay careful attention to observational positioning and rating criteria when assessing dancers performing the single-leg squat. PMID:27895518

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT TESTS AND PERFORMANCE TESTS IN YOUNG ELITE MALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS.

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Gonzalo-Skok, Oliver; Serna, Jorge; Rhea, Matthew R; Marín, Pedro J

2015-10-01

Sprinting and jumping are two common and important components of high-level sport performance. The weight-bearing dorsiflexion test (WB-DF) and Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) are tools developed to identify athletes at risk for lower extremity injury and may be related to running and jumping performance among athletes. The purposes of the present study were: 1) to identify any relationships between functional movement tests (WB-DF and SEBT) and performance tests (jumping, sprinting and changing direction); 2) to examine any relationships between asymmetries in functional movements and performance tests. Descriptive cohort study. Fifteen elite male basketball players (age: 15.4 ± 0.9 years) were assessed during a three-week period to determine the reliability of functional screening tools and performance tests and to examine the relationships between these tests. Relative (intraclass correlation coefficient) and absolute (coefficient of variation) reliability were used to assess the reproducibility of the tests. Significant correlations were detected between certain functional movement tests and performance tests. Both left and right excursion composite scores related to slower performance times in sprint testing, demonstrating that greater dynamic reach relates to decreased quickness and acceleration among these elite basketball athletes. The various relationships between dynamic functional movement testing, speed, and jump performance provide guidance for the strength and conditioning professional when conducting and evaluating data in an effort to improve performance and reduce risk of injury. The results of the present study suggest that these functional and performance tests do not measure the same components of human movement, and could be paired as outcome measures for the clinical and sport assessment of lower extremity function. 2b.

Movement ecology: size-specific behavioral response of an invasive snail to food availability.

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Snider, Sunny B; Gilliam, James F

2008-07-01

Immigration, emigration, migration, and redistribution describe processes that involve movement of individuals. These movements are an essential part of contemporary ecological models, and understanding how movement is affected by biotic and abiotic factors is important for effectively modeling ecological processes that depend on movement. We asked how phenotypic heterogeneity (body size) and environmental heterogeneity (food resource level) affect the movement behavior of an aquatic snail (Tarebia granifera), and whether including these phenotypic and environmental effects improves advection-diffusion models of movement. We postulated various elaborations of the basic advection diffusion model as a priori working hypotheses. To test our hypotheses we measured individual snail movements in experimental streams at high- and low-food resource treatments. Using these experimental movement data, we examined the dependency of model selection on resource level and body size using Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC). At low resources, large individuals moved faster than small individuals, producing a platykurtic movement distribution; including size dependency in the model improved model performance. In stark contrast, at high resources, individuals moved upstream together as a wave, and body size differences largely disappeared. The model selection exercise indicated that population heterogeneity is best described by the advection component of movement for this species, because the top-ranked model included size dependency in advection, but not diffusion. Also, all probable models included resource dependency. Thus population and environmental heterogeneities both influence individual movement behaviors and the population-level distribution kernels, and their interaction may drive variation in movement behaviors in terms of both advection rates and diffusion rates. A behaviorally informed modeling framework will integrate the sentient response of individuals in terms of

Are the surgeon's movements repeatable? An analysis of the feasibility and expediency of implementing support procedures guiding the surgical tools and increasing motion accuracy during the performance of stereotypical movements by the surgeon.

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Podsędkowski, Leszek Robert; Moll, Jacek; Moll, Maciej; Frącczak, Łukasz

2014-03-01

The developments in surgical robotics suggest that it will be possible to entrust surgical robots with a wider range of tasks. So far, it has not been possible to automate the surgery procedures related to soft tissue. Thus, the objective of the conducted studies was to confirm the hypothesis that the surgery telemanipulator can be equipped with certain routines supporting the surgeon in leading the surgical tools and increasing motion accuracy during stereotypical movements. As the first step in facilitating the surgery, an algorithm will be developed which will concurrently provide automation and allow the surgeon to maintain full control over the slave robot. The algorithm will assist the surgeon in performing typical movement sequences. This kind of support must, however, be preceded by determining the reference points for accurately defining the position of the stitched tissue. It is in relation to these points that the tool's trajectory will be created, along which the master manipulator will guide the surgeon's hand. The paper presents the first stage, concerning the selection of movements for which the support algorithm will be used. The work also contains an analysis of surgical movement repeatability. The suturing movement was investigated in detail by experimental research in order to determine motion repeatability and verify the position of the stitched tissue. Tool trajectory was determined by a motion capture stereovision system. The study has demonstrated that the suturing movement could be considered as repeatable; however, the trajectories performed by different surgeons exhibit some individual characteristics.

Implicit and explicit learning: applications from basic research to sports for individuals with impaired movement dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steenbergen, B.; van der Kamp, J.; Verneau, M.M.N.; Jongbloed-Pereboom, M.; Masters, R.S.

2010-01-01

Purpose. Motor skills can be learned in an explicit or an implicit manner. Explicit learning places high demands on working memory capacity, but engagement of working memory is largely circumvented when skills are learned implicitly. We propose that individuals with impaired movement dynamics may

Implicit and explicit learning: applications from basic research to sports for individuals with impaired movement dynamics.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steenbergen, B.; Kamp, J. van der; Verneau, M.; Jongbloed-Pereboom, M.; Masters, R.S.

2010-01-01

PURPOSE: Motor skills can be learned in an explicit or an implicit manner. Explicit learning places high demands on working memory capacity, but engagement of working memory is largely circumvented when skills are learned implicitly. We propose that individuals with impaired movement dynamics may

Implicit and explicit learning: applications from basic research to sports for individuals with impaired movement dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steenbergen, B.; Kamp, J. van der; Verneau, M.; Jongbloed-Pereboom, M.; Masters, R.S.W.

2010-01-01

Purpose - Motor skills can be learned in an explicit or an implicit manner. Explicit learning places high demands on working memory capacity, but engagement of working memory is largely circumvented when skills are learned implicitly. We propose that individuals with impaired movement dynamics may

The Path to Presence in Performance through Movement, Physiological Response, and Mood

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Preeshl, Artemis; George, Gwen; Hicks, Wendy

2015-01-01

Presence may occur when actors are alert and relaxed in performance. A positive mood is associated with physical activity, but little is known about how movement qualities affect mood and vital signs of actors. This study examined the effects of vibratory, pendular, abrupt, and sustained movement qualities on the Brief Mood Introspection Scale,…

Social-movement analysis of the American antinuclear movement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ladd, A.E.

1981-01-01

Utilizing data from a survey of participants at the May 6, 1979 antinuclear rally in Washington, DC (N = 420), this dissertation explored some of the major structural and ideological characteristics of the American Antinuclear Movement. By organizing the data around three of the key analytical concepts in the study of social movements - mobilization, recruitment, and ideology - the author was able to derive from the demonstration sample a descriptive and illustrative analysis of those individuals, organizations, and processes involved in the national antinuclear crusade. Given that few researchers have actively studied the antinuclear movement beyond the scope of local or regional protests, this work constitutes the only empirical study to date examining a cross section of the movement's participants from a sociological perspective. It is also one of the few attempts to use a national demonstration as a social laboratory for the study of a social movement in general. In terms of the mobilization variables examined in the study, it was found that organizational networks, past movement activism, and individual resources were important factors in the May 6 mobilization effort. While less than one-half of the demonstrators were part of the antinuclear organizational network per se, most of them had been active in the major protest movements of the 1960's and 1970's. The demonstrators were relatively high in socio-economic resources and had occupational or educational schedules conducive to creating the necessary discretionary time for movement participation

Individual differences in impulsivity predict anticipatory eye movements.

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Laetitia Cirilli

Full Text Available Impulsivity is the tendency to act without forethought. It is a personality trait commonly used in the diagnosis of many psychiatric diseases. In clinical practice, impulsivity is estimated using written questionnaires. However, answers to questions might be subject to personal biases and misinterpretations. In order to alleviate this problem, eye movements could be used to study differences in decision processes related to impulsivity. Therefore, we investigated correlations between impulsivity scores obtained with a questionnaire in healthy subjects and characteristics of their anticipatory eye movements in a simple smooth pursuit task. Healthy subjects were asked to answer the UPPS questionnaire (Urgency Premeditation Perseverance and Sensation seeking Impulsive Behavior scale, which distinguishes four independent dimensions of impulsivity: Urgency, lack of Premeditation, lack of Perseverance, and Sensation seeking. The same subjects took part in an oculomotor task that consisted of pursuing a target that moved in a predictable direction. This task reliably evoked anticipatory saccades and smooth eye movements. We found that eye movement characteristics such as latency and velocity were significantly correlated with UPPS scores. The specific correlations between distinct UPPS factors and oculomotor anticipation parameters support the validity of the UPPS construct and corroborate neurobiological explanations for impulsivity. We suggest that the oculomotor approach of impulsivity put forth in the present study could help bridge the gap between psychiatry and physiology.

Dispersal, individual movement and spatial ecology a mathematical perspective

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Maini, Philip; Petrovskii, Sergei

2013-01-01

Dispersal of plants and animals is one of the most fascinating subjects in ecology. It has long been recognized as an important factor affecting ecosystem dynamics. Dispersal is apparently a phenomenon of biological origin; however, because of its complexity, it cannot be studied comprehensively by biological methods alone. Deeper insights into dispersal properties and implications require interdisciplinary approaches involving biologists, ecologists and mathematicians. The purpose of this book is to provide a forum for researches with different backgrounds and expertise and to ensure further advances in the study of dispersal and spatial ecology. This book is unique in its attempt to give an overview of dispersal studies across different spatial scales, such as the scale of individual movement, the population scale and the scale of communities and ecosystems. It is written by top-level experts in the field of dispersal modeling and covers a wide range of problems ranging from the identification of Levy walks...

Eye movements during the handwriting of words: Individually and within sentences.

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Sita, Jodi C; Taylor, Katelyn A

2015-10-01

Handwriting, a complex motor process involves the coordination of both the upper limb and visual system. The gaze behavior that occurs during the handwriting process is an area that has been little studied. This study investigated the eye-movements of adults during writing and reading tasks. Eye and handwriting movements were recorded for six different words over three different tasks. The results compared reading and handwriting the same words, a between condition comparison and a comparison between the two handwriting tasks. Compared to reading, participants produced more fixations during handwriting tasks and the average fixation durations were longer. When reading fixations were found to be mostly around the center of word, whereas fixations when writing appear to be made for each letter in a written word and were located around the base of letters and flowed in a left to right direction. Between the two writing tasks more fixations were made when words were written individually compared to within sentences, yet fixation durations were no different. Correlation of the number of fixations made to kinematic variables revealed that horizontal size and road length held a strong correlation with the number of fixations made by participants. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bodily Movement and Facial Actions in Expressive Musical Performance by Solo and Duo Instrumentalists: Two Distinctive Case Studies

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Davidson, Jane W.

2012-01-01

The research literature concerning gesture in musical performance increasingly reports that musically communicative and meaningful performances contain highly expressive bodily movements. These movements are involved in the generation of the musically expressive performance, but enquiry into the development of expressive bodily movement has been…

Motor performance of individuals with cerebral palsy in a virtual game using a mobile phone.

Science.gov (United States)

de Paula, Juliana Nobre; de Mello Monteiro, Carlos Bandeira; da Silva, Talita Dias; Capelini, Camila Miliani; de Menezes, Lilian Del Cielo; Massetti, Thais; Tonks, James; Watson, Suzanna; Nicolai Ré, Alessandro Hervaldo

2017-11-01

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a permanent disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture that is caused by damage to the immature and developing brain. Research has shown that Virtual Reality (VR) technology can be used in rehabilitation to support the acquisition of motor skills and the achievement of functional tasks. The aim of this study was to explore for improvements in the performance of individuals with CP with practice in the use of a virtual game on a mobile phone and to compare their performance with that of the control group. Twenty-five individuals with CP were matched for age and sex with twenty-five, typically developing individuals. Participants were asked to complete a VR maze task as fast as possible on a mobile phone. All participants performed 20 repetitions in the acquisition phase, five repetitions for retention and five more repetitions for transfer tests, in order to evaluate motor learning from the task. The CP group improved their performance in the acquisition phase and maintained the performance, which was shown by the retention test; in addition, they were able to transfer the performance acquired in an opposite maze path. The CP group had longer task-execution compared to the control group for all phases of the study. Individuals with cerebral palsy were able to learn a virtual reality game (maze task) using a mobile phone, and despite their differences from the control group, this kind of device offers new possibilities for use to improve function. Implications for rehabilitation A virtual game on a mobile phone can enable individuals with Cerebral Palsy (CP) to improve performance. This illustrates the potential for use of mobile phone games to improve function. Individuals with CP had poorer performance than individuals without CP, but they demonstrated immediate improvements from using a mobile phone device. Individuals with CP were able to transfer their skills to a similar task indicating that they were able to learn these motor skills by

Single-leg squats can predict leg alignment in dancers performing ballet movements in “turnout”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hopper LS

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Luke S Hopper,1 Nahoko Sato,2 Andries L Weidemann1 1Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, WA, Australia; 2Department of Physical Therapy, Nagoya Gakuin University, Seto, Japan Abstract: The physical assessments used in dance injury surveillance programs are often adapted from the sports and exercise domain. Bespoke physical assessments may be required for dance, particularly when ballet movements involve “turning out” or external rotation of the legs beyond that typically used in sports. This study evaluated the ability of the traditional single-leg squat to predict the leg alignment of dancers performing ballet movements with turnout. Three-dimensional kinematic data of dancers performing the single-leg squat and five ballet movements were recorded and analyzed. Reduction of the three-dimensional data into a one-dimensional variable incorporating the ankle, knee, and hip joint center positions provided the strongest predictive model between the single-leg squat and the ballet movements. The single-leg squat can predict leg alignment in dancers performing ballet movements, even in “turned out” postures. Clinicians should pay careful attention to observational positioning and rating criteria when assessing dancers performing the single-leg squat. Keywords: injury, motion capture, clinical assessment

Gesturing during mental problem solving reduces eye movements, especially for individuals with lower visual working memory capacity.

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Pouw, Wim T J L; Mavilidi, Myrto-Foteini; van Gog, Tamara; Paas, Fred

2016-08-01

Non-communicative hand gestures have been found to benefit problem-solving performance. These gestures seem to compensate for limited internal cognitive capacities, such as visual working memory capacity. Yet, it is not clear how gestures might perform this cognitive function. One hypothesis is that gesturing is a means to spatially index mental simulations, thereby reducing the need for visually projecting the mental simulation onto the visual presentation of the task. If that hypothesis is correct, less eye movements should be made when participants gesture during problem solving than when they do not gesture. We therefore used mobile eye tracking to investigate the effect of co-thought gesturing and visual working memory capacity on eye movements during mental solving of the Tower of Hanoi problem. Results revealed that gesturing indeed reduced the number of eye movements (lower saccade counts), especially for participants with a relatively lower visual working memory capacity. Subsequent problem-solving performance was not affected by having (not) gestured during the mental solving phase. The current findings suggest that our understanding of gestures in problem solving could be improved by taking into account eye movements during gesturing.

Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in a naturalistic schizophrenia population: diagnostic value of actometric movement patterns.

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Janno, Sven; Holi, Matti M; Tuisku, Katinka; Wahlbeck, Kristian

2008-04-18

Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders (NIMDs) have overlapping co-morbidity. Earlier studies have described typical clinical movement patterns for individual NIMDs. This study aimed to identify specific movement patterns for each individual NIMD using actometry. A naturalistic population of 99 schizophrenia inpatients using conventional antipsychotics and clozapine was evaluated. Subjects with NIMDs were categorized using the criteria for NIMD found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).Two blinded raters evaluated the actometric-controlled rest activity data for activity periods, rhythmical activity, frequencies, and highest acceleration peaks. A simple subjective question was formulated to test patient-based evaluation of NIMD. The patterns of neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA) and pseudoakathisia (PsA) were identifiable in actometry with excellent inter-rater reliability. The answers to the subjective question about troubles with movements distinguished NIA patients from other patients rather well. Also actometry had rather good screening performances in distinguishing akathisia from other NIMD. Actometry was not able to reliably detect patterns of neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia. The present study showed that pooled NIA and PsA patients had a different pattern in lower limb descriptive actometry than other patients in a non-selected sample. Careful questioning of patients is a useful method of diagnosing NIA in a clinical setting.

An Objective Functional Characterisation of Head Movement Impairment in Individuals with Neck Muscle Weakness Due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Pancani

Full Text Available Neck muscle weakness and head drop are well recognised in patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, but an objective characterisation of the consequent head movement impairment is lacking. The aim of this study was to quantitatively characterise head movements in ALS compared to aged matched controls.We evaluated two groups, one of thirteen patients with ALS and one of thirteen age-matched controls, during the execution of a series of controlled head movements, performed while wearing two inertial sensors attached on the forehead and sternum, respectively. We quantified the differences between the two groups from the sensor data using indices of velocity, smoothness and movement coupling (intended as a measure of undesired out of plane movements.Results confirmed a general limitation in the ability of the ALS patients to perform and control head movements. High inter-patient variability was observed due to a wide range of observed functional impairment levels. The ability to extend the head backward and flex it laterally were the most compromised, with significantly lower angular velocity (P 0.8, reduced smoothness and greater presence of coupled movements with respect to the controls. A significant reduction of angular velocity (P 0.8 in extension, axial rotation and lateral flexion was observed when patients were asked to perform the movements as fast as possible.This pilot study is the first study providing a functional objective quantification of head movements in ALS. Further work involving different body areas and correlation with existing methods of evaluating neuromuscular function, such as dynamometry and EMG, is needed to explore the use of this approach as a marker of disease progression in ALS.

Development of an Individual Work Performance Questionnaire

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Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; van Buuren, S.; van der Beek, A.J.; de Vet, H.C.W.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to develop a generic and short questionnaire to measure work performance at the individual level – the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ). The IWPQ was based on a four-dimensional conceptual framework, in which individual work performance consisted

Impact of individually controlled facially applied air movement on perceived air quality at high humidity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skwarczynski, M.A. [Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Environmental Protection Engineering, Department of Indoor Environment Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Lublin (Poland); International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen (Denmark); Melikov, A.K.; Lyubenova, V. [International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen (Denmark); Kaczmarczyk, J. [Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice (Poland)

2010-10-15

The effect of facially applied air movement on perceived air quality (PAQ) at high humidity was studied. Thirty subjects (21 males and 9 females) participated in three, 3-h experiments performed in a climate chamber. The experimental conditions covered three combinations of relative humidity and local air velocity under a constant air temperature of 26 C, namely: 70% relative humidity without air movement, 30% relative humidity without air movement and 70% relative humidity with air movement under isothermal conditions. Personalized ventilation was used to supply room air from the front toward the upper part of the body (upper chest, head). The subjects could control the flow rate (velocity) of the supplied air in the vicinity of their bodies. The results indicate an airflow with elevated velocity applied to the face significantly improves the acceptability of the air quality at the room air temperature of 26 C and relative humidity of 70%. (author)

The movement kinematics and learning strategies associated with adopting different foci of attention during both acquisition and anxious performance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavin Peter Lawrence

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Research suggests that implicit strategies adopted during learning help prevent breakdown of automatic processes and subsequent performance decrements associated with the presence of pressure. According to the Constrained Action Hypothesis, automaticity of movement is promoted when adopting an external focus of attention. The purpose of the current experiment was to investigate if learning with an external focus of attention can enhance performance under subsequent pressure situations through promoting implicit learning and automaticity. Since previous research has generally used outcome measures of performance, the current study adopted measures of movement production. Specifically, we calculated within subject variability in trajectory velocity and distance travelled every 10% of movement time. This detailed kinematic analysis allowed investigation into some of the previously unexplored mechanisms responsible for the benefits of adopting an external focus of attention. Novice participants performed a 2.5m golf putt. Following a pre-test, participants were randomly assigned to one of three focus groups (internal, external, control. Participants then completed 400 acquisition trials over two consecutive days before being subjected to both a low-anxiety and high-anxiety transfer test. Dependent variables included variability, number of successful putts and mean radial error. Results revealed that variability was greater in the internal compared to the external and control groups. Putting performance revealed that all groups increased performance following acquisition. However, only the control group demonstrated a decrement in performance in the high-anxiety transfer test. These findings suggest that adopting an appropriate focus of attention during learning can prevent choking; with an external focus inhibiting the breakdown of automatic processes and an internal focus acting as a self-focus learning strategy and thus desensitizing individuals

Lower limb joint motion during a cross cutting movement differs in individuals with and without chronic ankle instability.

Science.gov (United States)

Koshino, Yuta; Yamanaka, Masanori; Ezawa, Yuya; Ishida, Tomoya; Kobayashi, Takumi; Samukawa, Mina; Saito, Hiroshi; Takeda, Naoki

2014-11-01

To compare the kinematics of lower limb joints between individuals with and without chronic ankle instability (CAI) during cross-turn and -cutting movements. Cross-sectional study. Motion analysis laboratory. Twelve subjects with CAI and twelve healthy controls. Hip flexion, adduction, and internal rotation, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion and inversion angles were calculated in the 200 ms before initial ground contact and from initial ground contact to toe-off (stance phase) in a cross-turn movement during gait and a cross-cutting movement from a forward jump, and compared across the two groups. In the cross-cutting movement, the CAI group exhibited greater hip and knee flexion than the control group during the stance phase, and more hip abduction during the period before initial contact and the stance phase. In the cross-turn movement the joint kinematics were similar in the two groups. CAI subjects exhibited an altered pattern of the proximal joint kinematics during a cross-cutting movement. It is important for clinicians to assess the function of the hip and knee as well as the ankle, and to incorporate coordination training for the entire lower limb into rehabilitation after lateral ankle sprains. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consistent Individual Differences Drive Collective Behavior and Group Functioning of Schooling Fish.

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Jolles, Jolle W; Boogert, Neeltje J; Sridhar, Vivek H; Couzin, Iain D; Manica, Andrea

2017-09-25

The ubiquity of consistent inter-individual differences in behavior ("animal personalities") [1, 2] suggests that they might play a fundamental role in driving the movements and functioning of animal groups [3, 4], including their collective decision-making, foraging performance, and predator avoidance. Despite increasing evidence that highlights their importance [5-16], we still lack a unified mechanistic framework to explain and to predict how consistent inter-individual differences may drive collective behavior. Here we investigate how the structure, leadership, movement dynamics, and foraging performance of groups can emerge from inter-individual differences by high-resolution tracking of known behavioral types in free-swimming stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) shoals. We show that individual's propensity to stay near others, measured by a classic "sociability" assay, was negatively linked to swim speed across a range of contexts, and predicted spatial positioning and leadership within groups as well as differences in structure and movement dynamics between groups. In turn, this trait, together with individual's exploratory tendency, measured by a classic "boldness" assay, explained individual and group foraging performance. These effects of consistent individual differences on group-level states emerged naturally from a generic model of self-organizing groups composed of individuals differing in speed and goal-orientedness. Our study provides experimental and theoretical evidence for a simple mechanism to explain the emergence of collective behavior from consistent individual differences, including variation in the structure, leadership, movement dynamics, and functional capabilities of groups, across social and ecological scales. In addition, we demonstrate individual performance is conditional on group composition, indicating how social selection may drive behavioral differentiation between individuals. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by

Normal movement selectivity in autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinstein, Ilan; Thomas, Cibu; Humphreys, Kate; Minshew, Nancy; Behrmann, Marlene; Heeger, David J

2010-05-13

It has been proposed that individuals with autism have difficulties understanding the goals and intentions of others because of a fundamental dysfunction in the mirror neuron system. Here, however, we show that individuals with autism exhibited not only normal fMRI responses in mirror system areas during observation and execution of hand movements but also exhibited typical movement-selective adaptation (repetition suppression) when observing or executing the same movement repeatedly. Movement selectivity is a defining characteristic of neurons involved in movement perception, including mirror neurons, and, as such, these findings argue against a mirror system dysfunction in autism. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Normal Movement Selectivity in Autism

OpenAIRE

Dinstein, Ilan; Thomas, Cibu; Humphreys, Kate; Minshew, Nancy; Behrmann, Marlene; Heeger, David J.

2010-01-01

It has been proposed that individuals with autism have difficulties understanding the goals and intentions of others because of a fundamental dysfunction in the mirror neuron system. Here, however, we show that individuals with autism exhibited not only normal fMRI responses in mirror system areas during observation and execution of hand movements, but also exhibited typical movement-selective adaptation (repetition suppression) when observing or executing the same movement repeatedly. Moveme...

Recognition of Repetitive Movement Patterns—The Case of Football Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Udo Feuerhake

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Analyzing sports like football is interesting not only for the sports team itself, but also for the public and the media. Both have recognized that using more detailed analyses of the teams’ behavior increases their attractiveness and also their performance. For this reason, the games and the individual players are recorded using specially developed tracking systems. The tracking solution usually comes with elementary analysis software allowing for basic statistical information extraction. Going beyond these simple statistics is a challenging task. However, it is worthwhile when it provides a better view into the tactics of team or the typical movements of an individual player. In this paper an approach for the recognition of movement patterns as an advanced analysis method is presented, which uses the players’ trajectories as input data. Besides individual movement patterns it is also able to detect patterns in relation to group movements. A detailed description is followed by a discussion of the approach, where different experiments on real trajectory datasets, even from other contexts than football, show the method’s benefits and features.

Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in a naturalistic schizophrenia population: diagnostic value of actometric movement patterns

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Tuisku Katinka

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders (NIMDs have overlapping co-morbidity. Earlier studies have described typical clinical movement patterns for individual NIMDs. This study aimed to identify specific movement patterns for each individual NIMD using actometry. Methods A naturalistic population of 99 schizophrenia inpatients using conventional antipsychotics and clozapine was evaluated. Subjects with NIMDs were categorized using the criteria for NIMD found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM-IV. Two blinded raters evaluated the actometric-controlled rest activity data for activity periods, rhythmical activity, frequencies, and highest acceleration peaks. A simple subjective question was formulated to test patient-based evaluation of NIMD. Results The patterns of neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA and pseudoakathisia (PsA were identifiable in actometry with excellent inter-rater reliability. The answers to the subjective question about troubles with movements distinguished NIA patients from other patients rather well. Also actometry had rather good screening performances in distinguishing akathisia from other NIMD. Actometry was not able to reliably detect patterns of neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia. Conclusion The present study showed that pooled NIA and PsA patients had a different pattern in lower limb descriptive actometry than other patients in a non-selected sample. Careful questioning of patients is a useful method of diagnosing NIA in a clinical setting.

Conscious motor processing and movement self-consciousness: two dimensions of personality that influence laparoscopic training.

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Malhotra, Neha; Poolton, Jamie M; Wilson, Mark R; Fan, Joe K M; Masters, Rich S W

2014-01-01

Identifying personality factors that account for individual differences in surgical training and performance has practical implications for surgical education. Movement-specific reinvestment is a potentially relevant personality factor that has a moderating effect on laparoscopic performance under time pressure. Movement-specific reinvestment has 2 dimensions, which represent an individual's propensity to consciously control movements (conscious motor processing) or to consciously monitor their 'style' of movement (movement self-consciousness). This study aimed at investigating the moderating effects of the 2 dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment in the learning and updating (cross-handed technique) of laparoscopic skills. Medical students completed the Movement-Specific Reinvestment Scale, a psychometric assessment tool that evaluates the conscious motor processing and movement self-consciousness dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment. They were then trained to a criterion level of proficiency on a fundamental laparoscopic skills task and were tested on a novel cross-handed technique. Completion times were recorded for early-learning, late-learning, and cross-handed trials. Propensity for movement self-consciousness but not conscious motor processing was a significant predictor of task completion times both early (p = 0.036) and late (p = 0.002) in learning, but completion times during the cross-handed trials were predicted by the propensity for conscious motor processing (p = 0.04) rather than movement self-consciousness (p = 0.21). Higher propensity for movement self-consciousness is associated with slower performance times on novel and well-practiced laparoscopic tasks. For complex surgical techniques, however, conscious motor processing plays a more influential role in performance than movement self-consciousness. The findings imply that these 2 dimensions of movement-specific reinvestment have a differential influence in the learning and updating

Spontaneous group synchronization of movements and respiratory rhythms.

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Erwan Codrons

Full Text Available We tested whether pre-assigned arm movements performed in a group setting spontaneously synchronized and whether synchronization extended to heart and respiratory rhythms. We monitored arm movements, respiration and electrocardiogram at rest and during spontaneous, music and metronome-associated arm-swinging. No directions were given on whether or how the arm swinging were to be synchronized between participants or with the external cues. Synchronization within 3 groups of 10 participants studied collectively was compared with pseudo-synchronization of 3 groups of 10 participants that underwent an identical protocol but in an individual setting. Motor synchronization was found to be higher in the collective groups than in the individuals for the metronome-associated condition. On a repetition of the protocol on the following day, motor synchronization in the collective groups extended to the spontaneous, un-cued condition. Breathing was also more synchronized in the collective groups than in the individuals, particularly at rest and in the music-associated condition. Group synchronization occurs without explicit instructions, and involves both movements and respiratory control rhythms.

Hidden Markov model analysis reveals the advantage of analytic eye movement patterns in face recognition across cultures.

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Chuk, Tim; Crookes, Kate; Hayward, William G; Chan, Antoni B; Hsiao, Janet H

2017-12-01

It remains controversial whether culture modulates eye movement behavior in face recognition. Inconsistent results have been reported regarding whether cultural differences in eye movement patterns exist, whether these differences affect recognition performance, and whether participants use similar eye movement patterns when viewing faces from different ethnicities. These inconsistencies may be due to substantial individual differences in eye movement patterns within a cultural group. Here we addressed this issue by conducting individual-level eye movement data analysis using hidden Markov models (HMMs). Each individual's eye movements were modeled with an HMM. We clustered the individual HMMs according to their similarities and discovered three common patterns in both Asian and Caucasian participants: holistic (looking mostly at the face center), left-eye-biased analytic (looking mostly at the two individual eyes in addition to the face center with a slight bias to the left eye), and right-eye-based analytic (looking mostly at the right eye in addition to the face center). The frequency of participants adopting the three patterns did not differ significantly between Asians and Caucasians, suggesting little modulation from culture. Significantly more participants (75%) showed similar eye movement patterns when viewing own- and other-race faces than different patterns. Most importantly, participants with left-eye-biased analytic patterns performed significantly better than those using either holistic or right-eye-biased analytic patterns. These results suggest that active retrieval of facial feature information through an analytic eye movement pattern may be optimal for face recognition regardless of culture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Slow pre-movement cortical potentials do not reflect individual response to therapy in writer's cramp

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeuner, K E; Peller, M; Knutzen, A

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether movement-related cortical potentials (MRCP) provide a physiological correlate that indicates the response to treatment in patients with writer's cramp. METHODS: In 21 patients with writer's cramp, who underwent 4 weeks of limb immobilization followed by re...... apart. RESULTS: Patients benefited from the therapeutical intervention (Zeuner et al., 2008). They showed no abnormalities of the MRCPs at baseline. In controls, MRCPs did not significantly change after 4 weeks. In patients, immobilization and re-training had no effect on MRCPs. There was no correlation......-training for 8 weeks, we recorded MRCPs preceding a self-initiated brisk finger abduction movement. MRCP measurements of pre-movement activity were performed at baseline, after the end of immobilization and four and 8 weeks of re-training. We examined 12 controls, who received no intervention, twice 4 weeks...

A little elastic for a better performance: kinesiotaping of the motor effector modulates neural mechanisms for rhythmic movements.

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Bravi, Riccardo; Quarta, Eros; Cohen, Erez J; Gottard, Anna; Minciacchi, Diego

2014-01-01

A rhythmic motor performance is brought about by an integration of timing information with movements. Investigations on the millisecond time scale distinguish two forms of time control, event-based timing and emergent timing. While event-based timing asserts the existence of a central internal timekeeper for the control of repetitive movements, the emergent timing perspective claims that timing emerges from dynamic control of nontemporal movements parameters. We have recently demonstrated that the precision of an isochronous performance, defined as performance of repeated movements having a uniform duration, was insensible to auditory stimuli of various characteristics (Bravi et al., 2014). Such finding has led us to investigate whether the application of an elastic therapeutic tape (Kinesio® Tex taping; KTT) used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of physical disorders, is able to reduce the timing variability of repetitive rhythmic movement. Young healthy subjects, tested with and without KTT, have participated in sessions in which sets of repeated isochronous wrist's flexion-extensions (IWFEs) were performed under various auditory conditions and during their recall. Kinematics was recorded and temporal parameters were extracted and analyzed. Our results show that the application of KTT decreases the variability of rhythmic movements by a 2-fold effect: on the one hand KTT provides extra proprioceptive information activating cutaneous mechanoreceptors, on the other KTT biases toward the emergent timing thus modulating the processes for rhythmic movements. Therefore, KTT appears able to render movements less audio dependent by relieving, at least partially, the central structures from time control and making available more resources for an augmented performance.

A little elastic for a better performance: kinesiotaping of the motor effector modulates neural mechanisms for rhythmic movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riccardo eBravi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available A rhythmic motor performance is brought about by an integration of timing information with movements. Investigations on the millisecond time scale distinguish two forms of time control, event-based timing and emergent timing. While event-based timing asserts the existence of a central internal timekeeper for the control of repetitive movements, the emergent timing perspective claims that timing emerges from dynamic control of nontemporal movements parameters. We have recently demonstrated that the precision of an isochronous performance, defined as performance of repeated movements having a uniform duration, was insensible to auditory stimuli of various characteristics (Bravi et al., 2014. Such finding has led us to investigate whether the application of an elastic therapeutic tape (Kinesio® Tex taping; KTT used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of physical disorders, is able to reduce the timing variability of repetitive rhythmic movement. Young healthy subjects, tested with and without KTT, have participated in sessions in which sets of repeated isochronous wrist's flexion-extensions (IWFEs were performed under various auditory conditions and during their recall. Kinematics was recorded and temporal parameters were extracted and analyzed. Our results show that the application of KTT decreases the variability of rhythmic movements by a twofold effect: on the one hand KTT provides extra proprioceptive information activating cutaneous mechanoreceptors, on the other KTT biases toward the emergent timing thus modulating the processes for rhythmic movements. Therefore, KTT appears able to render movements less audio dependent by relieving, at least partially, the central structures from time control and making available more resources for an augmented performance.

Fundamental movement skill performance of preschool children in relation to family context.

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Cools, Wouter; De Martelaer, Kristine; Samaey, Christiane; Andries, Caroline

2011-04-01

Evidence suggests the development of fundamental movement skill (FMS) is a key factor in promoting long-term physical activity. Low levels of activity among preschool children and the relationship between physical activity and the development of fundamental movement skills underline the need to determine the factors associated with children's development of such skills. As parents play an important role in the socialization process, the aim of this study was to examine correlates of family and neighbourhood characteristics as well as parental behaviour and beliefs on FMS performance in 4- to 6-year-old preschool children. Relationships between preschool children's FMS performance and family contextual variables were examined within a sample of 846 preschool children. Results identified positive associations of FMS performance with parental education, father's physical activity, transport to school by bicycle, and the high value placed by parents high on sport-specific aspects of children's physical activity. Variables negatively associated with preschool children's FMS performance included father-child interaction in TV-viewing and reading books, the high importance placed by parents on winning and performance in children's physical activity. Furthermore, the ambiguity of associations between FMS performance and parental beliefs underlined its complexity.

Examination of the gamma equilibrium point hypothesis when applied to single degree of freedom movements performed with different inertial loads.

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Bellomo, A; Inbar, G

1997-01-01

One of the theories of human motor control is the gamma Equilibrium Point Hypothesis. It is an attractive theory since it offers an easy control scheme where the planned trajectory shifts monotionically from an initial to a final equilibrium state. The feasibility of this model was tested by reconstructing the virtual trajectory and the stiffness profiles for movements performed with different inertial loads and examining them. Three types of movements were tested: passive movements, targeted movements, and repetitive movements. Each of the movements was performed with five different inertial loads. Plausible virtual trajectories and stiffness profiles were reconstructed based on the gamma Equilibrium Point Hypothesis for the three different types of movements performed with different inertial loads. However, the simple control strategy supported by the model, where the planned trajectory shifts monotonically from an initial to a final equilibrium state, could not be supported for targeted movements performed with added inertial load. To test the feasibility of the model further we must examine the probability that the human motor control system would choose a trajectory more complicated than the actual trajectory to control.

Pike (Esox lucius L.) on the edge: consistent individual movement patterns in transitional waters of the western Baltic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Lene; Bekkevold, Dorte; Berg, Søren

2017-01-01

salinity) would perform spawning- and feeding-related movements between areas with different salinity regimes. Twenty-two pike were caught prior to spawning, tagged with acoustic transmitters, and their movements were tracked for 18 months. Pike showed two main patterns of movements that were consistent......-varied with either length or condition factor. Despite the fact that the lagoon’s salinity is close to the reported upper limit for pike egg development, results indicated that all pike spawned in the lagoon. Correspondingly, genetic data showed that all fish belonged to the same reproductive population unit...

MODIFIED FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREENING AS A PREDICTOR OF TACTICAL PERFORMANCE POTENTIAL IN RECREATIONALLY ACTIVE ADULTS.

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Glass, Stephen M; Ross, Scott E

2015-10-01

Failure to meet minimum performance standards is a leading cause of attrition from basic combat training. A standardized assessment such as the Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS™) could help identify movement behaviors relevant to physical performance in tactical occupations. Previous work has demonstrated only marginal association between FMS™ tests and performance outcomes, but adding a load challenge to this movement assessment may help highlight performance-limiting behaviors. The purposes of this investigation were to quantify the effect of load on FMS™ tests and determine the extent to which performance outcomes could be predicted using scores from both loaded and unloaded FMS™ conditions. Crossover Trial. Thirteen female and six male recreationally active college students (21 ± 1.37 years, 168 ± 9.8 cm, 66 ± 12.25 kg) completed the FMS™ under (1) a control condition (FMS™C), and (2) an 18.10kg weight vest condition (FMS™W). Balance was assessed using a force plate in double-legged stance and tactical physical performance was evaluated via completion times in a battery of field tests. For each condition, penalized regression was used to select models from the seven FMS™ component tests to predict balance and performance outcomes. Data were collected during a single session lasting approximately three hours per participant. For balance, significant predictors were identified from both conditions but primarily predicted poorer balance with increasing FMS™ scores. For tactical performance, models were retained almost exclusively from FMS™W and generally predicted better performance with higher item scores. The current results suggest that FMS™ screening with an external load could help predict performance relevant to tactical occupations. Sports medicine and fitness professionals interested in performance outcomes may consider assessing movement behaviors under a load. 3.

Animal movement in the absence of predation: environmental drivers of movement strategies in a partial migration system

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Bastille-Rousseau, Guillaume; Gibbs, James P.; Yackulic, Charles B.; Frair, Jacqueline L.; Cabrera, Fredy; Rousseau, Louis-Philippe

2016-01-01

Animal movement strategies including migration, dispersal, nomadism, and residency are shaped by broad-scale spatial-temporal structuring of the environment, including factors such as the degrees of spatial variation, seasonality and inter-annual predictability. Animal movement strategies, in turn, interact with the characteristics of individuals and the local distribution of resources to determine local patterns of resource selection with complex and poorly understood implications for animal fitness. Here we present a multi-scale investigation of animal movement strategies and resource selection. We consider the degree to which spatial variation, seasonality, and inter-annual predictability in resources drive migration patterns among different taxa and how movement strategies in turn shape local resource selection patterns. We focus on adult Galapagos giant tortoises Chelonoidis spp. as a model system since they display many movement strategies and evolved in the absence of predators of adults. Specifically, our analysis is based on 63 individuals among four taxa tracked on three islands over six years and almost 106 tortoise re-locations. Tortoises displayed a continuum of movement strategies from migration to sedentarism that were linked to the spatio-temporal scale and predictability of resource distributions. Movement strategies shaped patterns of resource selection. Specifically, migratory individuals displayed stronger selection toward areas where resources were more predictable among years than did non-migratory individuals, which indicates a selective advantage for migrants in seasonally structured, more predictable environments. Our analytical framework combines large-scale predictions for movement strategies, based on environmental structuring, with finer-scale analysis of space-use. Integrating different organizational levels of analysis provides a deeper understanding of the eco-evolutionary dynamics at play in the emergence and maintenance of

Kinematic Differences During Single-Leg Step-Down Between Individuals With Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome and Individuals Without Hip Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Cara L; Loverro, Kari L; Khuu, Anne

2018-04-01

Study Design Controlled laboratory study, case-control design. Background Despite recognition that femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) is a movement-related disorder, few studies have examined dynamic unilateral tasks in individuals with FAIS. Objectives To determine whether movements of the pelvis and lower extremities in individuals with FAIS differ from those in individuals without hip pain during a single-leg step-down, and to analyze kinematic differences between male and female participants within groups. Methods Individuals with FAIS and individuals without hip pain performed a single-leg step-down while kinematic data were collected. Kinematics were evaluated at 60° of knee flexion. A linear regression analysis assessed the main effects of group, sex, and side, and the interaction of sex by group. Results Twenty individuals with FAIS and 40 individuals without hip pain participated. Individuals with FAIS performed the step-down with greater hip flexion (4.9°; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.5°, 9.2°) and anterior pelvic tilt (4.1°; 95% CI: 0.9°, 7.3°) than individuals without hip pain. Across groups, female participants performed the task with more hip flexion (6.1°; 95% CI: 1.7°, 10.4°), hip adduction (4.8°; 95% CI: 2.2°, 7.4°), anterior pelvic tilt (5.8°; 95% CI: 2.6°, 9.0°), pelvic drop (1.4°; 95% CI: 0.3°, 2.5°), and thigh adduction (2.7°; 95% CI: 1.3°, 4.2°) than male participants. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that individuals with FAIS have alterations in pelvic motion during a dynamic unilateral task. The noted altered movement patterns in the FAIS group may contribute to the development of hip pain and may be due to impairments that are modifiable through rehabilitation. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(4):270-279. Epub 6 Mar 2018. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.7794.

[Dance/Movement Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenichel, Emily, Ed.

1994-01-01

This newsletter theme issue focuses on dance, play, and movement therapy for infants and toddlers with disabilities. Individual articles are: "Join My Dance: The Unique Movement Style of Each Infant and Toddler Can Invite Communication, Expression and Intervention" (Suzi Tortora); "Dynamic Play Therapy: An Integrated Expressive Arts Approach to…

Protest movements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rucht, D.

1989-01-01

The author describes the development of protest movements in postwar Germay and outlines two essential overlapping 'flow cycles'. The first of these was characterised by the restaurative postwar years. It culminated and ended in the students' revolt. This revolt is at the same time the start of a second cycle of protest which encompasses all subsequent individual movement and is initated by an economic, political and sociocultural procrastination of modernisation. This cycle culminates in the late 70s and early 80s and clearly lost momentum over the last few years. The follwoing phases and themes are described profoundly: against restauration and armament in the 1950; the revolutionary impatience of the students' movement, politisation of everyday life by the womens' movement and citizens' action groups, antinuclear- and ecological movement, differentiation and stabilisation of the movement in the 70s and 80s; break-up and continuity in the German protest behaviour. The paper contains a detailed chronicle of protest activities since 1945. (orig.) [de

Responsiveness of the individual work performance questionnaire.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Coffeng, J.K.; Bernaards, C.M.; Boot, C.R.L.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Vet, H.C.W. de; Beek, A.J. van der

2014-01-01

Background: Individual work performance is an important outcome measure in studies in the workplace. Nevertheless, its conceptualization and measurement has proven challenging. To overcome limitations of existing scales, the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) was recently developed.

Responsiveness of the individual work performance questionnaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Coffeng, J.K.; Bernaards, C.M.; Boot, C.R.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Vet, H.C. de; Beek, A.J. van der

2014-01-01

Background: Individual work performance is an important outcome measure in studies in the workplace. Nevertheless, its conceptualization and measurement has proven challenging. To overcome limitations of existing scales, the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) was recently developed.

Deriving Animal Movement Behaviors Using Movement Parameters Extracted from Location Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Teimouri

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We present a methodology for distinguishing between three types of animal movement behavior (foraging, resting, and walking based on high-frequency tracking data. For each animal we quantify an individual movement path. A movement path is a temporal sequence consisting of the steps through space taken by an animal. By selecting a set of appropriate movement parameters, we develop a method to assess movement behavioral states, reflected by changes in the movement parameters. The two fundamental tasks of our study are segmentation and clustering. By segmentation, we mean the partitioning of the trajectory into segments, which are homogeneous in terms of their movement parameters. By clustering, we mean grouping similar segments together according to their estimated movement parameters. The proposed method is evaluated using field observations (done by humans of movement behavior. We found that on average, our method agreed with the observational data (ground truth at a level of 80.75% ± 5.9% (SE.

Functional Movements in Japanese Mini-Basketball Players

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Kuzuhara Kenji

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Functional movement screen (FMS has been used to establish normative data and determine potential injury risk for young adults and athletes, but there are few data in elementary school-age children. The purpose of this study was to establish fundamental values for the FMS in elementary school-age mini-basketball players. Secondary purposes were to examine relationships between functional movement patterns and age, peak height velocity (PHV, and body mass index (BMI, and to compare functional movement patterns between boys and girls and between individuals with and without a history of injury. The mean composite FMS score was 16.5 ± 2.2 (16.5 ± 2.4 for boys, 16.5 ± 1.7 for girls. The composite FMS score was positively correlated with age (r = .312 and negatively correlated with the BMI (r = − .371. However, the FMS score was not correlated with PHV or with PHV age. The FMS score was not different between boys and girls or between individuals who reported a previous injury and those who did not. However, boys in the mini-basketball teams performed better than girls on the trunk stability push-up and rotary stability tests. Age and the body mass index were significantly associated with better and poorer functional movement, respectively.

Individual Performance Management: A Review of Current Practices

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Ian O’ Boyle

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a review of current practice in relation to individual performance management systems and process within the traditional business environment. There is a consensus that the role of the individual is central to the overall performance of any organization and how individual performances are managed and evaluated can have significant impacts on overall organizational success. Many organizations employ the traditional performance appraisal in order to monitor and assess individual employee performances. However, new approaches, such as 360-degree feedback have also become commonplace within the business environment. An analysis of each approach including benefits and challenges associated with each process is presented within this paper.

Predicting performance and injury resilience from movement quality and fitness scores in a basketball team over 2 years.

Science.gov (United States)

McGill, Stuart M; Andersen, Jordan T; Horne, Arthur D

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study was to see if specific tests of fitness and movement quality could predict injury resilience and performance in a team of basketball players over 2 years (2 playing seasons). It was hypothesized that, in a basketball population, movement and fitness scores would predict performance scores and that movement and fitness scores would predict injury resilience. A basketball team from a major American university (N = 14) served as the test population in this longitudinal trial. Variables linked to fitness, movement ability, speed, strength, and agility were measured together with some National Basketball Association (NBA) combine tests. Dependent variables of performance indicators (such as games and minutes played, points scored, assists, rebounds, steal, and blocks) and injury reports were tracked for the subsequent 2 years. Results showed that better performance was linked with having a stiffer torso, more mobile hips, weaker left grip strength, and a longer standing long jump, to name a few. Of the 3 NBA combine tests administered here, only a faster lane agility time had significant links with performance. Some movement qualities and torso endurance were not linked. No patterns with injury emerged. These observations have implications for preseason testing and subsequent training programs in an attempt to reduce future injury and enhance playing performance.

Decoding Individual Finger Movements from One Hand Using Human EEG Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Jania; Ding, Lei

2014-01-01

Brain computer interface (BCI) is an assistive technology, which decodes neurophysiological signals generated by the human brain and translates them into control signals to control external devices, e.g., wheelchairs. One problem challenging noninvasive BCI technologies is the limited control dimensions from decoding movements of, mainly, large body parts, e.g., upper and lower limbs. It has been reported that complicated dexterous functions, i.e., finger movements, can be decoded in electrocorticography (ECoG) signals, while it remains unclear whether noninvasive electroencephalography (EEG) signals also have sufficient information to decode the same type of movements. Phenomena of broadband power increase and low-frequency-band power decrease were observed in EEG in the present study, when EEG power spectra were decomposed by a principal component analysis (PCA). These movement-related spectral structures and their changes caused by finger movements in EEG are consistent with observations in previous ECoG study, as well as the results from ECoG data in the present study. The average decoding accuracy of 77.11% over all subjects was obtained in classifying each pair of fingers from one hand using movement-related spectral changes as features to be decoded using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The average decoding accuracy in three epilepsy patients using ECoG data was 91.28% with the similarly obtained features and same classifier. Both decoding accuracies of EEG and ECoG are significantly higher than the empirical guessing level (51.26%) in all subjects (pEEG as in ECoG, and demonstrates the feasibility of discriminating finger movements from one hand using EEG. These findings are promising to facilitate the development of BCIs with rich control signals using noninvasive technologies. PMID:24416360

Promoting Translational Research Among Movement Science, Occupational Science, and Occupational Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sainburg, Robert L; Liew, Sook-Lei; Frey, Scott H; Clark, Florence

2017-01-01

Integration of research in the fields of neural control of movement and biomechanics (collectively referred to as movement science) with the field of human occupation directly benefits both areas of study. Specifically, incorporating many of the quantitative scientific methods and analyses employed in movement science can help accelerate the development of rehabilitation-relevant research in occupational therapy (OT) and occupational science (OS). Reciprocally, OT and OS, which focus on the performance of everyday activities (occupations) to promote health and well-being, provide theoretical frameworks to guide research on the performance of actions in the context of social, psychological, and environmental factors. Given both fields' mutual interest in the study of movement as it relates to health and disease, the authors posit that combining OS and OT theories and principles with the theories and methods in movement science may lead to new, impactful, and clinically relevant knowledge. The first step is to ensure that individuals with OS or OT backgrounds are academically prepared to pursue advanced study in movement science. In this article, the authors propose 2 strategies to address this need.

Zero-gravity movement studies

Science.gov (United States)

Badler, N. I.; Fishwick, P.; Taft, N.; Agrawala, M.

1985-01-01

The use of computer graphics to simulate the movement of articulated animals and mechanisms has a number of uses ranging over many fields. Human motion simulation systems can be useful in education, medicine, anatomy, physiology, and dance. In biomechanics, computer displays help to understand and analyze performance. Simulations can be used to help understand the effect of external or internal forces. Similarly, zero-gravity simulation systems should provide a means of designing and exploring the capabilities of hypothetical zero-gravity situations before actually carrying out such actions. The advantage of using a simulation of the motion is that one can experiment with variations of a maneuver before attempting to teach it to an individual. The zero-gravity motion simulation problem can be divided into two broad areas: human movement and behavior in zero-gravity, and simulation of articulated mechanisms.

A psychometric measure of working memory capacity for configured body movement.

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Ying Choon Wu

Full Text Available Working memory (WM models have traditionally assumed at least two domain-specific storage systems for verbal and visuo-spatial information. We review data that suggest the existence of an additional slave system devoted to the temporary storage of body movements, and present a novel instrument for its assessment: the movement span task. The movement span task assesses individuals' ability to remember and reproduce meaningless configurations of the body. During the encoding phase of a trial, participants watch short videos of meaningless movements presented in sets varying in size from one to five items. Immediately after encoding, they are prompted to reenact as many items as possible. The movement span task was administered to 90 participants along with standard tests of verbal WM, visuo-spatial WM, and a gesture classification test in which participants judged whether a speaker's gestures were congruent or incongruent with his accompanying speech. Performance on the gesture classification task was not related to standard measures of verbal or visuo-spatial working memory capacity, but was predicted by scores on the movement span task. Results suggest the movement span task can serve as an assessment of individual differences in WM capacity for body-centric information.

Goal-selection and movement-related conflict during bimanual reaching movements.

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Diedrichsen, Jörn; Grafton, Scott; Albert, Neil; Hazeltine, Eliot; Ivry, Richard B

2006-12-01

Conflict during bimanual movements can arise during the selection of movement goals or during movement planning and execution. We demonstrate a behavioral and neural dissociation of these 2 types of conflict. During functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, participants performed bimanual reaching movements with symmetric (congruent) or orthogonal (incongruent) trajectories. The required movements were indicated either spatially, by illuminating the targets, or symbolically, using centrally presented letters. The processing of symbolic cues led to increased activation in a left hemisphere network including the intraparietal sulcus, premotor cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus. Reaction time cost for incongruent movements was substantially larger for symbolic than for spatial cues, indicating that the cost was primarily associated with the selection and assignment of movement goals, demands that are minimized when goals are directly specified by spatial cues. This goal-selection conflict increased activity in the pre-supplementary motor area and cingulate motor areas. Both cueing conditions led to larger activation for incongruent movements in the convexity of the superior parietal cortex, bilaterally, making this region a likely neural site for conflict that arises during the planning and execution of bimanual movements. These results suggest distinct neural loci for 2 forms of constraint on our ability to perform bimanual reaching movements.

Active Videogaming for Individuals with Severe Movement Disorders: Results from a Community Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Peter J; Vanderbilt, Douglas L; Schrager, Sheree M; Nguyen, Eugene; Fowler, Eileen

2015-06-01

Active videogaming (AVG) has potential to provide positive health outcomes for individuals with cerebral palsy (CP), but their use for individuals with severe motor impairments is limited. Our objective was to evaluate the accessibility and enjoyment of videogames using the Kinect™ (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) with the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST) system (University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, Los Angeles, CA) for individuals with severely limiting CP. A videogaming system was installed in a community center serving adults with CP, and a staff member was instructed in its use. Participants completed a baseline survey assessing demographics, mobility, and prior videogame experience; they then used the FAAST system with Kinect and completed a 5-point Likert survey to assess their experience. Descriptive statistics assessed overall enjoyment of the system, and Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to determine whether responses differed by demographic factors, mobility, or prior videogame experience. Twenty-two subjects were recruited. The enjoyment scale demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.88). The mean total enjoyment score was 4.24 out of 5. Median scores did not significantly differ by ethnicity, gender, CP severity, or previous videogame exposure. The FAAST with Kinect is a low-cost system that engages individuals with severe movement disorders across a wide range of physical ability and videogame experience. Further research should be conducted on in-home use, therapeutic applications, and potential benefits for socialization.

Individually adapted imagery improves brain-computer interface performance in end-users with disability.

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Scherer, Reinhold; Faller, Josef; Friedrich, Elisabeth V C; Opisso, Eloy; Costa, Ursula; Kübler, Andrea; Müller-Putz, Gernot R

2015-01-01

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) translate oscillatory electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns into action. Different mental activities modulate spontaneous EEG rhythms in various ways. Non-stationarity and inherent variability of EEG signals, however, make reliable recognition of modulated EEG patterns challenging. Able-bodied individuals who use a BCI for the first time achieve - on average - binary classification performance of about 75%. Performance in users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage is typically lower. User training generally enhances reliability of EEG pattern generation and thus also robustness of pattern recognition. In this study, we investigated the impact of mental tasks on binary classification performance in BCI users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage such as persons with stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI). Motor imagery (MI), that is the kinesthetic imagination of movement (e.g. squeezing a rubber ball with the right hand), is the "gold standard" and mainly used to modulate EEG patterns. Based on our recent results in able-bodied users, we hypothesized that pair-wise combination of "brain-teaser" (e.g. mental subtraction and mental word association) and "dynamic imagery" (e.g. hand and feet MI) tasks significantly increases classification performance of induced EEG patterns in the selected end-user group. Within-day (How stable is the classification within a day?) and between-day (How well does a model trained on day one perform on unseen data of day two?) analysis of variability of mental task pair classification in nine individuals confirmed the hypothesis. We found that the use of the classical MI task pair hand vs. feed leads to significantly lower classification accuracy - in average up to 15% less - in most users with stroke or SCI. User-specific selection of task pairs was again essential to enhance performance. We expect that the gained evidence will significantly contribute to make imagery-based BCI technology

Individually adapted imagery improves brain-computer interface performance in end-users with disability.

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Reinhold Scherer

Full Text Available Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs translate oscillatory electroencephalogram (EEG patterns into action. Different mental activities modulate spontaneous EEG rhythms in various ways. Non-stationarity and inherent variability of EEG signals, however, make reliable recognition of modulated EEG patterns challenging. Able-bodied individuals who use a BCI for the first time achieve - on average - binary classification performance of about 75%. Performance in users with central nervous system (CNS tissue damage is typically lower. User training generally enhances reliability of EEG pattern generation and thus also robustness of pattern recognition. In this study, we investigated the impact of mental tasks on binary classification performance in BCI users with central nervous system (CNS tissue damage such as persons with stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI. Motor imagery (MI, that is the kinesthetic imagination of movement (e.g. squeezing a rubber ball with the right hand, is the "gold standard" and mainly used to modulate EEG patterns. Based on our recent results in able-bodied users, we hypothesized that pair-wise combination of "brain-teaser" (e.g. mental subtraction and mental word association and "dynamic imagery" (e.g. hand and feet MI tasks significantly increases classification performance of induced EEG patterns in the selected end-user group. Within-day (How stable is the classification within a day? and between-day (How well does a model trained on day one perform on unseen data of day two? analysis of variability of mental task pair classification in nine individuals confirmed the hypothesis. We found that the use of the classical MI task pair hand vs. feed leads to significantly lower classification accuracy - in average up to 15% less - in most users with stroke or SCI. User-specific selection of task pairs was again essential to enhance performance. We expect that the gained evidence will significantly contribute to make imagery-based BCI

Harmonisation and dosimetric quality assurance in individual monitoring for external radiation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bartlett, D.T.; Ambrosi, P.; Back, C.

2001-01-01

The current situation amongst Member States is that there are widely differing national requirements for dosimetric services and for dosemeter performance. It is clear that with the free movement of workers within the European Union (EU) and the requirements for individual dosimetry given...... of individual monitoring using personal dosemeters and assisting movement towards harmonised procedures. An outline of the work of the action group is given and the term 'harmonisation' is discussed....

Mentorship as individualization in education Each one teach one movement

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Ana Krajnc

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The development of lifelong education is increasingly bringing individualization into learning. Quantitatively group education (courses, seminars is on the decrease, whereas individual, independent mentor-supported learning is growing. In the information or learning society, people typically have less and less time from the moment they become aware of their need for specific knowledge and the moment they need to possess this knowledge. So they search for the most rational way of learning, one that is adapted to their particular needs. The new society requires a one-of-a-kind personality with an increased competitive value. In the recent decades we have witnessed emergence of new types of education also in Slovenia. People do not stay only with their basic profession, they pursue training and education in other fields (specializing in different discipline(s, diversifying their knowledge, thus producing impressive professional portfolios.Informal mentoring and mentoring in pairs have been promoted by the Third Age University through the move- ment »Each One Teach One« since 2009. Informal mentors offer their computer knowledge to other persons, they introduce learning in pairs, a technique where a mentor helps a mentee with e-mail, the internet, skype, facebook, text writing and editing, digital photography etc. If the mentee wishes, he can receive instruction at home, on his computer, because he is more familiar with it and can make faster progress. The company ST Slovenia supports the Each One Teach One movement and is introducing it into its companies. Mentoring, or mentorship, is becoming an ever- more- common form of individual education. There are two kinds, formal and informal. The former, with an officially appointed mentor, focuses on acquisition of knowledge, whereas the latter fosters personal growth, through elimination of fear, raised self-confidence and design of new plans. Each mentor cannot mentor anybody. The qualities a mentor

A Computational Framework for Quantitative Evaluation of Movement during Rehabilitation

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Chen, Yinpeng; Duff, Margaret; Lehrer, Nicole; Sundaram, Hari; He, Jiping; Wolf, Steven L.; Rikakis, Thanassis

2011-06-01

This paper presents a novel generalized computational framework for quantitative kinematic evaluation of movement in a rehabilitation clinic setting. The framework integrates clinical knowledge and computational data-driven analysis together in a systematic manner. The framework provides three key benefits to rehabilitation: (a) the resulting continuous normalized measure allows the clinician to monitor movement quality on a fine scale and easily compare impairments across participants, (b) the framework reveals the effect of individual movement components on the composite movement performance helping the clinician decide the training foci, and (c) the evaluation runs in real-time, which allows the clinician to constantly track a patient's progress and make appropriate adaptations to the therapy protocol. The creation of such an evaluation is difficult because of the sparse amount of recorded clinical observations, the high dimensionality of movement and high variations in subject's performance. We address these issues by modeling the evaluation function as linear combination of multiple normalized kinematic attributes y = Σwiφi(xi) and estimating the attribute normalization function φi(ṡ) by integrating distributions of idealized movement and deviated movement. The weights wi are derived from a therapist's pair-wise comparison using a modified RankSVM algorithm. We have applied this framework to evaluate upper limb movement for stroke survivors with excellent results—the evaluation results are highly correlated to the therapist's observations.

Reorganization of finger coordination patterns through motor exploration in individuals after stroke.

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Ranganathan, Rajiv

2017-09-11

Impairment of hand and finger function after stroke is common and affects the ability to perform activities of daily living. Even though many of these coordination deficits such as finger individuation have been well characterized, it is critical to understand how stroke survivors learn to explore and reorganize their finger coordination patterns for optimizing rehabilitation. In this study, I examine the use of a body-machine interface to assess how participants explore their movement repertoire, and how this changes with continued practice. Ten participants with chronic stroke wore a data glove and the finger joint angles were mapped on to the position of a cursor on a screen. The task of the participants was to move the cursor back and forth between two specified targets on a screen. Critically, the map between the finger movements and cursor motion was altered so that participants sometimes had to generate coordination patterns that required finger individuation. There were two phases to the experiment - an initial assessment phase on day 1, followed by a learning phase (days 2-5) where participants trained to reorganize their coordination patterns. Participants showed difficulty in performing tasks which had maps that required finger individuation, and the degree to which they explored their movement repertoire was directly related to clinical tests of hand function. However, over four sessions of practice, participants were able to learn to reorganize their finger movement coordination pattern and improve their performance. Moreover, training also resulted in improvements in movement repertoire outside of the context of the specific task during free exploration. Stroke survivors show deficits in movement repertoire in their paretic hand, but facilitating movement exploration during training can increase the movement repertoire. This suggests that exploration may be an important element of rehabilitation to regain optimal function.

Informed herbivore movement and interplant communication determine the effects of induced resistance in an individual-based model.

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Rubin, Ilan N; Ellner, Stephen P; Kessler, André; Morrell, Kimberly A

2015-09-01

1. Plant induced resistance to herbivory affects the spatial distribution of herbivores, as well as their performance. In recent years, theories regarding the benefit to plants of induced resistance have shifted from ideas of optimal resource allocation towards a more eclectic set of theories that consider spatial and temporal plant variability and the spatial distribution of herbivores among plants. However, consensus is lacking on whether induced resistance causes increased herbivore aggregation or increased evenness, as both trends have been experimentally documented. 2. We created a spatial individual-based model that can describe many plant-herbivore systems with induced resistance, in order to analyse how different aspects of induced resistance might affect herbivore distribution, and the total damage to a plant population, during a growing season. 3. We analyse the specific effects on herbivore aggregation of informed herbivore movement (preferential movement to less-damaged plants) and of information transfer between plants about herbivore attacks, in order to identify mechanisms driving both aggregation and evenness. We also investigate how the resulting herbivore distributions affect the total damage to plants and aggregation of damage. 4. Even, random and aggregated herbivore distributions can all occur in our model with induced resistance. Highest levels of aggregation occurred in the models with informed herbivore movement, and the most even distributions occurred when the average number of herbivores per plant was low. With constitutive resistance, only random distributions occur. Damage to plants was spatially correlated, unless plants recover very quickly from damage; herbivore spatial autocorrelation was always weak. 5. Our model and results provide a simple explanation for the apparent conflict between experimental results, indicating that both increased aggregation and increased evenness of herbivores can result from induced resistance. We

The Effect of Body Movement on Listeners' Perceptions of Musicality in Trombone Quartet Performance

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Silveira, Jason M.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine what effect body movement would have on listeners' (N = 90) perceptions of a professional chamber ensemble performance. Specifically, an audio/video recording of a trombone quartet performance was used for the music stimulus. Listeners were asked to rate each performance on the basis of perceived…

Examining Age-Related Movement Representations for Sequential (Fine-Motor) Finger Movements

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Gabbard, Carl; Cacola, Priscila; Bobbio, Tatiana

2011-01-01

Theory suggests that imagined and executed movement planning relies on internal models for action. Using a chronometry paradigm to compare the movement duration of imagined and executed movements, we tested children aged 7-11 years and adults on their ability to perform sequential finger movements. Underscoring this tactic was our desire to gain a…

Fine scale gene flow and individual movements among subpopulations of Centrolene prosoblepon (Anura: Centrolenidae

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Jeanne M Robertson

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Dispersal capabilities determine and maintain local gene flow, and this has implications for population persistence and/or recolonization following environmental perturbations (natural or anthropogenic, disease outbreaks, or other demographic collapses. To predict recolonization and understand dispersal capacity in a stream-breeding frog, we examined individual movement patterns and gene flow among four subpopulations of the Neotropical glassfrog, Centrolene prosoblepon, at a mid-elevation cloud forest site at El Copé, Panama. We measured male movement directly during a two year mark-recapture study, and indirectly with gene flow estimates from mitochondrial DNA sequences (mtDNA. Individuals of this species showed strong site fidelity: over two years, male frogs in all four headwater streams moved very little (mean = 2.33 m; mode = 0 m. Nine individuals changed streams within one or two years, moving 675-1 108 m. For those males moving more than 10 m, movement was biased upstream (p ST = 0.007, p = 0.325 but gene flow was more limited across greater distances (CT = 0.322, p = 0.065, even within the same drainage network. Lowland populations of C. prosoblepon potentially act as an important source of colonists for upland populations in this watershed. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (1: 13-26. Epub 2008 March 31.La capacidad de dispersión determina y mantiene el flujo genético local, y esto tiene implicaciones para la persistencia poblacional y/o la recolonización que sigue a perturbaciones ambientales. Examinamos patrones individuales de movimiento y flujo genético entre subpoblaciones de Centrolene prosoblepon (Anura: Centrolenidae en un sitio de elevación media en El Copé, Panamá. Medimos directamente el movimiento de los machos durante un estudio de marcado-recaptura, e indirectamente con estimaciones de flujo genético a partir de secuencias de ADN mitocondrial (mtDNA. Los individuos mostraron fuerte fidelidad a su lugar: por más de dos a

Human preference for air movement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toftum, Jørn; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Tynel, A.

2002-01-01

Human preference for air movement was studied at slightly cool, neutral, and slightly warm overall thermal sensations and at temperatures ranging from 18 deg.C to 28 deg.C. Air movement preference depended on both thermal sensation and temperature, but large inter-individual differences existed...... between subjects. Preference for less air movement was linearly correlated with draught discomfort, but the percentage of subjects who felt draught was lower than the percentage who preferred less air movement....

Coherence of EEG frequency components during manual movements executed by the subdominant hand in women

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O. V. Korzhyk

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The academic community is paying more and more attention to the question of the individual characteristics of the brain processes which ensure the manual motor programming of movements performed not only by the leading, but also by the subdominant hand. Researchers do not exclude the existence of the particular parameters of the human brain correlating with manual motor activities. This study involved 136 women at the age of 19–21 years. The testees were divided into two groups according to high and low values of the EEG modal α-frequency determined individually and in a motionless state. We evaluated the coherence status of the EEG frequency components in the motionless state and during movements performed by fingers of the subdominant (left hand in response to rhythmic sound signals. The testing stages involved the sequential execution of motor tasks including clamping and unclamping performed by the fingers of the subdominant hand (such as grasping movements without effort. The testees also performed fingering (a manual response to each stimulus at in different times and not by all the fingers of the hand simultaneously, but separately, one by one, in a given sequence. Clamping and unclamping was executed by the fingers subject to power loading the (additional load on the fingers being 10H. Execution of manual movements by means of the subdominant hand in response to the sensory signals was accompanied by an increase in coherence in the EEG frequency components, especially in the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortexes of the central areas. Women with a low individual α-rate of such a regularity had significantly increased scores at the high (α3-, β- frequencies of the EEG spectrum. At the same time, women in both groups mainly showed a decrease in the coherence coefficients of θ-, α1- and α3-activity in the frontal cortex leads in terms of the execution of the sequential finger movements and movements under power loading. The

The path to presence in performance through movement, physiological response, and mood

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Artemis Preeshl

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Presence may occur when actors are alert and relaxed in performance. A positive mood is associated with physical activity, but little is known about how movement qualities affect mood and vital signs of actors. This study examined the effects of vibratory, pendular, abrupt, and sustained movement qualities on the Brief Mood Introspection Scale, and physiology. Undergraduate theatre (n = 25 and non-theatre majors (n = 24 engaged in protocols of four movement qualities: vibratory, pendular, abrupt and sustained. Mood and heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, and temperature were measured before and after four different movement protocols. The hypothesis that the sequence of vibratory, pendular, sustained, and abrupt increased the alert, relaxed state of Presence and Arousal was rejected. It was found that systolic blood pressure increased in men across protocols. A significant interaction was found between the participants’ major and “Tired.” Because Tired and Arousal indicate mental and/or physical energy, a relationship between MAJOR and “Tired,” combined with significant correlation between subjects and major, suggests that the protocols resulted in fatigue. Half of the mood variance is explained by the factor “major.” These two significant findings suggest a relationship between mood and major as well as blood pressure and gender.

When an object appears unexpectedly: anticipatory movement and object circumvention in individuals with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder.

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Wilmut, K; Barnett, A L

2017-05-01

Obstacles often appear unexpectedly in our pathway and these require us to make adjustments to avoid collision. Previous research has demonstrated that healthy adults will make anticipatory adjustments to gait where they have been told there is the possibility of an obstacle appearing. One population that may find this type of anticipatory movement difficult is individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The current study considered how individuals with and without DCD adjust to the possibility of an obstacle appearing which would require circumvention. Fortyfour individuals with DCD and 44 age-matched controls (aged from 7 to 34 years of age) walked down an 11 m walkway under three conditions. Initially they were told this was a clear pathway and nothing in the environment would change (1, no possibility of an obstacle, no obstacle). They then performed a series of trials in which a gate may (2, possibility of an obstacle, obstacle) or may not (3, possibility of an obstacle, no obstacle) partially obstruct their pathway. We found that all participants increased medio-lateral trunk acceleration when there was the possibility of an obstacle but before the obstacle appeared, in addition the typical adults and older children also increased step width. When describing circumvention we found that the younger children showed an increase in trunk velocity and acceleration in all three directions compared to older children and adults. We also found that the individuals with DCD adjusted their path sooner and deviated more than their peers. The degree of adjustment to step width in anticipation of an obstacle was related to later medio-lateral velocity and timing of the deviation. Therefore, the lack of 'readying' the system where there is the possibility of an obstacle appearing seen in the individuals with DCD and the younger typical children may explain the increased medio-lateral velocity seen during circumvention.

Fine motor movements while drawing during the encoding phase of a serial verbal recall task reduce working memory performance.

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Tindle, Richard; Longstaff, Mitchell G

2016-02-01

The time-based resource-sharing (TBRS) model of working memory indicates that secondary tasks that capture attention for relatively long periods can result in the interference of working memory processing and maintenance. The current study investigates if discrete and continuous movements have differing effects on a concurrent, verbal serial recall task. In the listening condition, participants were asked to recall spoken words presented in lists of six. In the drawing conditions, participants performed the same task while producing discrete (star) or continuous (circle) movements. As hypothesised, participants recalled more words overall in the listening condition compared to the combined drawing conditions. The prediction that the continuous movement condition would reduce recall compared to listening was also supported. Fine-grained analysis at each serial position revealed significantly more words were recalled at mid serial positions in the listening condition, with worst recall for the continuous condition at position 5 compared to the listening and discrete conditions. Kinematic analysis showed that participants increased the size and speed of the continuous movements resulting in a similar duration and number of strokes for each condition. The duration of brief pauses in the discrete condition was associated with the number of words recalled. The results indicate that fine motor movements reduced working memory performance; however, it was not merely performing a movement but the type of the movement that determined how resources were diverted. In the context of the TBRS, continuous movements could be capturing attention for longer periods relative to discrete movements, reducing verbal serial recall. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does the cerebellum initiate movement?

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Thach, W T

2014-02-01

Opinion is divided on what the exact function of the cerebellum is. Experiments are summarized that support the following views: (1) the cerebellum is a combiner of multiple movement factors; (2) it contains anatomically fixed permanent focal representation of individual body parts (muscles and segments) and movement modes (e.g., vestibular driven vs. cognitive driven); (3) it contains flexible changing representations/memory of physical properties of the body parts including muscle strength, segment inertia, joint viscosity, and segmental interaction torques (dynamics); (4) it contains mechanisms for learning and storage of the properties in item no. 3 through trial-and-error practice; (5) it provides for linkage of body parts, motor modes, and motordynamics via the parallel fiber system; (6) it combines and integrates the many factors so as to initiate coordinated movements of the many body parts; (7) it is thus enabled to play the unique role of initiating coordinated movements; and (8) this unique causative role is evidenced by the fact that: (a) electrical stimulation of the cerebellum can initiate compound coordinated movements; (b) in naturally initiated compound movements, cerebellar discharge precedes that in downstream target structures such as motor cerebral cortex; and (c) cerebellar ablation abolishes the natural production of compound movements in the awake alert individuals.

Verification of models for ballistic movement time and endpoint variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ray F; Drury, Colin G

2013-01-01

A hand control movement is composed of several ballistic movements. The time required in performing a ballistic movement and its endpoint variability are two important properties in developing movement models. The purpose of this study was to test potential models for predicting these two properties. Twelve participants conducted ballistic movements of specific amplitudes using a drawing tablet. The measured data of movement time and endpoint variability were then used to verify the models. This study was successful with Hoffmann and Gan's movement time model (Hoffmann, 1981; Gan and Hoffmann 1988) predicting more than 90.7% data variance for 84 individual measurements. A new theoretically developed ballistic movement variability model, proved to be better than Howarth, Beggs, and Bowden's (1971) model, predicting on average 84.8% of stopping-variable error and 88.3% of aiming-variable errors. These two validated models will help build solid theoretical movement models and evaluate input devices. This article provides better models for predicting end accuracy and movement time of ballistic movements that are desirable in rapid aiming tasks, such as keying in numbers on a smart phone. The models allow better design of aiming tasks, for example button sizes on mobile phones for different user populations.

A possible correlation between performance IQ, visuomotor adaptation ability and mu suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

Anwar, Muhammad Nabeel; Navid, Muhammad Samran; Khan, Mushtaq; Kitajo, Keiichi

2015-04-07

Psychometric, anatomical and functional brain studies suggest that individuals differ in the way that they perceive and analyze information and strategically control and execute movements. Inter-individual differences are also observed in neural correlates of specific and general cognitive ability. As a result, some individuals perceive and adapt to environmental conditions and perform motor activities better than others. The aim of this study was to identify a common factor that predicts adaptation of a reaching movement to a visual perturbation and suppression of movement-related brain activity (mu rhythms). Twenty-eight participants participated in two different experiments designed to evaluate visuomotor adaptation and mu suppression ability. Performance intelligence quotient (IQ) was assessed using the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Performance IQ predicted adaptation index of visuomotor performance (r=0.43, p=0.02) and suppression of mu rhythms (r=-0.59; pIQ were faster at adapting to a visuomotor perturbation and better at suppressing mu activity than participants with low performance IQ. We found a possible link between performance IQ and mu suppression, and performance IQ and the initial rate of adaptation. Individuals with high performance IQ were better in suppressing mu rhythms and were quicker at associating motor command and required movement than individuals with low performance IQ. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceiving individuality in harpsichord performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Koren, Réka; Gingras, Bruno

2014-01-01

Can listeners recognize the individual characteristics of unfamiliar performers playing two different musical pieces on the harpsichord? Six professional harpsichordists, three prize-winners and three non prize-winners, made two recordings of two pieces from the Baroque period (a variation on a Partita by Frescobaldi and a rondo by François Couperin) on an instrument equipped with a MIDI console. Short (8 to 15 s) excerpts from these 24 recordings were subsequently used in a sorting task in which 20 musicians and 20 non-musicians, balanced for gender, listened to these excerpts and grouped together those that they thought had been played by the same performer. Twenty-six participants, including 17 musicians and nine non-musicians, performed significantly better than chance, demonstrating that the excerpts contained sufficient information to enable listeners to recognize the individual characteristics of the performers. The grouping accuracy of musicians was significantly higher than that observed for non-musicians. No significant difference in grouping accuracy was found between prize-winning performers and non-winners or between genders. However, the grouping accuracy was significantly higher for the rondo than for the variation, suggesting that the features of the two pieces differed in a way that affected the listeners' ability to sort them accurately. Furthermore, only musicians performed above chance level when matching variation excerpts with rondo excerpts, suggesting that accurately assigning recordings of different pieces to their performer may require musical training. Comparisons between the MIDI performance data and the results of the sorting task revealed that tempo and, to a lesser extent, note onset asynchrony were the most important predictors of the perceived distance between performers, and that listeners appeared to rely mostly on a holistic percept of the excerpts rather than on a comparison of note-by-note expressive patterns.

Perceiving individuality in harpsichord performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Réka eKoren

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Can listeners recognize the individual characteristics of unfamiliar performers playing two different musical pieces on the harpsichord? Six professional harpsichordists, three prize-winners and three non prize-winners, made two recordings of two pieces from the Baroque period (a variation on a partita by Frescobaldi and a rondo by François Couperin on an instrument equipped with a MIDI console. Short (8 to 15 seconds excerpts from these 24 recordings were subsequently used in a sorting task in which twenty musicians and twenty non-musicians, balanced for gender, listened to these excerpts and grouped together those that they thought had been played by the same performer. Twenty-six participants, including 17 musicians and 9 non-musicians, performed significantly better than chance, demonstrating that the excerpts contained sufficient information to enable listeners to recognize the individual characteristics of the performers. The grouping accuracy of musicians was significantly higher than that observed for non‐musicians. No significant difference in grouping accuracy was found between prize-winning performers and non-winners or between genders. However, the grouping accuracy was significantly higher for the rondo than for the variation, suggesting that the features of the two pieces differed in a way that affected the listeners’ ability to sort them accurately. Furthermore, only musicians performed above chance level when matching variation excerpts with rondo excerpts, suggesting that accurately assigning recordings of different pieces to their performer may require musical training. Comparisons between the MIDI performance data and the results of the sorting task revealed that tempo and, to a lesser extent, note onset asynchrony were the most important predictors of the perceived distance between performers, and that listeners appeared to rely mostly on a holistic percept of the excerpts rather than on a comparison of note

Perceiving individuality in harpsichord performance

Science.gov (United States)

Koren, Réka; Gingras, Bruno

2014-01-01

Can listeners recognize the individual characteristics of unfamiliar performers playing two different musical pieces on the harpsichord? Six professional harpsichordists, three prize-winners and three non prize-winners, made two recordings of two pieces from the Baroque period (a variation on a Partita by Frescobaldi and a rondo by François Couperin) on an instrument equipped with a MIDI console. Short (8 to 15 s) excerpts from these 24 recordings were subsequently used in a sorting task in which 20 musicians and 20 non-musicians, balanced for gender, listened to these excerpts and grouped together those that they thought had been played by the same performer. Twenty-six participants, including 17 musicians and nine non-musicians, performed significantly better than chance, demonstrating that the excerpts contained sufficient information to enable listeners to recognize the individual characteristics of the performers. The grouping accuracy of musicians was significantly higher than that observed for non-musicians. No significant difference in grouping accuracy was found between prize-winning performers and non-winners or between genders. However, the grouping accuracy was significantly higher for the rondo than for the variation, suggesting that the features of the two pieces differed in a way that affected the listeners’ ability to sort them accurately. Furthermore, only musicians performed above chance level when matching variation excerpts with rondo excerpts, suggesting that accurately assigning recordings of different pieces to their performer may require musical training. Comparisons between the MIDI performance data and the results of the sorting task revealed that tempo and, to a lesser extent, note onset asynchrony were the most important predictors of the perceived distance between performers, and that listeners appeared to rely mostly on a holistic percept of the excerpts rather than on a comparison of note-by-note expressive patterns. PMID:24605104

Climbing fibers predict movement kinematics and performance errors.

Science.gov (United States)

Streng, Martha L; Popa, Laurentiu S; Ebner, Timothy J

2017-09-01

Requisite for understanding cerebellar function is a complete characterization of the signals provided by complex spike (CS) discharge of Purkinje cells, the output neurons of the cerebellar cortex. Numerous studies have provided insights into CS function, with the most predominant view being that they are evoked by error events. However, several reports suggest that CSs encode other aspects of movements and do not always respond to errors or unexpected perturbations. Here, we evaluated CS firing during a pseudo-random manual tracking task in the monkey ( Macaca mulatta ). This task provides extensive coverage of the work space and relative independence of movement parameters, delivering a robust data set to assess the signals that activate climbing fibers. Using reverse correlation, we determined feedforward and feedback CSs firing probability maps with position, velocity, and acceleration, as well as position error, a measure of tracking performance. The direction and magnitude of the CS modulation were quantified using linear regression analysis. The major findings are that CSs significantly encode all three kinematic parameters and position error, with acceleration modulation particularly common. The modulation is not related to "events," either for position error or kinematics. Instead, CSs are spatially tuned and provide a linear representation of each parameter evaluated. The CS modulation is largely predictive. Similar analyses show that the simple spike firing is modulated by the same parameters as the CSs. Therefore, CSs carry a broader array of signals than previously described and argue for climbing fiber input having a prominent role in online motor control. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article demonstrates that complex spike (CS) discharge of cerebellar Purkinje cells encodes multiple parameters of movement, including motor errors and kinematics. The CS firing is not driven by error or kinematic events; instead it provides a linear representation of each

Responsiveness of the individual work performance questionnaire

OpenAIRE

Koopmans, Linda; Coffeng, Jennifer K; Bernaards, Claire M; Boot, Cécile RL; Hildebrandt, Vincent H; de Vet, Henrica CW; van der Beek, Allard J

2014-01-01

Background: Individual work performance is an important outcome measure in studies in the workplace. Nevertheless, its conceptualization and measurement has proven challenging. To overcome limitations of existing scales, the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) was recently developed. The aim of the current study was to gain insight into the responsiveness of the IWPQ. Methods. Data were used from the Be Active & Relax randomized controlled trial. The aim of the trial was to inves...

Neural control of finger movement via intracortical brain-machine interface

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Irwin, Z. T.; Schroeder, K. E.; Vu, P. P.; Bullard, A. J.; Tat, D. M.; Nu, C. S.; Vaskov, A.; Nason, S. R.; Thompson, D. E.; Bentley, J. N.; Patil, P. G.; Chestek, C. A.

2017-12-01

Objective. Intracortical brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are a promising source of prosthesis control signals for individuals with severe motor disabilities. Previous BMI studies have primarily focused on predicting and controlling whole-arm movements; precise control of hand kinematics, however, has not been fully demonstrated. Here, we investigate the continuous decoding of precise finger movements in rhesus macaques. Approach. In order to elicit precise and repeatable finger movements, we have developed a novel behavioral task paradigm which requires the subject to acquire virtual fingertip position targets. In the physical control condition, four rhesus macaques performed this task by moving all four fingers together in order to acquire a single target. This movement was equivalent to controlling the aperture of a power grasp. During this task performance, we recorded neural spikes from intracortical electrode arrays in primary motor cortex. Main results. Using a standard Kalman filter, we could reconstruct continuous finger movement offline with an average correlation of ρ  =  0.78 between actual and predicted position across four rhesus macaques. For two of the monkeys, this movement prediction was performed in real-time to enable direct brain control of the virtual hand. Compared to physical control, neural control performance was slightly degraded; however, the monkeys were still able to successfully perform the task with an average target acquisition rate of 83.1%. The monkeys’ ability to arbitrarily specify fingertip position was also quantified using an information throughput metric. During brain control task performance, the monkeys achieved an average 1.01 bits s-1 throughput, similar to that achieved in previous studies which decoded upper-arm movements to control computer cursors using a standard Kalman filter. Significance. This is, to our knowledge, the first demonstration of brain control of finger-level fine motor skills. We believe

Effect of action verbs on the performance of a complex movement.

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Tahar Rabahi

Full Text Available The interaction between language and motor action has been approached by studying the effect of action verbs, kinaesthetic imagery and mental subtraction upon the performance of a complex movement, the squat vertical jump (SVJ. The time of flight gave the value of the height of the SVJ and was measured with an Optojump® and a Myotest® apparatuses. The results obtained by the effects of the cognitive stimuli showed a statistically significant improvement of the SVJ performance after either loudly or silently pronouncing, hearing or reading the verb saute (jump in French language. Action verbs specific for other motor actions (pince = pinch, lèche = lick or non-specific (bouge = move showed no or little effect. A meaningless verb for the French subjects (tiáo = jump in Chinese showed no effect as did rêve (dream, tombe (fall and stop. The verb gagne (win improved significantly the SVJ height, as did its antonym perds (lose suggesting a possible influence of affects in the subjects' performance. The effect of the specific action verb jump upon the heights of SVJ was similar to that obtained after kinaesthetic imagery and after mental subtraction of two digits numbers from three digits ones; possibly, in the latter, because of the intervention of language in calculus. It appears that the effects of the specific action verb jump did seem effective but not totally exclusive for the enhancement of the SVJ performance. The results imply an interaction among language and motor brain areas in the performance of a complex movement resulting in a clear specificity of the corresponding action verb. The effect upon performance may probably be influenced by the subjects' intention, increased attention and emotion produced by cognitive stimuli among which action verbs.

Missing depth cues in virtual reality limit performance and quality of three dimensional reaching movements.

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Gerig, Nicolas; Mayo, Johnathan; Baur, Kilian; Wittmann, Frieder; Riener, Robert; Wolf, Peter

2018-01-01

Goal-directed reaching for real-world objects by humans is enabled through visual depth cues. In virtual environments, the number and quality of available visual depth cues is limited, which may affect reaching performance and quality of reaching movements. We assessed three-dimensional reaching movements in five experimental groups each with ten healthy volunteers. Three groups used a two-dimensional computer screen and two groups used a head-mounted display. The first screen group received the typically recreated visual depth cues, such as aerial and linear perspective, occlusion, shadows, and texture gradients. The second screen group received an abstract minimal rendering lacking those. The third screen group received the cues of the first screen group and absolute depth cues enabled by retinal image size of a known object, which realized with visual renderings of the handheld device and a ghost handheld at the target location. The two head-mounted display groups received the same virtually recreated visual depth cues as the second or the third screen group respectively. Additionally, they could rely on stereopsis and motion parallax due to head-movements. All groups using the screen performed significantly worse than both groups using the head-mounted display in terms of completion time normalized by the straight-line distance to the target. Both groups using the head-mounted display achieved the optimal minimum in number of speed peaks and in hand path ratio, indicating that our subjects performed natural movements when using a head-mounted display. Virtually recreated visual depth cues had a minor impact on reaching performance. Only the screen group with rendered handhelds could outperform the other screen groups. Thus, if reaching performance in virtual environments is in the main scope of a study, we suggest applying a head-mounted display. Otherwise, when two-dimensional screens are used, achievable performance is likely limited by the reduced depth

Older women with dementia can perform fast alternating forearm movements and performance is correlated with tests of lower extremity function

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Bramell-Risberg E

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Eva Bramell-Risberg,1 Gun-Britt Jarnlo,2 Sölve Elmståhl11Division of Geriatric Medicine, 2Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, SwedenBackground: The purpose of this work was to study the performance and reliability of a test of fast alternating forearm movements and its relationship with measures of lower extremity function in older women with dementia.Methods: Fast alternating movements was studied in 26 female patients (mean age 81.7 ± 5.9 years with dementia and 34 controls (mean age 87.5 ± 4.7 years. Subgroup analyses for those aged 80–89 years were performed due to significant differences in the mean ages of the study groups. Test–retest reliability for alternating forearm movements was studied in 11 patients (mean age 80.3 ± 6.7 years and 10 controls (mean age 87.4 ± 1.6 years. Pulses generated were transformed to an analog signal shown on a modified electrocardiogram. Numbers of cycles at 10 and 15 seconds were calculated for the right and left hand. Walking 2 × 15 m and the Get-Up-and Go (GUG test were performed at self-selected and maximal speed. Associations between tests of upper and lower extremity function were sought in eight patients (mean age 85 ± 2.7 years and 16 controls (mean age 85.1 ± 2.8 years and also according to types of dementia in nine patients with probable Alzheimer's disease and 10 patients with other types of dementia.Results: Patients with dementia could perform the test and had significantly fewer cycles (P = 0.02–0.006 at both 10 and 15 seconds compared with controls after age adjustment. A higher number of cycles was associated with higher self-selected walking speeds in patients (r = -0.79. Test–retest reliability for alternating forearm movements was high for both patients (intraclass correlation 0.88–0.94 and controls (intraclass correlation 0.74–0.94.Conclusion: Alternating forearm movements at fast speed can be used as a reliable test in both

Movement Induces the Use of External Spatial Coordinates for Tactile Localization in Congenitally Blind Humans.

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Heed, Tobias; Möller, Johanna; Röder, Brigitte

2015-01-01

To localize touch, the brain integrates spatial information coded in anatomically based and external spatial reference frames. Sighted humans, by default, use both reference frames in tactile localization. In contrast, congenitally blind individuals have been reported to rely exclusively on anatomical coordinates, suggesting a crucial role of the visual system for tactile spatial processing. We tested whether the use of external spatial information in touch can, alternatively, be induced by a movement context. Sighted and congenitally blind humans performed a tactile temporal order judgment task that indexes the use of external coordinates for tactile localization, while they executed bimanual arm movements with uncrossed and crossed start and end postures. In the sighted, start posture and planned end posture of the arm movement modulated tactile localization for stimuli presented before and during movement, indicating automatic, external recoding of touch. Contrary to previous findings, tactile localization of congenitally blind participants, too, was affected by external coordinates, though only for stimuli presented before movement start. Furthermore, only the movement's start posture, but not the planned end posture affected blind individuals' tactile performance. Thus, integration of external coordinates in touch is established without vision, though more selectively than when vision has developed normally, and possibly restricted to movement contexts. The lack of modulation by the planned posture in congenitally blind participants suggests that external coordinates in this group are not mediated by motor efference copy. Instead the task-related frequent posture changes, that is, movement consequences rather than planning, appear to have induced their use of external coordinates.

Multi-segmental movements as a function of experience in karate.

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Zago, Matteo; Codari, Marina; Iaia, F Marcello; Sforza, Chiarella

2017-08-01

Karate is a martial art that partly depends on subjective scoring of complex movements. Principal component analysis (PCA)-based methods can identify the fundamental synergies (principal movements) of motor system, providing a quantitative global analysis of technique. In this study, we aimed at describing the fundamental multi-joint synergies of a karate performance, under the hypothesis that the latter are skilldependent; estimate karateka's experience level, expressed as years of practice. A motion capture system recorded traditional karate techniques of 10 professional and amateur karateka. At any time point, the 3D-coordinates of body markers produced posture vectors that were normalised, concatenated from all karateka and submitted to a first PCA. Five principal movements described both gross movement synergies and individual differences. A second PCA followed by linear regression estimated the years of practice using principal movements (eigenpostures and weighting curves) and centre of mass kinematics (error: 3.71 years; R2 = 0.91, P ≪ 0.001). Principal movements and eigenpostures varied among different karateka and as functions of experience. This approach provides a framework to develop visual tools for the analysis of motor synergies in karate, allowing to detect the multi-joint motor patterns that should be restored after an injury, or to be specifically trained to increase performance.

Movement Synchrony Forges Social Bonds Across Group Divides

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Bahar eTuncgenc

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Group dynamics play an important role in the social interactions of both children and adults. A large amount of research has shown that merely being allocated to arbitrarily defined groups can evoke disproportionately positive attitudes toward one’s in-group and negative attitudes toward out-groups, and that these biases emerge in early childhood. This prompts important empirical questions with far-reaching theoretical and applied significance. How robust are these inter-group biases? Can biases be mitigated by behaviors known to bond individuals and groups together? How can bonds be forged across existing group divides? To explore these questions, we examined the bonding effects of interpersonal synchrony on minimally constructed groups in a controlled experiment. In-group and out-group bonding were assessed using questionnaires administered before and after a task in which groups performed movements either synchronously or non-synchronously in a between-participants design. We also developed an implicit behavioral measure, the Island Game, in which physical proximity was used as an indirect measure of interpersonal closeness. Self-report and behavioral measures showed increased bonding between groups after synchronous movement. Bonding with the out-group was significantly higher in the condition in which movements were performed synchronously than when movements were performed non-synchronously between groups. The findings are discussed in terms of their importance for the developmental social psychology of group dynamics as well as their implications for applied intervention programs.

Eccentric-Overload Training in Team-Sport Functional Performance: Constant Bilateral Vertical Versus Variable Unilateral Multidirectional Movements.

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Gonzalo-Skok, Oliver; Tous-Fajardo, Julio; Valero-Campo, Carlos; Berzosa, César; Bataller, Ana Vanessa; Arjol-Serrano, José Luis; Moras, Gerard; Mendez-Villanueva, Alberto

2017-08-01

To analyze the effects of 2 different eccentric-overload training (EOT) programs, using a rotational conical pulley, on functional performance in team-sport players. A traditional movement paradigm (ie, squat) including several sets of 1 bilateral and vertical movement was compared with a novel paradigm including a different exercise in each set of unilateral and multi-directional movements. Forty-eight amateur or semiprofessional team-sport players were randomly assigned to an EOT program including either the same bilateral vertical (CBV, n = 24) movement (squat) or different unilateral multidirectional (VUMD, n = 24) movements. Training programs consisted of 6 sets of 1 exercise (CBV) or 1 set of 6 exercises (VUMD) × 6-10 repetitions with 3 min of passive recovery between sets and exercises, biweekly for 8 wk. Functional-performance assessment included several change-of-direction (COD) tests, a 25-m linear-sprint test, unilateral multidirectional jumping tests (ie, lateral, horizontal, and vertical), and a bilateral vertical-jump test. Within-group analysis showed substantial improvements in all tests in both groups, with VUMD showing more robust adaptations in pooled COD tests and lateral/horizontal jumping, whereas the opposite occurred in CBV respecting linear sprinting and vertical jumping. Between-groups analyses showed substantially better results in lateral jumps (ES = 0.21), left-leg horizontal jump (ES = 0.35), and 10-m COD with right leg (ES = 0.42) in VUMD than in CBV. In contrast, left-leg countermovement jump (ES = 0.26) was possibly better in CBV than in VUMD. Eight weeks of EOT induced substantial improvements in functional-performance tests, although the force-vector application may play a key role to develop different and specific functional adaptations.

Dancers Entrain More Effectively than Non-Dancers to Another Actor’s Movements

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Auriel eWashburn

2014-10-01

Full Text Available For many everyday sensorimotor tasks, trained dancers have been found to exhibit distinct and sometimes superior (more stable or robust patterns of behavior compared to non-dancers. Past research has demonstrated that experts in fields requiring specialized physical training and behavioral control exhibit superior interpersonal coordination capabilities for expertise-related tasks. To date, however, no published studies have compared dancers’ abilities to coordinate their movements with the movements of another individual—i.e., during a so-called visual-motor interpersonal coordination task. The current study was designed to investigate whether trained dancers would be better able to coordinate with a partner performing short sequences of dance-like movements than non-dancers. Movement time series were recorded for individual dancers and non-dancers asked to synchronize with a confederate during three different movement sequences characterized by distinct dance styles (i.e., dance team routine, contemporary ballet, mixed style without hearing any auditory signals or music. A diverse range of linear and nonlinear analyses (i.e., Cross-correlation, Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis (CRQA, and Cross-Wavelet analysis provided converging measures of coordination across multiple time scales. While overall levels of interpersonal coordination were influenced by differences in movement sequence for both groups, dancers consistently displayed higher levels of coordination with the confederate at both short and long time scales. These findings demonstrate that the visual-motor coordination capabilities of trained dancers allow them to better synchronize with other individuals performing dance-like movements than non-dancers. Further investigation of similar tasks may help to increase the understanding of visual-motor entrainment in general, as well as provide insight into the effects of focused training on visual-motor and interpersonal

Combined Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Virtual Reality-Based Paradigm for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Individuals with Restricted Movements. A Feasibility Study with a Chronic Stroke Survivor with Severe Hemiparesis.

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Fuentes, María Antonia; Borrego, Adrián; Latorre, Jorge; Colomer, Carolina; Alcañiz, Mariano; Sánchez-Ledesma, María José; Noé, Enrique; Llorens, Roberto

2018-04-02

Impairments of the upper limb function are a major cause of disability and rehabilitation. Most of the available therapeutic options are based on active exercises and on motor and attentional inclusion of the affected arm in task oriented movements. However, active movements may not be possible after severe impairment of the upper limbs. Different techniques, such as mirror therapy, motor imagery, and non-invasive brain stimulation have been shown to elicit cortical activity in absence of movements, which could be used to preserve the available neural circuits and promote motor learning. We present a virtual reality-based paradigm for upper limb rehabilitation that allows for interaction of individuals with restricted movements from active responses triggered when they attempt to perform a movement. The experimental system also provides multisensory stimulation in the visual, auditory, and tactile channels, and transcranial direct current stimulation coherent to the observed movements. A feasibility study with a chronic stroke survivor with severe hemiparesis who seemed to reach a rehabilitation plateau after two years of its inclusion in a physical therapy program showed clinically meaningful improvement of the upper limb function after the experimental intervention and maintenance of gains in both the body function and activity. The experimental intervention also was reported to be usable and motivating. Although very preliminary, these results could highlight the potential of this intervention to promote functional recovery in severe impairments of the upper limb.

Real-time individualization of the unified model of performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jianbo; Ramakrishnan, Sridhar; Laxminarayan, Srinivas; Balkin, Thomas J; Reifman, Jaques

2017-12-01

Existing mathematical models for predicting neurobehavioural performance are not suited for mobile computing platforms because they cannot adapt model parameters automatically in real time to reflect individual differences in the effects of sleep loss. We used an extended Kalman filter to develop a computationally efficient algorithm that continually adapts the parameters of the recently developed Unified Model of Performance (UMP) to an individual. The algorithm accomplishes this in real time as new performance data for the individual become available. We assessed the algorithm's performance by simulating real-time model individualization for 18 subjects subjected to 64 h of total sleep deprivation (TSD) and 7 days of chronic sleep restriction (CSR) with 3 h of time in bed per night, using psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) data collected every 2 h during wakefulness. This UMP individualization process produced parameter estimates that progressively approached the solution produced by a post-hoc fitting of model parameters using all data. The minimum number of PVT measurements needed to individualize the model parameters depended upon the type of sleep-loss challenge, with ~30 required for TSD and ~70 for CSR. However, model individualization depended upon the overall duration of data collection, yielding increasingly accurate model parameters with greater number of days. Interestingly, reducing the PVT sampling frequency by a factor of two did not notably hamper model individualization. The proposed algorithm facilitates real-time learning of an individual's trait-like responses to sleep loss and enables the development of individualized performance prediction models for use in a mobile computing platform. © 2017 European Sleep Research Society.

Contextualized perceptions of movement as a source of expanded insight: People with multiple sclerosis' experience with physiotherapy.

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Normann, Britt; Sørgaard, Knut W; Salvesen, Rolf; Moe, Siri

2013-01-01

The hospitals' outpatient clinics for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are important in the health care. Research regarding physiotherapy in such clinics is limited. The purpose was to investigate how PwMS perceive movement during single sessions of physiotherapy in a hospital's outpatient clinic, and what do these experiences mean for the patient's insight into their movement disturbances? Qualitative research interviews were performed with a purposive sample of 12 PwMS and supplemented with seven videotaped sessions. Content analysis was performed. The results indicate that contextualized perceptions of movement appear to be an essential source for PwMS to gain expanded insight with regard to their individual movement disturbances regardless of their ambulatory status. The contextualization implies that perceptions of movement are integrated with the physiotherapist's explanations regarding optimizing gait and balance or other activities of daily life. Perceptions of improvement in body part movement and/or functional activities are vital to enhancing their understanding of their individual movement disorders, and they may provide expanded insight regarding future possibilities and limitations involving everyday tasks. The implementation of movements, which transforms the perceived improvement into self-assisted exercises, appeared to be meaningful. Contextualized perceptions of improvements in movement may strengthen the person's sense of ownership and sense of agency and thus promote autonomy and self-encouragement. The findings underpin the importance of contextualized perceptions of movement based on exploration of potential for change, as an integrated part of information and communication in the health care for PwMS. Further investigations are necessary to deepen our knowledge.

An appraisal of the Functional Movement Screen™ grading criteria--Is the composite score sensitive to risky movement behavior?

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Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; Campbell, Troy L; Callaghan, Jack P; McGill, Stuart M

2015-11-01

To examine the relationship between the composite Functional Movement Screen (FMS) score and performers' spine and frontal plane knee motion. Examined the spine and frontal plane knee motion exhibited by performers who received high (>14) and low (0.8) were noted between the high- and low-scoring groups when performing the FMS tasks; high-scorers employed less spine and frontal plane knee motion. Substantial variation was also observed amongst participants. Participants with high composite FMS scores exhibited less spine and frontal plane knee motion while performing the FMS in comparison to their low-scoring counterparts. However, because substantial variation was observed amongst performers, the FMS may not provide the specificity needed for individualized injury risk assessment and exercise prescription. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterizing the width of amphibian movements during postbreeding migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Coster, Stephanie S; Veysey Powell, Jessica S; Babbitt, Kimberly J

2014-06-01

Habitat linkages can help maintain connectivity of animal populations in developed landscapes. However, the lack of empirical data on the width of lateral movements (i.e., the zigzagging of individuals as they move from one point to point another) makes determining the width of such linkages challenging. We used radiotracking data from wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in a managed forest in Maine (U.S.A.) to characterize movement patterns of populations and thus inform planning for the width of wildlife corridors. For each individual, we calculated the polar coordinates of all locations, estimated the vector sum of the polar coordinates, and measured the distance from each location to the vector sum. By fitting a Gaussian distribution over a histogram of these distances, we created a population-level probability density function and estimated the 50th and 95th percentiles to determine the width of lateral movement as individuals progressed from the pond to upland habitat. For spotted salamanders 50% of lateral movements were ≤13 m wide and 95% of movements were ≤39 m wide. For wood frogs, 50% of lateral movements were ≤17 m wide and 95% of movements were ≤ 51 m wide. For both species, those individuals that traveled the farthest from the pond also displayed the greatest lateral movement. Our results serve as a foundation for spatially explicit conservation planning for pond-breeding amphibians in areas undergoing development. Our technique can also be applied to movement data from other taxa to aid in designing habitat linkages. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Measuring individual work performance: Identifying and selecting indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; de Vet, H.C.W.; van der Beek, A.J.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Theoretically, individual work performance (IWP) can be divided into four dimensions: task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behavior. However, there is no consensus on the indicators used to measure these dimensions.

Individual differences in motor timing and its relation to cognitive and fine motor skills.

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Håvard Lorås

Full Text Available The present study investigated the relationship between individual differences in timing movements at the level of milliseconds and performance on selected cognitive and fine motor skills. For this purpose, young adult participants (N = 100 performed a repetitive movement task paced by an auditory metronome at different rates. Psychometric measures included the digit-span and symbol search subtasks from the Wechsler battery as well as the Raven SPM. Fine motor skills were assessed with the Purdue Pegboard test. Motor timing performance was significantly related (mean r = .3 to cognitive measures, and explained both unique and shared variance with information-processing speed of Raven's scores. No significant relations were found between motor timing measures and fine motor skills. These results show that individual differences in cognitive and motor timing performance is to some extent dependent upon shared processing not associated with individual differences in manual dexterity.

A Comparison of Independent Event-Related Desynchronization Responses in Motor-Related Brain Areas to Movement Execution, Movement Imagery, and Movement Observation.

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Duann, Jeng-Ren; Chiou, Jin-Chern

2016-01-01

Electroencephalographic (EEG) event-related desynchronization (ERD) induced by movement imagery or by observing biological movements performed by someone else has recently been used extensively for brain-computer interface-based applications, such as applications used in stroke rehabilitation training and motor skill learning. However, the ERD responses induced by the movement imagery and observation might not be as reliable as the ERD responses induced by movement execution. Given that studies on the reliability of the EEG ERD responses induced by these activities are still lacking, here we conducted an EEG experiment with movement imagery, movement observation, and movement execution, performed multiple times each in a pseudorandomized order in the same experimental runs. Then, independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to the EEG data to find the common motor-related EEG source activity shared by the three motor tasks. Finally, conditional EEG ERD responses associated with the three movement conditions were computed and compared. Among the three motor conditions, the EEG ERD responses induced by motor execution revealed the alpha power suppression with highest strengths and longest durations. The ERD responses of the movement imagery and movement observation only partially resembled the ERD pattern of the movement execution condition, with slightly better detectability for the ERD responses associated with the movement imagery and faster ERD responses for movement observation. This may indicate different levels of involvement in the same motor-related brain circuits during different movement conditions. In addition, because the resulting conditional EEG ERD responses from the ICA preprocessing came with minimal contamination from the non-related and/or artifactual noisy components, this result can play a role of the reference for devising a brain-computer interface using the EEG ERD features of movement imagery or observation.

Parameterization experiments performed via synthetic mass movements prototypes generated by 3D slope stability simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Colangelo, Antonio C.

2010-05-01

The central purpose of this work is to perform a reverse procedure in the mass movement conventional parameterization approach. The idea is to generate a number of synthetic mass movements by means of the "slope stability simulator" (Colangelo, 2007), and compeer their morphological and physical properties with "real" conditions of effective mass movements. This device is an integrated part of "relief unity emulator" (rue), that permits generate synthetic mass movements in a synthetic slope environment. The "rue" was build upon fundamental geomorphological concepts. These devices operate with an integrated set of mechanical, geomorphic and hydrological models. The "slope stability simulator" device (sss) permits to perform a detailed slope stability analysis in a theoretical three dimensional space, by means of evaluation the spatial behavior of critical depths, gradients and saturation levels in the "potential rupture surfaces" inferred along a set of slope profiles, that compounds a synthetic slope unity. It's a meta-stable 4-dimensional object generated by means of "rue", that represents a sequence evolution of a generator profile applied here, was adapted the infinite slope model for slope. Any slope profiles were sliced by means of finite element solution like in Bishop method. For the synthetic slope systems generated, we assume that the potential rupture surface occurs at soil-regolith or soil-rock boundary in slope material. Sixteen variables were included in the "rue-sss" device that operates in an integrated manner. For each cell, the factor of safety was calculated considering the value of shear strength (cohesion and friction) of material, soil-regolith boundary depth, soil moisture level content, potential rupture surface gradient, slope surface gradient, top of subsurface flow gradient, apparent soil bulk density and vegetation surcharge. The slope soil was considered as cohesive material. The 16 variables incorporated in the models were analyzed for

Conceptual frameworks of individual work performance: A systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Schaufeli, W.B.; Vet, H.C.W. de; Beek, A.J. van der

2011-01-01

Objective: Individual work performance is differently conceptualized and operationalized in different disciplines. The aim of the current review was twofold: (1) identifying conceptual frameworks of individual work performance and (2) integrating these to reach a heuristic conceptual framework.

Conceptual frameworks of individual work performance a systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Schaufeli, W.B.; de Vet, H.C.W.; van der Beek, A.J.

2011-01-01

Objective: Individual work performance is differently conceptualized and operationalized in different disciplines. The aim of the current review was twofold: (1) identifying conceptual frameworks of individual work performance and (2) integrating these to reach a heuristic conceptual framework.

Measuring individual work performance: identifying and selecting indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Vet, H.C de; Beek, A.J. van der

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Theoretically, individual work performance (IWP) can be divided into four dimensions: task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behavior. However, there is no consensus on the indicators used to measure these dimensions. OBJECTIVE: This

Conceptualizing movement by expert Bobath instructors in neurological rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughan-Graham, Julie; Patterson, Kara; Zabjek, Karl; Cott, Cheryl A

2017-12-01

Movement, a core aspect of physiotherapy practice, and integral to the clinical reasoning process has undergone limited theoretical development. Instead, research has focused on intervention effectiveness embedded within the positivist paradigm. The purpose of this study was to explore how expert neurorehabilitation therapists conceptualize movement as part of their clinical reasoning. A qualitative interpretive descriptive approach consisting of stimulated recall using video-recorded treatment sessions and in-depth interviews was used. Theoretical sampling was used to recruit members of the International Bobath Instructors Training Association (IBITA) who are recognized experts in neurorehabilitation. Interview transcripts were transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was progressive, iterative, and inductive. Twenty-two IBITA instructors from 7 different countries volunteered to participate. They ranged in clinical experience from 12 to 40 years and instructor experience from 1 to 35 years. The conceptualization of movement by the IBITA instructors involves the following elements: (1) movement comprises the whole person and the whole body, not just individual body segments; (2) active alignment of body segments is integral to movement performance; and (3) efficient movement requires the relative integration of postural control/stability and selective movement/mobility. The IBITA instructors conceptualize movement from a person-centred perspective. The integration of postural control and selective movement, with alignment and variability as key components, forms the foundation of their understanding of movement. Further investigation into the role of postural control in movement recovery post central nervous system lesion is required. Likewise, the dimensions of movement critical to the conceptualization of movement are not well understood from the perspective of the physiotherapist or persons with neurological impairments. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Eliciting upper extremity purposeful movements using video games: a comparison with traditional therapy for stroke rehabilitation.

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Rand, Debbie; Givon, Noa; Weingarden, Harold; Nota, Ayala; Zeilig, Gabi

2014-10-01

Video games have become popular in stroke rehabilitation; however, the nature of this intervention is not fully understood. To compare the number of (a) purposeful and nonpurposeful repetitions of the weaker upper extremity (UE) and (b) movement accelerations as assessed by accelerometer activity counts of the weaker and stronger UEs of individuals with chronic stroke while playing video games or participating in traditional therapy. Twenty-nine individuals (mean age 59 years, 1-7 years poststroke) took part in a group intervention of video -games (n = 15) or traditional therapy (n = 14) as part of a randomized controlled trial. During 1-2 sessions, participants were video-taped while wearing wrist accelerometers. Assessors counted the number of repetitions and classified movements as purposeful or nonpurposeful using videotapes. The weaker UE motor impairments were correlated to movement accelerations, to determine if participants were using their potential during the sessions. Participants in the video game group performed a median of 271 purposeful movements and 37 970 activity counts compared to 48 purposeful movements and 14,872 activity counts in the traditional group (z = -3.0, P = .001 and z = -1.9, P = .05, respectively). Participants in the traditional group performed a median of 26 nonpurposeful (exercises) compared with 0 in the video game group (z = -4.2, P = .000). Strong significant correlations were found between the motor ability of the weak UE to repetitions of participants in both groups (r = .86, P Video games elicited more UE purposeful repetitions and higher acceleration of movement compared with traditional therapy in individuals with chronic stroke. © The Author(s) 2014.

The effect of chronic low back pain on tactile suppression during back movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Damme, Stefaan; Van Hulle, Lore; Danneels, Lieven; Spence, Charles; Crombez, Geert

2014-10-01

The aim of the present study was to examine whether tactile suppression, the phenomenon whereby tactile perception is suppressed during movement, would occur in the context of back movements. Of particular interest, it was investigated if tactile suppression in the back would be attenuated in those suffering from chronic low back pain. Individuals with chronic low back pain (N = 30) and a matched control group (N = 24) detected tactile stimuli on three possible locations (back, arm, chest) while performing a back or arm movement, or no movement. We hypothesized that the movements would induce tactile suppression, and that this effect would be largest for low-intense stimuli on the moving body part. We further hypothesized that, during back movements, tactile suppression on the back would be less pronounced in the chronic low back pain group than in the control group. The results showed the expected general tactile suppression effects. The hypothesis of back-specific attenuation of tactile suppression in the chronic low back pain group was not supported. However, back-specific tactile suppression in the chronic low back pain group was less pronounced in those who performed the back movements more slowly. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Head movements and postures as pain behavior

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Al-Hamadi, Ayoub; Limbrecht-Ecklundt, Kerstin; Walter, Steffen; Traue, Harald C.

2018-01-01

Pain assessment can benefit from observation of pain behaviors, such as guarding or facial expression, and observational pain scales are widely used in clinical practice with nonverbal patients. However, little is known about head movements and postures in the context of pain. In this regard, we analyze videos of three publically available datasets. The BioVid dataset was recorded with healthy participants subjected to painful heat stimuli. In the BP4D dataset, healthy participants performed a cold-pressor test and several other tasks (meant to elicit emotion). The UNBC dataset videos show shoulder pain patients during range-of-motion tests to their affected and unaffected limbs. In all videos, participants were sitting in an upright position. We studied head movements and postures that occurred during the painful and control trials by measuring head orientation from video over time, followed by analyzing posture and movement summary statistics and occurrence frequencies of typical postures and movements. We found significant differences between pain and control trials with analyses of variance and binomial tests. In BioVid and BP4D, pain was accompanied by head movements and postures that tend to be oriented downwards or towards the pain site. We also found differences in movement range and speed in all three datasets. The results suggest that head movements and postures should be considered for pain assessment and research. As additional pain indicators, they possibly might improve pain management whenever behavior is assessed, especially in nonverbal individuals such as infants or patients with dementia. However, in advance more research is needed to identify specific head movements and postures in pain patients. PMID:29444153

Influences of hand dominance on the maintenance of benefits after home-based modified constraint-induced movement therapy in individuals with stroke

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata C. M. Lima

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the influence of hand dominance on the maintenance of gains after home-based modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT. Method: Aprevious randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the addition of trunk restraint to the mCIMT. Twenty-two chronic stroke survivors with mild to moderate motor impairments received individual home-based mCIMT with or without trunk restraints, five times per week, three hours daily over two weeks. In this study, the participants were separated into dominant group, which had their paretic upper limb as dominant before the stroke (n=8, and non-dominant group (n=14 for analyses. The ability to perform unimanual tasks was measured by the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT and the Motor Activity Log (MAL, whereas the capacity to perform bimanual tasks was measured using the Bilateral Activity Assessment Scale (BAAS. Results: Analysis revealed significant positive effects on the MAL amount of use and quality of the movement scales, as well as on the BAAS scores after intervention, with no differences between groups. Both groups maintained the bimanual improvements during follow-ups (BAAS-seconds 0.1, 95% CI -10.0 to 10.0, however only the dominant group maintained the unilateral improvements (MAL-amount of use: 1.5, 95% CI 0.7 to 2.3; MAL-quality: 1.3, 95% CI 0.5 to 2.1. Conclusions: Upper limb dominance did not interfere with the acquisition of upper limb skills after mCIMT. However, the participants whose paretic upper limb was dominant demonstrated better abilities to maintain the unilateral gains. The bilateral improvements were maintained, regardless of upper limb dominance.

Association between masticatory performance using a colour-changeable chewing gum and jaw movement.

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Komagamine, Y; Kanazawa, M; Minakuchi, S; Uchida, T; Sasaki, Y

2011-08-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between masticatory performance as determined using a colour-changeable chewing gum and mandibular movements. Subjects comprised 45 fully dentate adults (23 men, 22 women; mean age, 28·1 years). The gum was chewed for a specified number of chewing strokes (20, 40, 60, 80, 120 or 160 strokes) without any instructions as to chewing side. A colourimeter was used to measure L*, a* and b* values (CIE-L*a*b* colour system) for the chewed gum, then the difference between two colours in the CIE-L*a*b* colour space (ΔE) for each number of chewing strokes was calculated according to a formula. Index of masticatory performance (ΔE60) for each subject was obtained using ΔE for 20, 40, 60, 80, 120 and 160 strokes. Mandibular movements were recorded using an opto-electric system with six degrees of freedom. Twelve parameters of mandibular movements relating to amplitude, duration, velocity and angle were computed for each cycle, and mean values for 10 cycles (from cycle 11 to 20) were calculated separately. Stepwise multiple regression analysis identified maximum closing velocity and closing angle as predictors accounting for 18% of the variation in ΔE60. These results suggest that lower angles of approach to intercuspation and faster speed during closing duration are associated with colour changes in the colour-changeable chewing gum. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

THE INFLUENCE OF LOWER LIMB MOVEMENT ON UPPER LIMB MOVEMENT SYMMETRY WHILE SWIMMING THE BREASTSTROKE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Jaszczak

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This study 1 examined the influence of lower limb movement on upper limb movement symmetry, 2 determined the part of the propulsion phase displaying the greatest hand movement asymmetry, 3 diagnosed the range of upper limb propulsion phase which is the most prone to the influence of the lower limbs while swimming the breaststroke. Twenty-four participants took part in two tests. Half of them performed an asymmetrical leg movement. The propulsion in the first test was generated by four limbs while in the second one only by the upper limbs. The pressure differentials exerted by the water on the back and on the palm of the right and left hand were measured. Then, the asymmetry coefficient of the hand movement was determined. No changes in the level of the asymmetry index in participants performing correct (symmetrical lower limb movement were observed. Incorrect (asymmetrical leg motion resulted in an increase of hand asymmetry. It could be concluded that lower limb faults neutralize upper limb performance when swimming on a rectilinear path. However, most asymmetrical arm performance should be identified with the conversion of propulsion into recovery. Nevertheless, its proneness to influence improper leg performance might be expected at the beginning of arm propulsion.

Functional strength training and movement performance therapy produce analogous improvement in sit-to-stand early after stroke: early-phase randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, A; Clark, A; Cooke, E V; Rowe, P; Pomeroy, V M

2017-09-01

Restoring independence in the sit-to-stand (STS) task is an important objective for stroke rehabilitation. It is not known if a particular intervention, strength training or therapy focused on movement performance is more likely to improve STS recovery. This study aimed to compare STS outcomes from functional strength training, movement performance therapy and conventional therapy. Randomised controlled trial. Acute stroke units. Medically well patients (n=93) with recent (movement performance therapy. Subjects were allocated to groups on a random basis. STS ability, timing, symmetry, co-ordination, smoothness and knee velocity were measured at baseline, outcome (after 6 weeks of intervention) and follow-up (3 months after outcome). No significant differences were found between the groups. All three groups improved their STS ability, with 88% able to STS at follow-up compared with 56% at baseline. Few differences were noted in quality of movement, with only symmetry when rising showing significantly greater improvement in the movement performance therapy group; this benefit was not evident at follow-up. Recovery of the STS movement is consistently good during stroke rehabilitation, irrespective of the type of therapy experienced. Changes in quality of movement did not differ according to group allocation, indicating that the type of therapy is less important. Clinical trial registration number NCT00322192. Copyright © 2016 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stay Focused! The Effects of Internal and External Focus of Attention on Movement Automaticity in Patients with Stroke

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Kal, E. C.; van der Kamp, J.; Houdijk, H.; Groet, E.; van Bennekom, C. A. M.; Scherder, E. J. A.

2015-01-01

Dual-task performance is often impaired after stroke. This may be resolved by enhancing patients’ automaticity of movement. This study sets out to test the constrained action hypothesis, which holds that automaticity of movement is enhanced by triggering an external focus (on movement effects), rather than an internal focus (on movement execution). Thirty-nine individuals with chronic, unilateral stroke performed a one-leg-stepping task with both legs in single- and dual-task conditions. Attentional focus was manipulated with instructions. Motor performance (movement speed), movement automaticity (fluency of movement), and dual-task performance (dual-task costs) were assessed. The effects of focus on movement speed, single- and dual-task movement fluency, and dual-task costs were analysed with generalized estimating equations. Results showed that, overall, single-task performance was unaffected by focus (p = .341). Regarding movement fluency, no main effects of focus were found in single- or dual-task conditions (p’s ≥ .13). However, focus by leg interactions suggested that an external focus reduced movement fluency of the paretic leg compared to an internal focus (single-task conditions: p = .068; dual-task conditions: p = .084). An external focus also tended to result in inferior dual-task performance (β = -2.38, p = .065). Finally, a near-significant interaction (β = 2.36, p = .055) suggested that dual-task performance was more constrained by patients’ attentional capacity in external focus conditions. We conclude that, compared to an internal focus, an external focus did not result in more automated movements in chronic stroke patients. Contrary to expectations, trends were found for enhanced automaticity with an internal focus. These findings might be due to patients’ strong preference to use an internal focus in daily life. Future work needs to establish the more permanent effects of learning with different attentional foci on re-automating motor

Stay Focused! The Effects of Internal and External Focus of Attention on Movement Automaticity in Patients with Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Kal, E C; van der Kamp, J; Houdijk, H; Groet, E; van Bennekom, C A M; Scherder, E J A

2015-01-01

Dual-task performance is often impaired after stroke. This may be resolved by enhancing patients' automaticity of movement. This study sets out to test the constrained action hypothesis, which holds that automaticity of movement is enhanced by triggering an external focus (on movement effects), rather than an internal focus (on movement execution). Thirty-nine individuals with chronic, unilateral stroke performed a one-leg-stepping task with both legs in single- and dual-task conditions. Attentional focus was manipulated with instructions. Motor performance (movement speed), movement automaticity (fluency of movement), and dual-task performance (dual-task costs) were assessed. The effects of focus on movement speed, single- and dual-task movement fluency, and dual-task costs were analysed with generalized estimating equations. Results showed that, overall, single-task performance was unaffected by focus (p = .341). Regarding movement fluency, no main effects of focus were found in single- or dual-task conditions (p's ≥ .13). However, focus by leg interactions suggested that an external focus reduced movement fluency of the paretic leg compared to an internal focus (single-task conditions: p = .068; dual-task conditions: p = .084). An external focus also tended to result in inferior dual-task performance (β = -2.38, p = .065). Finally, a near-significant interaction (β = 2.36, p = .055) suggested that dual-task performance was more constrained by patients' attentional capacity in external focus conditions. We conclude that, compared to an internal focus, an external focus did not result in more automated movements in chronic stroke patients. Contrary to expectations, trends were found for enhanced automaticity with an internal focus. These findings might be due to patients' strong preference to use an internal focus in daily life. Future work needs to establish the more permanent effects of learning with different attentional foci on re-automating motor control

Two-phase strategy of neural control for planar reaching movements: II--relation to spatiotemporal characteristics of movement trajectory.

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Rand, Miya K; Shimansky, Yury P

2013-09-01

In the companion paper utilizing a quantitative model of optimal motor coordination (Part I, Rand and Shimansky, in Exp Brain Res 225:55-73, 2013), we examined coordination between X and Y movement directions (XYC) during reaching movements performed under three prescribed speeds, two movement amplitudes, and two target sizes. The obtained results indicated that the central nervous system (CNS) utilizes a two-phase strategy, where the initial and the final phases correspond to lower and higher precision of information processing, respectively, for controlling goal-directed reach-type movements to optimize the total cost of task performance including the cost of neural computations. The present study investigates how two different well-known concepts used for describing movement performance relate to the concepts of optimal XYC and two-phase control strategy. First, it is examined to what extent XYC is equivalent to movement trajectory straightness. The data analysis results show that the variability, the movement trajectory's deviation from the straight line, increases with an increase in prescribed movement speed. In contrast, the dependence of XYC strength on movement speed is opposite (in total agreement with an assumption of task performance optimality), suggesting that XYC is a feature of much higher level of generality than trajectory straightness. Second, it is tested how well the ballistic and the corrective components described in the traditional concept of two-component model of movement performance match with the initial and the final phase of the two-phase control strategy, respectively. In fast reaching movements, the percentage of trials with secondary corrective submovement was smaller under larger-target shorter-distance conditions. In slower reaching movements, meaningful parsing was impossible due to massive fluctuations in the kinematic profile throughout the movement. Thus, the parsing points determined by the conventional submovement analysis

Disrupted rapid eye movement sleep predicts poor declarative memory performance in post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Lipinska, Malgorzata; Timol, Ridwana; Kaminer, Debra; Thomas, Kevin G F

2014-06-01

Successful memory consolidation during sleep depends on healthy slow-wave and rapid eye movement sleep, and on successful transition across sleep stages. In post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep is disrupted and memory is impaired, but relations between these two variables in the psychiatric condition remain unexplored. We examined whether disrupted sleep, and consequent disrupted memory consolidation, is a mechanism underlying declarative memory deficits in post-traumatic stress disorder. We recruited three matched groups of participants: post-traumatic stress disorder (n = 16); trauma-exposed non-post-traumatic stress disorder (n = 15); and healthy control (n = 14). They completed memory tasks before and after 8 h of sleep. We measured sleep variables using sleep-adapted electroencephalography. Post-traumatic stress disorder-diagnosed participants experienced significantly less sleep efficiency and rapid eye movement sleep percentage, and experienced more awakenings and wake percentage in the second half of the night than did participants in the other two groups. After sleep, post-traumatic stress disorder-diagnosed participants retained significantly less information on a declarative memory task than controls. Rapid eye movement percentage, wake percentage and sleep efficiency correlated with retention of information over the night. Furthermore, lower rapid eye movement percentage predicted poorer retention in post-traumatic stress disorder-diagnosed individuals. Our results suggest that declarative memory consolidation is disrupted during sleep in post-traumatic stress disorder. These data are consistent with theories suggesting that sleep benefits memory consolidation via predictable neurobiological mechanisms, and that rapid eye movement disruption is more than a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. © 2014 European Sleep Research Society.

Local and neighboring patch conditions alter sex-specific movement in banana weevils.

Science.gov (United States)

Carval, Dominique; Perrin, Benjamin; Duyck, Pierre-François; Tixier, Philippe

2015-12-01

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the movements and spread of a species over time and space is a major concern of ecology. Here, we assessed the effects of an individual's sex and the density and sex ratio of conspecifics in the local and neighboring environment on the movement probability of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus. In a "two patches" experiment, we used radiofrequency identification tags to study the C. sordidus movement response to patch conditions. We showed that local and neighboring densities of conspecifics affect the movement rates of individuals but that the density-dependent effect can be either positive or negative depending on the relative densities of conspecifics in local and neighboring patches. We demonstrated that sex ratio also influences the movement of C. sordidus, that is, the weevil exhibits nonfixed sex-biased movement strategies. Sex-biased movement may be the consequence of intrasexual competition for resources (i.e., oviposition sites) in females and for mates in males. We also detected a high individual variability in the propensity to move. Finally, we discuss the role of demographic stochasticity, sex-biased movement, and individual heterogeneity in movement on the colonization process.

Individualized exergame training improves postural control in advanced degenerative spinocerebellar ataxia: A rater-blinded, intra-individually controlled trial.

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Schatton, Cornelia; Synofzik, Matthis; Fleszar, Zofia; Giese, Martin A; Schöls, Ludger; Ilg, Winfried

2017-06-01

Treatment options are rare in degenerative ataxias, especially in advanced, multisystemic disease. Exergame training might offer a novel treatment strategy, but its effectiveness has not been investigated in advanced stages. We examined the effectiveness of a 12-week home-based training with body-controlled videogames in 10 young subjects with advanced degenerative ataxia unable or barely able to stand. Training was structured in two 6-weeks phases, allowing to adapt the training according to individual training progress. Rater-blinded clinical assessment (Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia; SARA), individual goal-attainment scoring (GAS), and quantitative movement analysis were performed two weeks before training, immediately prior to training, and after training phases 1 and 2 (intra-individual control design). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02874911). After intervention, ataxia symptoms were reduced (SARA -2.5 points, p training (p = 0.04). Goal attainment during daily living was higher than expected (GAS: 0.45). Movement analysis revealed reduced body sway while sitting (p training-induced improvements in posture control mechanisms. This study provides first evidence that, even in advanced stages, subjects with degenerative ataxia may benefit from individualized training, with effects translating into daily living and improving underlying control mechanisms. The proposed training strategy can be performed at home, is motivating and facilitates patient self-empowerment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the estimation of dispersal and movement of birds

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Kendall, W.L.; Nichols, J.D.

2004-01-01

The estimation of dispersal and movement is important to evolutionary and population ecologists, as well as to wildlife managers. We review statistical methodology available to estimate movement probabilities. We begin with cases where individual birds can be marked and their movements estimated with the use of multisite capture-recapture methods. Movements can be monitored either directly, using telemetry, or by accounting for detection probability when conventional marks are used. When one or more sites are unobservable, telemetry, band recoveries, incidental observations, a closed- or open-population robust design, or partial determinism in movements can be used to estimate movement. When individuals cannot be marked, presence-absence data can be used to model changes in occupancy over time, providing indirect inferences about movement. Where abundance estimates over time are available for multiple sites, potential coupling of their dynamics can be investigated using linear cross-correlation or nonlinear dynamic tools.

Is that really my movement? - Students' experiences of a video-supported interactive learning model for movement awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Backåberg, Sofia; Gummesson, Christina; Brunt, David; Rask, Mikael

2015-01-01

Healthcare staff and students have a great risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms. One cause of this is heavy load related work activities such as manual handling, in which the quality of individual work technique may play a major role. Preventive interventions and well-defined educational strategies to support movement awareness and long-lasting movement changes need to be developed. The aim of the present study was to explore nursing students' experiences of a newly developed interactive learning model for movement awareness. The learning model, which is based on a life-world perspective with focus on interpersonal interaction, has been used with 11 undergraduate students from the second and final year. Each student participated in three individual video sessions with a facilitator. Two individual interviews were carried out with each student during the learning process and one interview 12-18 months after the last session. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a phenomenological hermeneutic method inspired by Paul Ricoeur and described by Lindseth and Norberg was used to interpret the interviews and diary notes. The interpretation resulted in three key themes and nine subthemes. The key themes were; "Obtaining better preconditions for bodily awareness," "Experiencing changes in one's own movement," and "Experiencing challenges in the learning process." The interactive learning model entails a powerful and challenging experience that develops movement awareness. The experience of meaningfulness and usefulness emerges increasingly and alternates with a feeling of discomfort. The learning model may contribute to the body of knowledge of well-defined educational strategies in movement awareness and learning in, for example, preventive interventions and ergonomic education. It may also be valuable in other practical learning situations where movement awareness is required.

Individual Differences in Spatial Knowledge Acquisition from a Virtual Environment: An Eye-Tracking Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryosuke Uenaka

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that spatial knowledge acquisition differs across individuals in both real and virtual environments. For example, in a real environment, Ishikawa & Montello (2006 showed that some participants had almost perfect configural knowledge of the environment after one or two learning trials, whereas others performed at chance even after repeated learning trials. Using a virtual version of Ishikawa & Montello's layouts, we measured eye movements while participants were learning a layout of a route, as eye movements are shown to be closely linked to performance in spatial navigation tasks. We prepared three different layouts of a route depicted in a desktop virtual environment, along with the locations of four landmarks on that route. After learning each of the routes, we administered three different measures of spatial knowledge: numbering the landmark order, estimation of direction, and map sketching. Self-reported sense-of-direction (SDQ-S was also measured. Behavioral analyses showed positive correlations across the routes in the estimation of direction. However, consistent correlations were not observed between eye movements and performance of the estimation of direction in each route. Those results suggest that eye movements do not predict individual differences in spatial knowledge acquisition.

Building the bridge between animal movement and population dynamics.

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Morales, Juan M; Moorcroft, Paul R; Matthiopoulos, Jason; Frair, Jacqueline L; Kie, John G; Powell, Roger A; Merrill, Evelyn H; Haydon, Daniel T

2010-07-27

While the mechanistic links between animal movement and population dynamics are ecologically obvious, it is much less clear when knowledge of animal movement is a prerequisite for understanding and predicting population dynamics. GPS and other technologies enable detailed tracking of animal location concurrently with acquisition of landscape data and information on individual physiology. These tools can be used to refine our understanding of the mechanistic links between behaviour and individual condition through 'spatially informed' movement models where time allocation to different behaviours affects individual survival and reproduction. For some species, socially informed models that address the movements and average fitness of differently sized groups and how they are affected by fission-fusion processes at relevant temporal scales are required. Furthermore, as most animals revisit some places and avoid others based on their previous experiences, we foresee the incorporation of long-term memory and intention in movement models. The way animals move has important consequences for the degree of mixing that we expect to find both within a population and between individuals of different species. The mixing rate dictates the level of detail required by models to capture the influence of heterogeneity and the dynamics of intra- and interspecific interaction.

Hidden Markov modelling of movement data from fish

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Martin Wæver

Movement data from marine animals tagged with electronic tags are becoming increasingly diverse and plentiful. This trend entails a need for statistical methods that are able to filter the observations to extract the ecologically relevant content. This dissertation focuses on the development...... the behaviour of the animal. With the extended model can migratory and resident movement behaviour be related to geographical regions. For population inference multiple individual state-space analyses can be interconnected using mixed effects modelling. This framework provides parameter estimates...... approximated. This furthermore enables accurate probability densities of location to be computed. Finally, the performance of the HMM approach in analysing nonlinear state space models is compared with two alternatives: the AD Model Builder framework and BUGS, which relies on Markov chain Monte Carlo...

Slow movement execution in event-related potentials (P300).

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Naruse, Kumi; Sakuma, Haruo; Hirai, Takane

2002-02-01

We examined whether slow movement execution has an effect on cognitive and information processing by measuring the P300 component. 8 subjects performed a continuous slow forearm rotational movement using 2 task speeds. Slow (a 30-50% decrease from the subject's Preferred speed) and Very Slow (a 60-80% decrease). The mean coefficient of variation for rotation speed under Very Slow was higher than that under Slow, showing that the subjects found it difficult to perform the Very Slow task smoothly. The EEG score of alpha-1 (8-10 Hz) under Slow Condition was increased significantly more than under the Preferred Condition; however, the increase under Very Slow was small when compared with Preferred. After performing the task. P300 latency under Very Slow increased significantly as compared to that at pretask. Further, P300 amplitude decreased tinder both speed conditions when compared to that at pretask, and a significant decrease was seen under the Slow Condition at Fz, whereas the decrease under the Very Slow Condition was small. These differences indicated that a more complicated neural composition and an increase in subjects' attention might have been involved when the task was performed under the Very Slow Condition. We concluded that slow movement execution may have an influence on cognitive function and may depend on the percentage of decrease from the Preferred speed of the individual.

From movement kinematics to social cognition: the case of autism

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

The way in which we move influences our ability to perceive, interpret and predict the actions of others. Thus movements play an important role in social cognition. This review article will appraise the literature concerning movement kinematics and motor control in individuals with autism, and will argue that movement differences between typical and autistic individuals may contribute to bilateral difficulties in reciprocal social cognition. PMID:27069049

The Preferred Movement Path Paradigm: Influence of Running Shoes on Joint Movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Nigg, Benno M; Vienneau, Jordyn; Smith, Aimée C; Trudeau, Matthieu B; Mohr, Maurice; Nigg, Sandro R

2017-08-01

(A) To quantify differences in lower extremity joint kinematics for groups of runners subjected to different running footwear conditions, and (B) to quantify differences in lower extremity joint kinematics on an individual basis for runners subjected to different running footwear conditions. Three-dimensional ankle and knee joint kinematics were collected for 35 heel-toe runners when wearing three different running shoes and when running barefoot. Absolute mean differences in ankle and knee joint kinematics were computed between running shoe conditions. The percentage of individual runners who displayed differences below a 2°, 3°, and 5° threshold were also calculated. The results indicate that the mean kinematics of the ankle and knee joints were similar between running shoe conditions. Aside from ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexion, the percentage of runners maintaining their movement path between running shoes (i.e., less than 3°) was in the order of magnitude of about 80% to 100%. Many runners showed ankle and knee joint kinematics that differed between a conventional running shoe and barefoot by more than 3°, especially for ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexion. Many runners stay in the same movement path (the preferred movement path) when running in various different footwear conditions. The percentage of runners maintaining their preferred movement path depends on the magnitude of the change introduced by the footwear condition.

Classification of Animal Movement Behavior through Residence in Space and Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Leigh G; Orben, Rachael A; Tolkova, Irina; Thompson, David R

2017-01-01

Identification and classification of behavior states in animal movement data can be complex, temporally biased, time-intensive, scale-dependent, and unstandardized across studies and taxa. Large movement datasets are increasingly common and there is a need for efficient methods of data exploration that adjust to the individual variability of each track. We present the Residence in Space and Time (RST) method to classify behavior patterns in movement data based on the concept that behavior states can be partitioned by the amount of space and time occupied in an area of constant scale. Using normalized values of Residence Time and Residence Distance within a constant search radius, RST is able to differentiate behavior patterns that are time-intensive (e.g., rest), time & distance-intensive (e.g., area restricted search), and transit (short time and distance). We use grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) GPS tracks to demonstrate RST's ability to classify behavior patterns and adjust to the inherent scale and individuality of each track. Next, we evaluate RST's ability to discriminate between behavior states relative to other classical movement metrics. We then temporally sub-sample albatross track data to illustrate RST's response to less resolved data. Finally, we evaluate RST's performance using datasets from four taxa with diverse ecology, functional scales, ecosystems, and data-types. We conclude that RST is a robust, rapid, and flexible method for detailed exploratory analysis and meta-analyses of behavioral states in animal movement data based on its ability to integrate distance and time measurements into one descriptive metric of behavior groupings. Given the increasing amount of animal movement data collected, it is timely and useful to implement a consistent metric of behavior classification to enable efficient and comparative analyses. Overall, the application of RST to objectively explore and compare behavior patterns in movement data can

Analysis of Relations between Spatiotemporal Movement Regulation and Performance of Discrete Actions Reveals Functionality in Skilled Climbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Dominic; Kerr, Graham; Davids, Keith; Seifert, Ludovic

2017-01-01

In this review of research on climbing expertise, we focus on different measures of climbing performance, including spatiotemporal measures related to fluency and activity states (i.e., discrete actions), adopted by climbers for achieving overall performance goals of getting to the end of a route efficiently and safely. Currently, a broad range of variables have been reported, however, many of these fail to capture how climbers adapt to a route whilst climbing. We argue that spatiotemporal measures should be considered concurrently with evaluation of activity states (such as reaching or exploring) in order gain a more comprehensive picture of how climbers successfully adapt to a route. Spatial and temporal movement measures taken at the hip are a traditional means of assessing efficiency of climbing behaviors. More recently, performatory and exploratory actions of the limbs have been used in combination with spatiotemporal indicators, highlighting the influence of limb states on climbing efficiency and skill transfer. However, only a few studies have attempted to combine spatiotemporal and activity state measures taken during route climbing. This review brings together existing approaches for observing climbing skill at performance outcome (i.e., spatiotemporal assessments) and process (i.e., limb activity states) levels of analysis. Skill level is associated with a spatially efficient route progression and lower levels of immobility. However, more difficult hold architecture designs require significantly greater mobility and more complex movement patterning to maintain performance. Different forms of functional, or goal-supportive, movement variability, including active recovery and hold exploration, have been implicated as important adaptations to physiological and environmental dynamics that emerge during the act of climbing. Indeed, recently it has also been shown that, when climbing on new routes, efficient exploration can improve the transfer of skill. This

Individually Controlled Indoor Environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melikov, Arsen Krikor

2004-01-01

The thermal environment and inhaled air quality in buildings to which occupants are exposed has an effect on their health, comfort, performance and productivity. Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) of buildings today is designed to provide a uniform environment. However, large...... individual differences in physiological and psychological response, clothing insulation, activity, preference for air temperature and movement, etc., exist between people. Environmental conditions acceptable for most of the occupants in buildings may be achieved by providing each occupant...

Evaluation of the Leap Motion Controller during the performance of visually-guided upper limb movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Niechwiej-Szwedo, Ewa; Gonzalez, David; Nouredanesh, Mina; Tung, James

2018-01-01

Kinematic analysis of upper limb reaching provides insight into the central nervous system control of movements. Until recently, kinematic examination of motor control has been limited to studies conducted in traditional research laboratories because motion capture equipment used for data collection is not easily portable and expensive. A recently developed markerless system, the Leap Motion Controller (LMC), is a portable and inexpensive tracking device that allows recording of 3D hand and finger position. The main goal of this study was to assess the concurrent reliability and validity of the LMC as compared to the Optotrak, a criterion-standard motion capture system, for measures of temporal accuracy and peak velocity during the performance of upper limb, visually-guided movements. In experiment 1, 14 participants executed aiming movements to visual targets presented on a computer monitor. Bland-Altman analysis was conducted to assess the validity and limits of agreement for measures of temporal accuracy (movement time, duration of deceleration interval), peak velocity, and spatial accuracy (endpoint accuracy). In addition, a one-sample t-test was used to test the hypothesis that the error difference between measures obtained from Optotrak and LMC is zero. In experiment 2, 15 participants performed a Fitts' type aiming task in order to assess whether the LMC is capable of assessing a well-known speed-accuracy trade-off relationship. Experiment 3 assessed the temporal coordination pattern during the performance of a sequence consisting of a reaching, grasping, and placement task in 15 participants. Results from the t-test showed that the error difference in temporal measures was significantly different from zero. Based on the results from the 3 experiments, the average temporal error in movement time was 40±44 ms, and the error in peak velocity was 0.024±0.103 m/s. The limits of agreement between the LMC and Optotrak for spatial accuracy measures ranged between

A Workflow-based Intelligent Network Data Movement Advisor with End-to-end Performance Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Michelle M. [Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale, IL (United States); Wu, Chase Q. [Univ. of Memphis, TN (United States)

2013-11-07

Next-generation eScience applications often generate large amounts of simulation, experimental, or observational data that must be shared and managed by collaborative organizations. Advanced networking technologies and services have been rapidly developed and deployed to facilitate such massive data transfer. However, these technologies and services have not been fully utilized mainly because their use typically requires significant domain knowledge and in many cases application users are even not aware of their existence. By leveraging the functionalities of an existing Network-Aware Data Movement Advisor (NADMA) utility, we propose a new Workflow-based Intelligent Network Data Movement Advisor (WINDMA) with end-to-end performance optimization for this DOE funded project. This WINDMA system integrates three major components: resource discovery, data movement, and status monitoring, and supports the sharing of common data movement workflows through account and database management. This system provides a web interface and interacts with existing data/space management and discovery services such as Storage Resource Management, transport methods such as GridFTP and GlobusOnline, and network resource provisioning brokers such as ION and OSCARS. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed transport-support workflow system in several use cases based on its implementation and deployment in DOE wide-area networks.

Movement Discordance between Healthy and Non-Healthy US Adults.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann M Swartz

Full Text Available Physical activity is known to significantly impact cardiometabolic health. Accelerometer data, as a measure of physical activity, can be used to objectively identify a disparity in movement (movement discordance between healthy and unhealthy adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the Movement Discordance between healthy and unhealthy adults in a large US population sample.Demographic, health and accelerometer data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 cohorts were used for this study. Participants were classified as either having a "normal" or "abnormal" value for each cardiometabolic health parameter examined, based on published criteria. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine significance of each abnormal health parameter (risk factor in its unique effect on the accelerometer counts, controlling for age and gender. Average accelerometer counts per minute (cpm by gender and age categories were estimated separately for the groups of normal and abnormal cardiometabolic risk.Average cpm for those with healthy levels of each individual cardiometabolic health parameter range from 296 cpm (for C reactive protein to 337 cpm (for waist circumference, while average cpm for those with abnormal levels of each individual cardiometabolic health parameter range from 216 cpm (for insulin to 291 cpm (for LDL-cholesterol. After controlling for age and gender, waist circumference, HbA1c, Insulin, Homocysteine, and HDL-Cholesterol were the cardiometabolic health parameters that showed significant, unique and independent effects on cpm. Overall, individuals who have abnormal values for all significant cardiometabolic health parameters ("unhealthy" averaged 267 cpm (SE = 15 cpm, while the healthy sample of this study averaged 428 cpm (SE = 10 cpm. The difference in cpm between the unhealthy and healthy groups is similar between males and females. Further, for both males and females, the

Cortical Decoding of Individual Finger and Wrist Kinematics for an Upper-Limb Neuroprosthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Aggarwal, Vikram; Tenore, Francesco; Acharya, Soumyadipta; Schieber, Marc H.; Thakor, Nitish V.

2010-01-01

Previous research has shown that neuronal activity can be used to continuously decode the kinematics of gross movements involving arm and hand trajectory. However, decoding the kinematics of fine motor movements, such as the manipulation of individual fingers, has not been demonstrated. In this study, single unit activities were recorded from task-related neurons in M1 of two trained rhesus monkey as they performed individuated movements of the fingers and wrist. The primates’ hand was placed in a manipulandum, and strain gauges at the tips of each finger were used to track the digit’s position. Both linear and non-linear filters were designed to simultaneously predict kinematics of each digit and the wrist, and their performance compared using mean squared error and correlation coefficients. All models had high decoding accuracy, but the feedforward ANN (R=0.76–0.86, MSE=0.04–0.05) and Kalman filter (R=0.68–0.86, MSE=0.04–0.07) performed better than a simple linear regression filter (0.58–0.81, 0.05–0.07). These results suggest that individual finger and wrist kinematics can be decoded with high accuracy, and be used to control a multi-fingered prosthetic hand in real-time. PMID:19964645

Analysis of kinematic movement characteristics of the common center of athlete's body mass while performing the crouch start

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liudmyla Shesterova

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to determine the basic conditions for minimizing the cost of effort to accelerate the movement speed of the common center of athlete's body mass in the specified direction of his movement. Material & Methods: the study used video footage for short distances of the world's leading sprinters and athletes of various qualifications. To solve the problems, we used: a method for estimating the angles between biosigns and storyboard video, method of analogies, method of the theory of similarity and dimension, the method of computer modeling, statistical analysis, estimation of physical stress and strength impulse using the method of estimating the interdependence of the developed effort on the angle of expansion between the corresponding biokinematic links. Results: it sets the basic position kinematics movement common center of the athlete's body mass (CCM, which improves the efficiency of performance crouch start. The results of the dynamics of the movement of a common force vector are presented, which determines the direction of movement of the body's CCM in three-dimensional space, ensuring its movement along the center line of the run are presented. On the basis of the observed dynamics of the change in the direction of the resultant force vector, when a crouch start is performed, it is established that the trajectory of its movement is a helicoid. Conclusion: movement of the common center of body mass is carried out along the helicoid with subsequent reduction of its radius. Changes in the length of the helix forming the radius are systematic and reflect the energy efficiency of the running costs. The dynamics of the helicoidal movement of the generating vector is observed in each supporting phase of the running step, which makes it possible to assess the stability of the dynamic stereotype manifestation of the running step, and to judge by these indicators about the degree of athlete fatigue at the distance.

Semantic Representation of Individualized Reaction Movements for Virtual Human

OpenAIRE

Garcia-Rojas, A.; Vexo, F.; Thalmann, D.

2007-01-01

Virtual Human (VH) creation aims to provide virtual characters with realistic behavior, which implies endowing them with autonomy in an inhabited virtual environment. Autonomous behavior consists in interacting with users or the environment and reacting to stimuli. Reactions are unconscious behaviors that are not often implemented in virtual humans. Frequently, virtual humans show repetitive and robotic movements which tend to decrease realism. To improve believability in virtual humans we ne...

An integrated movement capture and control platform applied towards autonomous movements of surgical robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Daluja, Sachin; Golenberg, Lavie; Cao, Alex; Pandya, Abhilash K; Auner, Gregory W; Klein, Michael D

2009-01-01

Robotic surgery has gradually gained acceptance due to its numerous advantages such as tremor filtration, increased dexterity and motion scaling. There remains, however, a significant scope for improvement, especially in the areas of surgeon-robot interface and autonomous procedures. Previous studies have attempted to identify factors affecting a surgeon's performance in a master-slave robotic system by tracking hand movements. These studies relied on conventional optical or magnetic tracking systems, making their use impracticable in the operating room. This study concentrated on building an intrinsic movement capture platform using microcontroller based hardware wired to a surgical robot. Software was developed to enable tracking and analysis of hand movements while surgical tasks were performed. Movement capture was applied towards automated movements of the robotic instruments. By emulating control signals, recorded surgical movements were replayed by the robot's end-effectors. Though this work uses a surgical robot as the platform, the ideas and concepts put forward are applicable to telerobotic systems in general.

Human Response to Ductless Personalised Ventilation: Impact of Air Movement, Temperature and Cleanness on Eye Symptoms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalewski, Mariusz; Fillon, Maelys; Bivolarova, Maria

2013-01-01

environment facially applied individually controlled air movement of room air, with or without local filtering, did not have significant impact on eye blink frequency and tear film quality. The local air movement and air cleaning resulted in increased eye blinking frequency and improvement of tear film......The performance of ductless personalized ventilation (DPV) in conjunction with displacement ventilation (DV) was studied in relation to peoples’ health, comfort and performance. This paper presents results on the impact of room air temperature, using of DPV and local air filtration on eye blink...

Option trading and individual investor performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bauer, R.; Cosemans, M.; Eichholtz, P.

2009-01-01

This paper examines the impact of option trading on individual investor performance. The results show that most investors incur substantial losses on their option investments, which are much larger than the losses from equity trading. We attribute the detrimental impact of option trading on investor

Impact of individually controlled facially applied air movement on perceived air quality at high humidity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skwarczynski, Mariusz; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Kaczmarczyk, J.

2010-01-01

and local air velocity under a constant air temperature of 26 degrees C, namely: 70% relative humidity without air movement, 30% relative humidity without air movement and 70% relative humidity with air movement under isothermal conditions. Personalized ventilation was used to supply room air from the front...

The movements made by performers in a skilled quartet: a distinctive pattern, and the function that it serves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donald eGlowinski

2013-11-01

Full Text Available When people perform a task as part of a joint action, their behavior is not the same as it would be if they were performing the same task alone, since it has to be adapted to facilitate shared understanding (or sometimes to prevent it. Joint performance of music offers a test bed for ecologically valid investigations of the way non-verbal behavior facilitates joint action. Here we compare the expressive movement of violinists when playing in solo and ensemble conditions. The first violinists of two string quartets, professional and student, were asked to play the same musical fragments in a solo condition and with the quartet. Synchronized multimodal recordings were created from the performances, using a specially developed software platform. Different patterns of head movement were observed. By quantifying them using an appropriate measure of entropy, we showed that head movements are more predictable in the quartet scenario. Rater evaluations showed that the change does not, as might be assumed, entail markedly reduced expression. They showed some ability to discriminate between solo and ensemble performances, but did not distinguish them in terms of emotional content or expressiveness. The data raise provocative questions about joint action in realistically complex scenarios.

ASSESSMENT OF MOVEMENT SKILL PERFORMANCE IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: CONVERGENT VALIDITY BETWEEN MOT 4-6 AND M-ABC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wouter Cools

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose was to determine the level of agreement between the Motoriktest für Vier- bis Sechsjährige Kinder [MOT 4-6] and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children [M-ABC]. 48 preschool children participated in the study (Mean age = 5 years, 6 months, SD = 3 months. There was high classification agreement (90% between both tests. A Kappa correlation coefficient (0.67 provided moderately strong support for convergent validity. Less agreement was shown in identification of motor difficulties (58%. This was reflected by lower correlation coefficients on the fine movement cluster and test item level. The MOT 4-6 showed values within the range of similar movement skill performance assessment protocols. Because of its specific focus it may be of meaningful value to assess movement skill competence in typically developing preschool children (ages 4 to 6.

The movement ecology of seagrasses.

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Kathryn; van Dijk, Kor-Jent; Ruiz-Montoya, Leonardo; Kendrick, Gary A; Krauss, Siegfried L; Waycott, Michelle; Verduin, Jennifer; Lowe, Ryan; Statton, John; Brown, Eloise; Duarte, Carlos

2014-11-22

A movement ecology framework is applied to enhance our understanding of the causes, mechanisms and consequences of movement in seagrasses: marine, clonal, flowering plants. Four life-history stages of seagrasses can move: pollen, sexual propagules, vegetative fragments and the spread of individuals through clonal growth. Movement occurs on the water surface, in the water column, on or in the sediment, via animal vectors and through spreading clones. A capacity for long-distance dispersal and demographic connectivity over multiple timeframes is the novel feature of the movement ecology of seagrasses with significant evolutionary and ecological consequences. The space-time movement footprint of different life-history stages varies. For example, the distance moved by reproductive propagules and vegetative expansion via clonal growth is similar, but the timescales range exponentially, from hours to months or centuries to millennia, respectively. Consequently, environmental factors and key traits that interact to influence movement also operate on vastly different spatial and temporal scales. Six key future research areas have been identified.

Effect of micro lesions of the basal ganglia on ballistic movements in patients with deep brain stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Arun; Mehrkens, Jan H; Bötzel, Kai

2012-03-15

Bradykinesia and hypokinesia are the prominent symptoms of substantia nigra degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). In segmental dystonia, movements of not affected limbs are not impaired. Here we studied the impact of the mere implantation of stimulation electrodes on the performance of fast movements in these two groups. We investigated 9 PD patients with subthalamic electrodes and 9 patients with segmental dystonia with electrodes in the globus pallidus internum. Patients were studied on the first postoperative day without electrical stimulation of the electrodes. Subjects had to perform boxing movements with either touching the target or stopping the fist in front of the target. PD subjects performed significantly faster movements in the touch-task only as compared to dystonic patients. No difference was seen in the stopping task. In conclusion, our findings suggest that a small subthalamic lesion in individuals with PD specifically reverses bradykinesia during simple ballistic movements (touch) but not during complex ones requiring more pre-programming (no-touch paradigm). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Degeneration of rapid eye movement sleep circuitry underlies rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

McKenna, Dillon; Peever, John

2017-05-01

During healthy rapid eye movement sleep, skeletal muscles are actively forced into a state of motor paralysis. However, in rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder-a relatively common neurological disorder-this natural process is lost. A lack of motor paralysis (atonia) in rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder allows individuals to actively move, which at times can be excessive and violent. At first glance this may sound harmless, but it is not because rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder patients frequently injure themselves or the person they sleep with. It is hypothesized that the degeneration or dysfunction of the brain stem circuits that control rapid eye movement sleep paralysis is an underlying cause of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. The link between brain stem degeneration and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder stems from the fact that rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder precedes, in the majority (∼80%) of cases, the development of synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy, which are known to initially cause degeneration in the caudal brain stem structures where rapid eye movement sleep circuits are located. Furthermore, basic science and clinical evidence demonstrate that lesions within the rapid eye movement sleep circuits can induce rapid eye movement sleep-specific motor deficits that are virtually identical to those observed in rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. This review examines the evidence that rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder is caused by synucleinopathic neurodegeneration of the core brain stem circuits that control healthy rapid eye movement sleep and concludes that rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder is not a separate clinical entity from synucleinopathies but, rather, it is the earliest symptom of these disorders. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2017 International Parkinson and

Is that really my movement?—Students' experiences of a video-supported interactive learning model for movement awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia Backåberg

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Healthcare staff and students have a great risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms. One cause of this is heavy load related work activities such as manual handling, in which the quality of individual work technique may play a major role. Preventive interventions and well-defined educational strategies to support movement awareness and long-lasting movement changes need to be developed. The aim of the present study was to explore nursing students’ experiences of a newly developed interactive learning model for movement awareness. The learning model, which is based on a life-world perspective with focus on interpersonal interaction, has been used with 11 undergraduate students from the second and final year. Each student participated in three individual video sessions with a facilitator. Two individual interviews were carried out with each student during the learning process and one interview 12–18 months after the last session. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a phenomenological hermeneutic method inspired by Paul Ricoeur and described by Lindseth and Norberg was used to interpret the interviews and diary notes. The interpretation resulted in three key themes and nine subthemes. The key themes were; “Obtaining better preconditions for bodily awareness,” “Experiencing changes in one's own movement,” and “Experiencing challenges in the learning process.” The interactive learning model entails a powerful and challenging experience that develops movement awareness. The experience of meaningfulness and usefulness emerges increasingly and alternates with a feeling of discomfort. The learning model may contribute to the body of knowledge of well-defined educational strategies in movement awareness and learning in, for example, preventive interventions and ergonomic education. It may also be valuable in other practical learning situations where movement awareness is required.

A reliability study on brain activation during active and passive arm movements supported by an MRI-compatible robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Estévez, Natalia; Yu, Ningbo; Brügger, Mike; Villiger, Michael; Hepp-Reymond, Marie-Claude; Riener, Robert; Kollias, Spyros

2014-11-01

In neurorehabilitation, longitudinal assessment of arm movement related brain function in patients with motor disability is challenging due to variability in task performance. MRI-compatible robots monitor and control task performance, yielding more reliable evaluation of brain function over time. The main goals of the present study were first to define the brain network activated while performing active and passive elbow movements with an MRI-compatible arm robot (MaRIA) in healthy subjects, and second to test the reproducibility of this activation over time. For the fMRI analysis two models were compared. In model 1 movement onset and duration were included, whereas in model 2 force and range of motion were added to the analysis. Reliability of brain activation was tested with several statistical approaches applied on individual and group activation maps and on summary statistics. The activated network included mainly the primary motor cortex, primary and secondary somatosensory cortex, superior and inferior parietal cortex, medial and lateral premotor regions, and subcortical structures. Reliability analyses revealed robust activation for active movements with both fMRI models and all the statistical methods used. Imposed passive movements also elicited mainly robust brain activation for individual and group activation maps, and reliability was improved by including additional force and range of motion using model 2. These findings demonstrate that the use of robotic devices, such as MaRIA, can be useful to reliably assess arm movement related brain activation in longitudinal studies and may contribute in studies evaluating therapies and brain plasticity following injury in the nervous system.

Robot-assisted reaching exercise promotes arm movement recovery in chronic hemiparetic stroke: a randomized controlled pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rymer W Zev

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background and purpose Providing active assistance to complete desired arm movements is a common technique in upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke. Such active assistance may improve recovery by affecting somatosensory input, motor planning, spasticity or soft tissue properties, but it is labor intensive and has not been validated in controlled trials. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of robotically administered active-assistive exercise and compare those with free reaching voluntary exercise in improving arm movement ability after chronic stroke. Methods Nineteen individuals at least one year post-stroke were randomized into one of two groups. One group performed 24 sessions of active-assistive reaching exercise with a simple robotic device, while a second group performed a task-matched amount of unassisted reaching. The main outcome measures were range and speed of supported arm movement, range, straightness and smoothness of unsupported reaching, and the Rancho Los Amigos Functional Test of Upper Extremity Function. Results and discussion There were significant improvements with training for range of motion and velocity of supported reaching, straightness of unsupported reaching, and functional movement ability. These improvements were not significantly different between the two training groups. The group that performed unassisted reaching exercise improved the smoothness of their reaching movements more than the robot-assisted group. Conclusion Improvements with both forms of exercise confirmed that repeated, task-related voluntary activation of the damaged motor system is a key stimulus to motor recovery following chronic stroke. Robotically assisting in reaching successfully improved arm movement ability, although it did not provide any detectable, additional value beyond the movement practice that occurred concurrently with it. The inability to detect any additional value of robot-assisted reaching

Fish movement in an Atlantic Forest stream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosana Mazzoni

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Given the importance of fish movement to the dynamics and maintenance of stream dwelling fish communities from the Atlantic Forest, we analysed patterns of fish movement in a coastal stream from Southeastern Brazil, using mark-recapture technique. Displacement distance of each species were presented and discussed considering seasonal (rainy and dry and body size patterns. We marked 10 species along the stream and recaptured 440 (34.6% of the 1,270 marked fishes. The species with significant number of upstream moving individuals were Astyanax janeiroensis, Characidium interruptum, Astyanax hastatus, Parotocinclus maculicauda and Awaous tajasica. Only Pimelodella lateristriga presented significant differences between resident and moving individuals. Characidium interruptum and A. tajasica demonstrated greater downstream and upstream movement, respectively, moving up to 2,100 m. Even after controlling for species identity we found no significant correlation between fish length and individual displacement distance. Fishes moved longer distances during the rainy season, in accordance to the breeding season. Patterns of fish movement were in agreement to life-history traits of many of the studied species and can be reflecting specific behaviour and morphologies.

Intra and Inter-Rater Reliability of Screening for Movement Impairments: Movement Control Tests from The Foundation Matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Mischiati, Carolina R.; Comerford, Mark; Gosford, Emma; Swart, Jacqueline; Ewings, Sean; Botha, Nadine; Stokes, Maria; Mottram, Sarah L.

2015-01-01

Pre-season screening is well established within the sporting arena, and aims to enhance performance and reduce injury risk. With the increasing need to identify potential injury with greater accuracy, a new risk assessment process has been produced; The Performance Matrix (battery of movement control tests). As with any new method of objective testing, it is fundamental to establish whether the same results can be reproduced between examiners and by the same examiner on consecutive occasions. This study aimed to determine the intra-rater test re-test and inter-rater reliability of tests from a component of The Performance Matrix, The Foundation Matrix. Twenty participants were screened by two experienced musculoskeletal therapists using nine tests to assess the ability to control movement during specific tasks. Movement evaluation criteria for each test were rated as pass or fail. The therapists observed participants real-time and tests were recorded on video to enable repeated ratings four months later to examine intra-rater reliability (videos rated two weeks apart). Overall test percentage agreement was 87% for inter-rater reliability; 98% Rater 1, 94% Rater 2 for test re-test reliability; and 75% for real-time versus video. Intraclass-correlation coefficients (ICCs) were excellent between raters (0.81) and within raters (Rater 1, 0.96; Rater 2, 0.88) but poor for real-time versus video (0.23). Reliability for individual components of each test was more variable: inter-rater, 68-100%; intra-rater, 88-100% Rater 1, 75-100% Rater 2; and real-time versus video 31-100%. Cohen’s Kappa values for inter-rater reliability were 0.0-1.0; intra-rater 0.6-1.0 for Rater 1; -0.1-1.0 for Rater 2; and -0.1-1 for real-time versus video. It is concluded that both inter and intra-rater reliability of tests in The Foundation Matrix are acceptable when rated by experienced therapists. Recommendations are made for modifying some of the criteria to improve reliability where

To migrate, stay put, or wander? Varied movement strategies in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

Science.gov (United States)

Wheat, Rachel E; Lewis, Stephen B; Wang, Yiwei; Levi, Taal; Wilmers, Christopher C

2017-01-01

Quantifying individual variability in movement behavior is critical to understanding population-level patterns in animals. Here, we explore intraspecific variation in movement strategies of bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) in the north Pacific, where there is high spatiotemporal resource variability. We tracked 28 bald eagles (five immature, 23 adult) using GPS transmitters between May 2010 and January 2016. We found evidence of four movement strategies among bald eagles in southeastern Alaska and western Canada: breeding individuals that were largely sedentary and remained near nest sites year-round, non-breeding migratory individuals that made regular seasonal travel between northern summer and southern winter ranges, non-breeding localized individuals that displayed fidelity to foraging sites, and non-breeding nomadic individuals with irregular movement. On average, males traveled farther per day than females. Most nomadic individuals were immature, and all residential individuals (i.e. breeders and localized birds) were adults. Alternative movement strategies among north Pacific eagles are likely associated with the age and sex class, as well as breeding status, of an individual. Intraspecific variation in movement strategies within the population results in different space use patterns among contingents, which has important implications for conservation and management.

Dyspraxia in ASD: Impaired coordination of movement elements.

Science.gov (United States)

McAuliffe, Danielle; Pillai, Ajay S; Tiedemann, Alyssa; Mostofsky, Stewart H; Ewen, Joshua B

2017-04-01

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have long been known to have deficits in the performance of praxis gestures; these motor deficits also correlate with social and communicative deficits. To date, the precise nature of the errors involved in praxis has not been clearly mapped out. Based on observations of individuals with ASD performing gestures, we hypothesized that the simultaneous execution of multiple movement elements is especially impaired in affected children. We examined 25 school-aged participants with ASD and 25 age-matched controls performing seven simultaneous gestures that required the concurrent performance of movement elements and nine serial gestures, in which all elements were performed serially. There was indeed a group × gesture-type interaction (P decrement with simultaneous (vs. serial) gestures than controls. These results point to a potential deficit in the simultaneous processing of multiple inputs and outputs in ASD. Such deficits could relate to models of social interaction that highlight the parallel-processing nature of social communication. Autism Res 2016,. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2017, 10: 648-652. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Injury history, sex, and performance on the functional movement screen and Y balance test.

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Chimera, Nicole J; Smith, Craig A; Warren, Meghan

2015-05-01

Research is limited regarding the effects of injury or surgery history and sex on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and Y Balance Test (YBT). To determine if injury or surgery history or sex affected results on the FMS and YBT. Cross-sectional study. Athletic training facilities. A total of 200 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I female (n = 92; age = 20.0 ± 1.4 years, body mass index = 22.8 ± 3.1 kg/m(2)) and male (n = 108; age = 20.0 ± 1.5 years, body mass index = 27.0 ± 4.6 kg/m(2)) athletes were screened; 170 completed the FMS, and 190 completed the YBT. A self-reported questionnaire identified injury or surgery history and sex. The FMS assessed movement during the patterns of deep squat, hurdle step, in-line lunge, shoulder mobility, impingement-clearing test, straight-leg raise, trunk stability push-up, press-up clearing test, rotary stability, and posterior-rocking clearing test. The YBT assessed balance while participants reached in anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions. The FMS composite score (CS; range, 0-21) and movement pattern score (range, 0-3), the YBT CS (% lower extremity length), and YBT anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral asymmetry (difference between limbs in centimeters). Independent-samples t tests established differences in mean FMS CS, YBT CS, and YBT asymmetry. The Mann-Whitney U test identified differences in FMS movement patterns. We found lower overall FMS CSs for the following injuries or surgeries: hip (injured = 12.7 ± 3.1, uninjured = 14.4 ± 2.3; P = .005), elbow (injured = 12.1 ± 2.8, uninjured = 14.3 ± 2.4; P = .02), and hand (injured = 12.3 ± 2.9, uninjured = 14.3 ± 2.3; P = .006) injuries and shoulder surgery (surgery = 12.0 ± 1.0, no surgery = 14.3 ± 2.4; P lunge: P lunge: P = .01). Female athletes performed worse in FMS movement patterns for trunk (P in the lunge (P = .008), shoulder mobility (P < .001), and straight-leg raise (P < .001). Anterior asymmetry was greater

Capture, learning, and classification of upper extremity movement primitives in healthy controls and stroke patients.

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Guerra, Jorge; Uddin, Jasim; Nilsen, Dawn; Mclnerney, James; Fadoo, Ammarah; Omofuma, Isirame B; Hughes, Shatif; Agrawal, Sunil; Allen, Peter; Schambra, Heidi M

2017-07-01

There currently exist no practical tools to identify functional movements in the upper extremities (UEs). This absence has limited the precise therapeutic dosing of patients recovering from stroke. In this proof-of-principle study, we aimed to develop an accurate approach for classifying UE functional movement primitives, which comprise functional movements. Data were generated from inertial measurement units (IMUs) placed on upper body segments of older healthy individuals and chronic stroke patients. Subjects performed activities commonly trained during rehabilitation after stroke. Data processing involved the use of a sliding window to obtain statistical descriptors, and resulting features were processed by a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). The likelihoods of the states, resulting from the HMM, were segmented by a second sliding window and their averages were calculated. The final predictions were mapped to human functional movement primitives using a Logistic Regression algorithm. Algorithm performance was assessed with a leave-one-out analysis, which determined its sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for all classified primitives. In healthy control and stroke participants, our approach identified functional movement primitives embedded in training activities with, on average, 80% precision. This approach may support functional movement dosing in stroke rehabilitation.

Energy landscapes shape animal movement ecology.

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Shepard, Emily L C; Wilson, Rory P; Rees, W Gareth; Grundy, Edward; Lambertucci, Sergio A; Vosper, Simon B

2013-09-01

The metabolic costs of animal movement have been studied extensively under laboratory conditions, although frequently these are a poor approximation of the costs of operating in the natural, heterogeneous environment. Construction of "energy landscapes," which relate animal locality to the cost of transport, can clarify whether, to what extent, and how movement properties are attributable to environmental heterogeneity. Although behavioral responses to aspects of the energy landscape are well documented in some fields (notably, the selection of tailwinds by aerial migrants) and scales (typically large), the principles of the energy landscape extend across habitat types and spatial scales. We provide a brief synthesis of the mechanisms by which environmentally driven changes in the cost of transport can modulate the behavioral ecology of animal movement in different media, develop example cost functions for movement in heterogeneous environments, present methods for visualizing these energy landscapes, and derive specific predictions of expected outcomes from individual- to population- and species-level processes. Animals modulate a suite of movement parameters (e.g., route, speed, timing of movement, and tortuosity) in relation to the energy landscape, with the nature of their response being related to the energy savings available. Overall, variation in movement costs influences the quality of habitat patches and causes nonrandom movement of individuals between them. This can provide spatial and/or temporal structure to a range of population- and species-level processes, ultimately including gene flow. Advances in animal-attached technology and geographic information systems are opening up new avenues for measuring and mapping energy landscapes that are likely to provide new insight into their influence in animal ecology.

Interrater reliability of a Pilates movement-based classification system.

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Yu, Kwan Kenny; Tulloch, Evelyn; Hendrick, Paul

2015-01-01

To determine the interrater reliability for identification of a specific movement pattern using a Pilates Classification system. Videos of 5 subjects performing specific movement tasks were sent to raters trained in the DMA-CP classification system. Ninety-six raters completed the survey. Interrater reliability for the detection of a directional bias was excellent (Pi = 0.92, and K(free) = 0.89). Interrater reliability for classifying an individual into a specific subgroup was moderate (Pi = 0.64, K(free) = 0.55) however raters who had completed levels 1-4 of the DMA-CP training and reported using the assessment daily demonstrated excellent reliability (Pi = 0.89 and K(free) = 0.87). The reliability of the classification system demonstrated almost perfect agreement in determining the existence of a specific movement pattern and classifying into a subgroup for experienced raters. There was a trend for greater reliability associated with increased levels of training and experience of the raters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The importance of habitat resistance for movement decisions in the common lizard, Lacerta vivipara

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Zajitschek Susanne RK

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Movement behaviour can be influenced by a multitude of biotic and abiotic factors. Here, we investigate the speed of movement in relation to environmental and individual phenotypic properties in subadult common lizards (Lacerta vivipara. We aim to disentangle the importance of substrate, cover, humidity, basking opportunity and individual phenotype on moving tendencies in 12 treatment combinations, at which each lizard was tested. Results We find that movement behaviour depends on the starting conditions, the physical properties of the dispersal corridor, and on the individuals’ phenotype. Specifically, the presence of cover and substrate providing suitable traction in the corridor had positive effects on individual movement decisions. Additionally, we find high phenotypic variation in the propensity to move dependent on the presence of cover. Individual back patterns also strongly affected movement decisions in interaction with the physical properties of the dispersal corridor. Conclusions Our results highlight the importance of understanding the habitat resistance for movement patterns, with humid habitats with covering vegetation providing the best conditions to initiate movement in the common lizard. In addition, population effects, differences in back pattern phenotype and individual plasticity were identified as key parameters influencing movement behaviour.

Evaluating In-Car Movements in the Design of Mindful Commute Interventions: Exploratory Study.

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Paredes, Pablo Enrique; Hamdan, Nur Al-Huda; Clark, Dav; Cai, Carrie; Ju, Wendy; Landay, James A

2017-12-04

The daily commute could be a right moment to teach drivers to use movement or breath towards improving their mental health. Long commutes, the relevance of transitioning from home to work, and vice versa and the privacy of commuting by car make the commute an ideal scenario and time to perform mindful exercises safely. Whereas driving safety is paramount, mindful exercises might help commuters decrease their daily stress while staying alert. Increasing vehicle automation may present new opportunities but also new challenges. This study aimed to explore the design space for movement-based mindful interventions for commuters. We used qualitative analysis of simulated driving experiences in combination with simple movements to obtain key design insights. We performed a semistructured viability assessment in 2 parts. First, a think-aloud technique was used to obtain information about a driving task. Drivers (N=12) were given simple instructions to complete movements (configural or breath-based) while engaged in either simple (highway) or complex (city) simulated urban driving tasks using autonomous and manual driving modes. Then, we performed a matching exercise where participants could experience vibrotactile patterns from the back of the car seat and map them to the prior movements. We report a summary of individual perceptions concerning different movements and vibrotactile patterns. Beside describing situations within a drive when it may be more likely to perform movement-based interventions, we also describe movements that may interfere with driving and those that may complement it well. Furthermore, we identify movements that could be conducive to a more relaxing commute and describe vibrotactile patterns that could guide such movements and exercises. We discuss implications for design such as the influence of driving modality on the adoption of movement, need for personal customization, the influence that social perception has on participants, and the potential

Effects of dual-task conditions on cervical spine movement variability.

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Niederer, Daniel; Vogt, Lutz; Vogel, Johanna; Banzer, Winfried

2017-09-22

The potential to accurately perform cervical movements during more challenging tasks might be of importance to prevent dysfunctional motion characteristics. Although sensorimotor function during dual-task conditions are of increasing interest in biomedical and rehabilitation research, effects of such conditions on movement consistency of the neck have not yet been investigated. In this crossover MiSpEx(Medicine in Spine Exercise)-diagnostic study, we aimed to explore differences between single and dual-task conditions on cervical movement variability. Nineteen healthy participants (9 male; 24.5 ± 3.3 y) performed 10 repetitive maximal cervical movements in (1) flexion/extension and (2) lateral flexion, during one single- and during two dual-task test conditions (cognitive, motor) in a randomised and cross-over sequence. Latter consisted of a working memory n-back task (n= 2) and a repetitive ankle movement task. Range of motion (RoM) was assessed using an external three-dimensional ultrasonic movement analysis system. Coefficient of variation (CV) for repetitive RoM was analysed for differences between conditions and controlled for variances in intra-individual movement characteristics. Friedman and post-hoc Bonferroni-adjusted confidence intervals for differences from single- to dual-task values revealed changes in CV in flexion/extension from single-task to motor dual-task (+0.02 ± 0.02 (97.5%CI: 0.01; 0.03); pdual-task condition (+0.01 ± 0.02 (97.5%CI: 0.003; 0.02)) nor for lateral flexion (p> 0.05). Pearson regression analyses revealed a linear negative (pdual-task (R=2 0.55). Results for lateral flexion are comparable, baseline CV negatively impacts differences to cognitive (R=2 0.2) and motor dual-task performance (R=2 0.76; pdual-task conditions while participants with a higher variability remained almost stable or showed a decrease. The results point toward a complex interrelationship of motion patterns and adaptation processes during challenging tasks

Fetal movement detection: comparison of the Toitu actograph with ultrasound from 20 weeks gestation.

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DiPietro, J A; Costigan, K A; Pressman, E K

1999-01-01

This study evaluates the validity of Doppler-detected fetal movement by a commercially available monitor and investigates whether characteristics of maternal body habitus and the intrauterine environment affect its performance. Fetal movement was evaluated in normal pregnancies using both ultrasound visualization and a fetal actocardiograph (Toitu MT320; Tofa Medical Inc., Malvern, PA). Data were collected for 32 min on 34 fetuses stratified by gestational age (20-25 weeks; 28-32 weeks; 35-39 weeks). Fetal and maternal characteristics were recorded. Comparisons between ultrasound-detected trunk and limb movements and actograph records were conducted based both on 10-s time intervals and on detection of individual movements. Time-based comparisons indicated agreement between ultrasound and actograph 94.7% of the time; this association rose to 98% when movements of less than 1 s duration were excluded. Individual movements observed on ultrasound were detected by the actograph 91% of the time, and 97% of the time when brief, isolated movements were excluded. The overall kappa value for agreement was 0.88. The actograph was reliable in detecting periods of quiescence as well as activity. These findings did not vary by gestational age. The number of movements detected by the actograph, but not the single-transducer ultrasound, significantly increased over gestation. Maternal age, parity, weight, height, or body mass index were not consistently associated with actograph validity. Characteristics of the uterine environment, including placenta location, fetal presentation, and amniotic fluid volume also did not affect results. The Toitu actograph accurately detects fetal movement and quiescence from as early as 20 weeks gestation and has utility in both clinical and research settings. Actographs are most useful for providing objective and quantifiable measures of fetal activity level, including number and duration of movements, while visualization through ultrasound is

Dexterous Control of Seven Functional Hand Movements Using Cortically-Controlled Transcutaneous Muscle Stimulation in a Person With Tetraplegia

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Samuel C. Colachis

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Individuals with tetraplegia identify restoration of hand function as a critical, unmet need to regain their independence and improve quality of life. Brain-Computer Interface (BCI-controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES technology addresses this need by reconnecting the brain with paralyzed limbs to restore function. In this study, we quantified performance of an intuitive, cortically-controlled, transcutaneous FES system on standardized object manipulation tasks from the Grasp and Release Test (GRT. We found that a tetraplegic individual could use the system to control up to seven functional hand movements, each with >95% individual accuracy. He was able to select one movement from the possible seven movements available to him and use it to appropriately manipulate all GRT objects in real-time using naturalistic grasps. With the use of the system, the participant not only improved his GRT performance over his baseline, demonstrating an increase in number of transfers for all objects except the Block, but also significantly improved transfer times for the heaviest objects (videocassette (VHS, Can. Analysis of underlying motor cortex neural representations associated with the hand grasp states revealed an overlap or non-separability in neural activation patterns for similarly shaped objects that affected BCI-FES performance. These results suggest that motor cortex neural representations for functional grips are likely more related to hand shape and force required to hold objects, rather than to the objects themselves. These results, demonstrating multiple, naturalistic functional hand movements with the BCI-FES, constitute a further step toward translating BCI-FES technologies from research devices to clinical neuroprosthetics.

Eye movement during recall reduces objective memory performance: An extended replication.

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Leer, Arne; Engelhard, Iris M; Lenaert, Bert; Struyf, Dieter; Vervliet, Bram; Hermans, Dirk

2017-05-01

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder involves making eye movements (EMs) during recall of a traumatic image. Experimental studies have shown that the dual task decreases self-reported memory vividness and emotionality. However valuable, these data are prone to demand effects and little can be inferred about the mechanism(s) underlying the observed effects. The current research aimed to fill this lacuna by providing two objective tests of memory performance. Experiment I involved a stimulus discrimination task. Findings were that EM during stimulus recall not only reduces self-reported memory vividness, but also slows down reaction time in a task that requires participants to discriminate the stimulus from perceptually similar stimuli. Experiment II involved a fear conditioning paradigm. It was shown that EM during recall of a threatening stimulus intensifies fearful responding to a perceptually similar yet non-threat-related stimulus, as evidenced by increases in danger expectancies and skin conductance responses. The latter result was not corroborated by startle EMG data. Together, the findings suggest that the EM manipulation renders stimulus attributes less accessible for future recall. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Validity and Reliability of the Gymaware Linear Position Transducer for Measuring Counter-Movement Jump Performance in Female Athletes

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O'Donnell, Shannon; Tavares, Francisco; McMaster, Daniel; Chambers, Samuel; Driller, Matthew

2018-01-01

The current study aimed to assess the validity and test-retest reliability of a linear position transducer when compared to a force plate through a counter-movement jump in female participants. Twenty-seven female recreational athletes (19 ± 2 years) performed three counter-movement jumps simultaneously using the linear position transducer and…

The acute potentiating effects of back squats on athlete performance.

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Crewther, Blair T; Kilduff, Liam P; Cook, Christian J; Middleton, Matt K; Bunce, Paul J; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2011-12-01

Crewther, BT, Kilduff, LP, Cook, CJ, Middleton, MK, Bunce, PJ, and Yang, G-Z. The acute potentiating effects of back squats on athlete performance. J Strength Cond Res 25(12): 3319-3325, 2011-This study examined the acute potentiating effects of back squats on athlete performance with a specific focus on movement specificity and the individual timing of potentiation. Nine subelite male rugby players performed 3 protocols on separate occasions using a randomized, crossover, and counterbalanced design. Each protocol consisted of performance testing before a single set of 3 repetition maximum (3RM) back squats, followed by retesting at ∼15 seconds, 4, 8, 12, and 16 minutes. The 3 tests were countermovement jumps (CMJs), sprint performance (5 and 10 m), and 3-m horizontal sled pushes with a 100-kg load. Relationships between the individual changes in salivary testosterone and cortisol concentrations and performance were also examined. The 3RM squats significantly (p squats was found effective in acutely enhancing CMJ height in the study population, especially when the recovery period was individualized for each athlete. The study results also suggest that the potentiating effects of squats may exhibit some degree of movement specificity, being greater for those exercises with similar movement patterns. The current findings have practical implications for prescribing warm-up exercises, individualizing training programs, and for interpreting postactivation potentiation research.

Integrating movement ecology with biodiversity research - exploring new avenues to address spatiotemporal biodiversity dynamics.

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Jeltsch, Florian; Bonte, Dries; Pe'er, Guy; Reineking, Björn; Leimgruber, Peter; Balkenhol, Niko; Schröder, Boris; Buchmann, Carsten M; Mueller, Thomas; Blaum, Niels; Zurell, Damaris; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Wiegand, Thorsten; Eccard, Jana A; Hofer, Heribert; Reeg, Jette; Eggers, Ute; Bauer, Silke

2013-01-01

Movement of organisms is one of the key mechanisms shaping biodiversity, e.g. the distribution of genes, individuals and species in space and time. Recent technological and conceptual advances have improved our ability to assess the causes and consequences of individual movement, and led to the emergence of the new field of 'movement ecology'. Here, we outline how movement ecology can contribute to the broad field of biodiversity research, i.e. the study of processes and patterns of life among and across different scales, from genes to ecosystems, and we propose a conceptual framework linking these hitherto largely separated fields of research. Our framework builds on the concept of movement ecology for individuals, and demonstrates its importance for linking individual organismal movement with biodiversity. First, organismal movements can provide 'mobile links' between habitats or ecosystems, thereby connecting resources, genes, and processes among otherwise separate locations. Understanding these mobile links and their impact on biodiversity will be facilitated by movement ecology, because mobile links can be created by different modes of movement (i.e., foraging, dispersal, migration) that relate to different spatiotemporal scales and have differential effects on biodiversity. Second, organismal movements can also mediate coexistence in communities, through 'equalizing' and 'stabilizing' mechanisms. This novel integrated framework provides a conceptual starting point for a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics in light of individual movement and space-use behavior across spatiotemporal scales. By illustrating this framework with examples, we argue that the integration of movement ecology and biodiversity research will also enhance our ability to conserve diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.

Analysis of Relations between Spatiotemporal Movement Regulation and Performance of Discrete Actions Reveals Functionality in Skilled Climbing

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Dominic Orth

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this review of research on climbing expertise, we focus on different measures of climbing performance, including spatiotemporal measures related to fluency and activity states (i.e., discrete actions, adopted by climbers for achieving overall performance goals of getting to the end of a route efficiently and safely. Currently, a broad range of variables have been reported, however, many of these fail to capture how climbers adapt to a route whilst climbing. We argue that spatiotemporal measures should be considered concurrently with evaluation of activity states (such as reaching or exploring in order gain a more comprehensive picture of how climbers successfully adapt to a route. Spatial and temporal movement measures taken at the hip are a traditional means of assessing efficiency of climbing behaviors. More recently, performatory and exploratory actions of the limbs have been used in combination with spatiotemporal indicators, highlighting the influence of limb states on climbing efficiency and skill transfer. However, only a few studies have attempted to combine spatiotemporal and activity state measures taken during route climbing. This review brings together existing approaches for observing climbing skill at performance outcome (i.e., spatiotemporal assessments and process (i.e., limb activity states levels of analysis. Skill level is associated with a spatially efficient route progression and lower levels of immobility. However, more difficult hold architecture designs require significantly greater mobility and more complex movement patterning to maintain performance. Different forms of functional, or goal-supportive, movement variability, including active recovery and hold exploration, have been implicated as important adaptations to physiological and environmental dynamics that emerge during the act of climbing. Indeed, recently it has also been shown that, when climbing on new routes, efficient exploration can improve the transfer

Advantages of melodic over rhythmic movement sonification in bimanual motor skill learning.

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Dyer, J F; Stapleton, P; Rodger, M W M

2017-10-01

An important question for skill acquisition is whether and how augmented feedback can be designed to improve the learning of complex skills. Auditory information triggered by learners' actions, movement sonification, can enhance learning of a complex bimanual coordination skill, specifically polyrhythmic bimanual shape tracing. However, it is not clear whether the coordination of polyrhythmic sequenced movements is enhanced by auditory-specified timing information alone or whether more complex sound mappings, such as melodic sonification, are necessary. Furthermore, while short-term retention of bimanual coordination performance has been shown with movement sonification training, longer term retention has yet to be demonstrated. In the present experiment, participants learned to trace a diamond shape with one hand while simultaneously tracing a triangle with the other to produce a sequenced 4:3 polyrhythmic timing pattern. Two groups of participants received real-time auditory feedback during training: melodic sonification (individual movements triggered a separate note of a melody) and rhythmic sonification (each movement triggered a percussive sound), while a third control group received no augmented feedback. Task acquisition and performance in immediate retention were superior in the melodic sonification group as compared to the rhythmic sonification and control group. In a 24-h retention phase, a decline in performance in the melodic sonification group was reversed by brief playback of the target pattern melody. These results show that melodic sonification of movement can provide advantages over augmented feedback which only provides timing information by better structuring the sequencing of timed actions, and also allow recovery of complex target patterns of movement after training. These findings have important implications for understanding the role of augmented perceptual information in skill learning, as well as its application to real-world training or

Career Development, Collective Efficacy, and Individual Task Performance

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Kellett, Janet B.; Humphrey, Ronald H.; Sleeth, Randall G.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that perceived collective efficacy would mediate the effects of self-efficacy on individual task performance. Design/methodology/approach: An assessment center design with 147 participants in 49 three-person groups was used. Findings: It is found that for individuals working on an…

A random walk description of individual animal movement accounting for periods of rest

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Tilles, Paulo F. C.; Petrovskii, Sergei V.; Natti, Paulo L.

2016-11-01

Animals do not move all the time but alternate the period of actual movement (foraging) with periods of rest (e.g. eating or sleeping). Although the existence of rest times is widely acknowledged in the literature and has even become a focus of increased attention recently, the theoretical approaches to describe animal movement by calculating the dispersal kernel and/or the mean squared displacement (MSD) rarely take rests into account. In this study, we aim to bridge this gap. We consider a composite stochastic process where the periods of active dispersal or `bouts' (described by a certain baseline probability density function (pdf) of animal dispersal) alternate with periods of immobility. For this process, we derive a general equation that determines the pdf of this composite movement. The equation is analysed in detail in two special but important cases such as the standard Brownian motion described by a Gaussian kernel and the Levy flight described by a Cauchy distribution. For the Brownian motion, we show that in the large-time asymptotics the effect of rests results in a rescaling of the diffusion coefficient. The movement occurs as a subdiffusive transition between the two diffusive asymptotics. Interestingly, the Levy flight case shows similar properties, which indicates a certain universality of our findings.

Modeling and performance analysis of an improved movement-based location management scheme for packet-switched mobile communication systems.

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Chung, Yun Won; Kwon, Jae Kyun; Park, Suwon

2014-01-01

One of the key technologies to support mobility of mobile station (MS) in mobile communication systems is location management which consists of location update and paging. In this paper, an improved movement-based location management scheme with two movement thresholds is proposed, considering bursty data traffic characteristics of packet-switched (PS) services. The analytical modeling for location update and paging signaling loads of the proposed scheme is developed thoroughly and the performance of the proposed scheme is compared with that of the conventional scheme. We show that the proposed scheme outperforms the conventional scheme in terms of total signaling load with an appropriate selection of movement thresholds.

Motion and emotion: depression reduces psychomotor performance and alters affective movements in caregiving interactions

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Katherine S Young

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Impaired social functioning is a well-established feature of depression. Evidence to date suggests that disrupted processing of emotional cues may constitute part of this impairment. Beyond processing of emotional cues, fluent social interactions require that people physically move in synchronised, contingent ways. Disruptions to physical movements are a diagnostic feature of depression (psychomotor disturbance but have not previously been assessed in the context of social functioning. Here we investigated the impact of psychomotor disturbance in depression on physical responsive behaviour in both an experimental and observational setting.Methods: In Experiment 1, we examined motor disturbance in depression in response to salient emotional sounds, using a laboratory-based effortful motor task. In Experiment 2, we explored whether psychomotor disturbance was apparent in real-life social interactions. Using mother-infant interactions as a model affective social situation, we compared physical behaviours of mothers with and without postnatal depression (PND.Results: We found impairments in precise, controlled psychomotor performance in adults with depression relative to healthy adults (Experiment 1. Despite this disruption, all adults showed enhanced performance following exposure to highly salient emotional cues (infant cries. Examining real-life interactions, we found differences in physical movements, namely reduced affective touching, in mothers with PND responding to their infants, compared to healthy mothers (Experiment 2.Conclusions: Together, these findings suggest that psychomotor disturbance may be an important feature of depression that can impair social functioning. Future work investigating whether improvements in physical movement in depression could have a positive impact on social interactions would be of much interest.

The Use of Wearable Microsensors to Quantify Sport-Specific Movements.

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Chambers, Ryan; Gabbett, Tim J; Cole, Michael H; Beard, Adam

2015-07-01

-specific movements. Results demonstrated varying purposes for the use of microsensors, encompassing the detection of movement and movement frequency, the identification of movement errors and the assessment of forces during collisions. This systematic review has highlighted the use of microsensors to detect sport-specific movements across a wide range of individual and team sports. The ability of microsensors to capture sport-specific movements emphasises the capability of this technology to provide further detail on athlete demands and performance. However, there was mixed evidence on the ability of microsensors to quantify some movements (e.g. tackling within rugby union, rugby league and Australian rules football). Given these contrasting results, further research is required to validate the ability of wearable microsensors containing accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers to detect tackles in collision sports, as well as other contact events such as the ruck, maul and scrum in rugby union.

Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements

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Tucker, Marlee A.; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Fagan, William F.; Fryxell, John; Van Moorter, Bram; Alberts, Susan C; Ali, Abdullahi H.; Allen, Andrew M.; Attias, Nina; Avgar, Tal; Bartlam-Brooks, Hattie; Bayarbaatar, Buuveibaatar; Belant, Jerrold L.; Bertassoni, Alessandra; Beyer, Dean; Bidner, Laura; M. van Beest, Floris; Blake, Stephen; Blaum, Niels; Bracis, Chloe; Brown, Danielle; Nico de Bruyn, P. J.; Cagnacci, Francesca; Calabrese, J.M.; Camilo-Alves, Constança; Chamaillé-Jammes, Simon; Chiaradia, Andre; Davidson, Sarah C.; Dennis, Todd; DeStefano, Stephen; Diefenbach, Duane R.; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Fennessy, Julian; Fichtel, Claudia; Fiedler, Wolfgang; Fischer, Christina; Fischhoff, Ilya; Fleming, Christen H.; Ford, Adam T.; Fritz, Susanne A.; Gehr, Benedikt; Goheen, Jacob R.; Gurarie, Eliezer; Hebblewhite, Mark; Heurich, Marco; Mark Hewison, A.J.; Hof, Christian; Hurme, Edward; Isbell, Lynne A.; Janssen, René; Jeltsch, Florian; Kaczensky, Petra; Kane, Adam; Kappeler, Peter M.; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Kays, Roland; Kimuyu, Duncan; Koch, Flavia; Kranstauber, Bart; LaPoint, Scott; Leimgruber, Peter; Linnell, John D. C.; López-López, Pascual; Markham, A. Catherine; Mattisson, Jenny; Medici, Emilia Patricia; Mellone, Ugo; Merrill, E.; de Miranda Mourão, Guilherme; Morato, Ronaldo G.; Morellet, Nicolas; Morrison, Thomas A.; Díaz-Muñoz, Samuel L.; Mysterud, Atle; Nandintsetseg, Dejid; Nathan, Ran; Niamir, Aidin; Odden, John; O'Hara, Robert B.; Oliveira-Santos, Luiz G. R.; Olson, Kirk A.; Patterson, Bruce D.; Cunha de Paula, Rogerio; Pedrotti, Luca; Reineking, Björn; Rimmler, Martin; Rogers, T.L.; Rolandsen, Christer Moe; Rosenberry, Christopher S.; Rubenstein, Daniel I.; Safi, Kamran; Saïd, Sonia; Sapir, Nir; Sawyer, Hall; Schmidt, Niels Martin; Selva, Nuria; Sergiel, Agnieszka; Shiilegdamba, Enkhtuvshin; Silva, João Paulo; Singh, N.; Solberg, Erling J.; Spiegel, Orr; Strand, Olav; Sundaresan, S.R.; Ullmann, Wiebke; Voigt, Ulrich; Wall, J.; Wattles, David W.; Wikelski, Martin; Wilmers, Christopher C.; Wilson, Jon W.; Wittemyer, George; Zięba, Filip; Zwijacz-Kozica, Tomasz; Mueller, Thomas

2018-01-01

Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission.

Movement as a critical concept in model generation to attain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Charlene Downing

Introduction. Movement is central to life and adds meaning to the multi- dimensional nature of humans. Movement is vital in the caring and healing actions in nursing and is important in .... a reflection of the dynamic balance of the individual's relation .... can be inclusive of the individual, family and the ... purpose in their work.

The Artistic Infant Directed Performance: A Mycroanalysis of the Adult's Movements and Sounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Español, Silvia; Shifres, Favio

2015-09-01

Intersubjectivity experiences established between adults and infants are partially determined by the particular ways in which adults are active in front of babies. An important amount of research focuses on the "musicality" of infant-directed speech (defined melodic contours, tonal and rhythm variations, etc.) and its role in linguistic enculturation. However, researchers have recently suggested that adults also bring a multimodal performance to infants. According to this, some scholars seem to find indicators of the genesis of the performing arts (mainly music and dance) in such a multimodal stimulation. We analyze the adult performance using analytical categories and methodologies of analysis broadly validated in the fields of music performance and movement analysis in contemporary dance. We present microanalyses of an adult-7 month old infant interaction scene that evidenced structural aspects of infant directed multimodal performance compatible with music and dance structures, and suggest functions of adult performance similar to performing arts functions or related to them.

Responsiveness of the individual work performance questionnaire

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Individual work performance is an important outcome measure in studies in the workplace. Nevertheless, its conceptualization and measurement has proven challenging. To overcome limitations of existing scales, the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) was recently developed. The aim of the current study was to gain insight into the responsiveness of the IWPQ. Methods Data were used from the Be Active & Relax randomized controlled trial. The aim of the trial was to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention to stimulate physical activity and relaxation of office workers, on need for recovery. Individual work performance was a secondary outcome measure of the trial. In total, 39 hypotheses were formulated concerning correlations between changes on the IWPQ scales and changes on similar constructs (e.g., presenteeism) and distinct constructs (e.g., need for recovery) used in the trial. Results 260 Participants completed the IWPQ at both baseline and 12 months of follow-up. For the IWPQ scales, 23%, 15%, and 38%, respectively, of the hypotheses could be confirmed. In general, the correlations between change scores were weaker than expected. Nevertheless, at least 85% of the correlations were in the expected direction. Conclusions Based on results of the current study, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the responsiveness of the IWPQ. Several reasons may account for the weaker than expected correlations. Future research on the IWPQ’s responsiveness should be conducted, preferably in other populations and intervention studies, where greater changes over time can be expected. PMID:24885593

Visual tuning and metrical perception of realistic point-light dance movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Yi-Huang

2016-03-07

Humans move to music spontaneously, and this sensorimotor coupling underlies musical rhythm perception. The present research proposed that, based on common action representation, different metrical levels as in auditory rhythms could emerge visually when observing structured dance movements. Participants watched a point-light figure performing basic steps of Swing dance cyclically in different tempi, whereby the trunk bounced vertically at every beat and the limbs moved laterally at every second beat, yielding two possible metrical periodicities. In Experiment 1, participants freely identified a tempo of the movement and tapped along. While some observers only tuned to the bounce and some only to the limbs, the majority tuned to one level or the other depending on the movement tempo, which was also associated with individuals' preferred tempo. In Experiment 2, participants reproduced the tempo of leg movements by four regular taps, and showed a slower perceived leg tempo with than without the trunk bouncing simultaneously in the stimuli. This mirrors previous findings of an auditory 'subdivision effect', suggesting the leg movements were perceived as beat while the bounce as subdivisions. Together these results support visual metrical perception of dance movements, which may employ similar action-based mechanisms to those underpinning auditory rhythm perception.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Lerner, D.; Vet, H.C.W. de; Beek, A.J. van der

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ), measuring task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behavior, was developed in The Netherlands. OBJECTIVES: To cross-culturally adapt the IWPQ from the Dutch to the American-English language, and assess the

Speed invariance of independent control of finger movements in pianists.

Science.gov (United States)

Furuya, Shinichi; Soechting, John F

2012-10-01

Independent control of finger movements characterizes skilled motor behaviors such as tool use and musical performance. The purpose of the present study was to identify the effect of movement frequency (tempo) on individuated finger movements in piano playing. Joint motion at the digits was recorded while 5 expert pianists were playing 30 excerpts from musical pieces with different fingering and key locations either at a predetermined normal tempo or as fast as possible. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis using an expectation-maximization algorithm determined three distinct patterns of finger movement coordination for a keypress with each of the index, middle, ring, and little fingers at each of the two tempi. The finger kinematics of each coordination pattern was overall similar across the tempi. Tone sequences assigned into each cluster were also similar for both tempi. A linear regression analysis determined no apparent difference in the amount of movement covariation between the striking and nonstriking fingers at both metacarpo-phalangeal and proximal-interphalangeal joints across the two tempi, which indicated no effect of tempo on independent finger movements in piano playing. In addition, the standard deviation of interkeystroke interval across strokes did not differ between the two tempi, indicating maintenance of rhythmic accuracy of keystrokes. Strong temporal constraints on finger movements during piano playing may underlie the maintained independent control of fingers over a wider range of tempi, a feature being likely to be specific to skilled pianists.

Performance of various modified binders in road trials and under simulated crack movement in the laboratory

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Rust, FC

1989-06-01

Full Text Available The use of bitumen-rubbers and other modified binders to inhibit reflection cracking, highlighted the need to investigate the phenomena of load-associated crack movement and crack reflection and the evaluation of the field performance of modified...

Individual reactions to stress predict performance during a critical aviation incident.

Science.gov (United States)

Vine, Samuel J; Uiga, Liis; Lavric, Aureliu; Moore, Lee J; Tsaneva-Atanasova, Krasimira; Wilson, Mark R

2015-01-01

Understanding the influence of stress on human performance is of theoretical and practical importance. An individual's reaction to stress predicts their subsequent performance; with a "challenge" response to stress leading to better performance than a "threat" response. However, this contention has not been tested in truly stressful environments with highly skilled individuals. Furthermore, the effect of challenge and threat responses on attentional control during visuomotor tasks is poorly understood. Thus, this study aimed to examine individual reactions to stress and their influence on attentional control, among a cohort of commercial pilots performing a stressful flight assessment. Sixteen pilots performed an "engine failure on take-off" scenario, in a high-fidelity flight simulator. Reactions to stress were indexed via self-report; performance was assessed subjectively (flight instructor assessment) and objectively (simulator metrics); gaze behavior data were captured using a mobile eye tracker, and measures of attentional control were subsequently calculated (search rate, stimulus driven attention, and entropy). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that a threat response was associated with poorer performance and disrupted attentional control. The findings add to previous research showing that individual reactions to stress influence performance and shed light on the processes through which stress influences performance.

Maker Movement Spreads Innovation One Project at a Time

Science.gov (United States)

Peppler, Kylie; Bender, Sophia

2013-01-01

The maker movement consists of a growing culture of hands-on making, creating, designing, and innovating. A hallmark of the maker movement is its do-it-yourself (or do-it-with-others) mindset that brings individuals together around a range of activities, both high- and low-tech, all involving some form of creation or repair. The movement's…

Quantifying the performance of individual players in a team activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Duch, Jordi; Waitzman, Joshua S; Amaral, Luís A Nunes

2010-06-16

Teamwork is a fundamental aspect of many human activities, from business to art and from sports to science. Recent research suggest that team work is of crucial importance to cutting-edge scientific research, but little is known about how teamwork leads to greater creativity. Indeed, for many team activities, it is not even clear how to assign credit to individual team members. Remarkably, at least in the context of sports, there is usually a broad consensus on who are the top performers and on what qualifies as an outstanding performance. In order to determine how individual features can be quantified, and as a test bed for other team-based human activities, we analyze the performance of players in the European Cup 2008 soccer tournament. We develop a network approach that provides a powerful quantification of the contributions of individual players and of overall team performance. We hypothesize that generalizations of our approach could be useful in other contexts where quantification of the contributions of individual team members is important.

Quantifying the performance of individual players in a team activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordi Duch

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Teamwork is a fundamental aspect of many human activities, from business to art and from sports to science. Recent research suggest that team work is of crucial importance to cutting-edge scientific research, but little is known about how teamwork leads to greater creativity. Indeed, for many team activities, it is not even clear how to assign credit to individual team members. Remarkably, at least in the context of sports, there is usually a broad consensus on who are the top performers and on what qualifies as an outstanding performance.In order to determine how individual features can be quantified, and as a test bed for other team-based human activities, we analyze the performance of players in the European Cup 2008 soccer tournament. We develop a network approach that provides a powerful quantification of the contributions of individual players and of overall team performance.We hypothesize that generalizations of our approach could be useful in other contexts where quantification of the contributions of individual team members is important.

Eye movement during recall reduces objective memory performance : An extended replication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leer, Arne; Engelhard, Iris M.; Lenaert, Bert; Struyf, Dieter; Vervliet, Bram; Hermans, Dirk

2017-01-01

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder involves making eye movements (EMs) during recall of a traumatic image. Experimental studies have shown that the dual task decreases self-reported memory vividness and emotionality. However valuable, these

Effects of lighting illuminance levels on stair negotiation performance in individuals with visual impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaheen, Aliah F; Sourlas, Alexandros; Horton, Khim; McLean, Christopher; Ewins, David; Gould, David; Ghoussayni, Salim

2018-04-01

Stair-related falls of older people cause a substantial financial and social burden. Deterioration of the visual system amongst other factors put older people at a high risk of falling. Improved lighting is often recommended. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of lighting illuminance on stair negotiation performance in older individuals with visual impairment. Eleven participants aged 60 or over with a vision of 6/18 or worse ascended and descended a staircase under: 50 lx, 100 lx, 200 lx, 300 lx and distributed 200 lx lighting. A motion capture system was used to measure movements of the lower limb. Clearance, clearance variability, temporal and spatial parameters and joint/segment kinematics were computed. There was no effect on clearance or clearance variability. Participants had lower speed, cadence, increased cycle time and stance time in the 50 lx compared to 300 lx and distributed 200 lx lighting in descent. The minimum hip angle in ascent was increased in the 200 lx lighting. Clearance was found to be moderately correlated with balance scores. Individuals with visual impairment adopt precautionary gait in dim lighting conditions. This does not always result in improvements in the parameters associated with risk of falling (e.g. clearance). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interpersonal similarity between body movements in face-to-face communication in daily life.

Science.gov (United States)

Higo, Naoki; Ogawa, Ken-ichiro; Minemura, Juichi; Xu, Bujie; Nozawa, Takayuki; Ogata, Taiki; Ara, Koji; Yano, Kazuo; Miyake, Yoshihiro

2014-01-01

Individuals are embedded in social networks in which they communicate with others in their daily lives. Because smooth face-to-face communication is the key to maintaining these networks, measuring the smoothness of such communication is an important issue. One indicator of smoothness is the similarity of the body movements of the two individuals concerned. A typical example noted in experimental environments is the interpersonal synchronization of body movements such as nods and gestures during smooth face-to-face communication. It should therefore be possible to estimate quantitatively the smoothness of face-to-face communication in social networks through measurement of the synchronization of body movements. However, this is difficult because social networks, which differ from disciplined experimental environments, are open environments for the face-to-face communication between two individuals. In such open environments, their body movements become complicated by various external factors and may follow unstable and nonuniform patterns. Nevertheless, we consider there to be some interaction during face-to-face communication that leads to the interpersonal synchronization of body movements, which can be seen through the interpersonal similarity of body movements. The present study aims to clarify such interaction in terms of body movements during daily face-to-face communication in real organizations of more than 100 people. We analyzed data on the frequency of body movement for each individual during face-to-face communication, as measured by a wearable sensor, and evaluated the degree of interpersonal similarity of body movements between two individuals as their frequency difference. Furthermore, we generated uncorrelated data by resampling the data gathered and compared these two data sets statistically to distinguish the effects of actual face-to-face communication from those of the activities accompanying the communication. Our results confirm an

Interpersonal similarity between body movements in face-to-face communication in daily life.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naoki Higo

Full Text Available Individuals are embedded in social networks in which they communicate with others in their daily lives. Because smooth face-to-face communication is the key to maintaining these networks, measuring the smoothness of such communication is an important issue. One indicator of smoothness is the similarity of the body movements of the two individuals concerned. A typical example noted in experimental environments is the interpersonal synchronization of body movements such as nods and gestures during smooth face-to-face communication. It should therefore be possible to estimate quantitatively the smoothness of face-to-face communication in social networks through measurement of the synchronization of body movements. However, this is difficult because social networks, which differ from disciplined experimental environments, are open environments for the face-to-face communication between two individuals. In such open environments, their body movements become complicated by various external factors and may follow unstable and nonuniform patterns. Nevertheless, we consider there to be some interaction during face-to-face communication that leads to the interpersonal synchronization of body movements, which can be seen through the interpersonal similarity of body movements. The present study aims to clarify such interaction in terms of body movements during daily face-to-face communication in real organizations of more than 100 people. We analyzed data on the frequency of body movement for each individual during face-to-face communication, as measured by a wearable sensor, and evaluated the degree of interpersonal similarity of body movements between two individuals as their frequency difference. Furthermore, we generated uncorrelated data by resampling the data gathered and compared these two data sets statistically to distinguish the effects of actual face-to-face communication from those of the activities accompanying the communication. Our results

Influence of movement direction on levitation performance and energy dissipation in a superconducting maglev system

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chen-Guang; Yong, Hua-Dong; Zhou, You-He

2017-11-01

During the regular operation of a maglev system, the superconducting levitation body may move away from the working position due to the external disturbance and the curved part of the guideway. Based on the A - V formulation of magnetoquasistatic Maxwell's equations, in this paper, a two-dimensional numerical model is applied to study the influence of movement direction on a typical maglev system consisting of an infinitely long high-temperature superconductor and a guideway of two infinitely long parallel permanent magnets with opposite horizontal magnetization. After the highly nonlinear current-voltage characteristic of the superconductor is taken into account, the levitation performance change and the energy dissipation induced by the relative movement of the superconductor and the guideway are discussed. The results show that the levitation force, guidance force and power loss are strongly dependent on the movement direction and speed of the superconductor when it moves away from the working position. If the superconductor moves periodically through the working position, these three physical quantities will change periodically with time. Interestingly, the power loss drastically increases during the first cycle, and after the first cycle it starts to decrease and finally tends to a dynamic steady state. Moreover, an increase in the tilt angle of movement direction will improve the maximum levitation force and, simultaneously, enhance the energy dissipation of the maglev system.

Influence of movement direction on levitation performance and energy dissipation in a superconducting maglev system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen-Guang Huang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available During the regular operation of a maglev system, the superconducting levitation body may move away from the working position due to the external disturbance and the curved part of the guideway. Based on the A − V formulation of magnetoquasistatic Maxwell’s equations, in this paper, a two-dimensional numerical model is applied to study the influence of movement direction on a typical maglev system consisting of an infinitely long high-temperature superconductor and a guideway of two infinitely long parallel permanent magnets with opposite horizontal magnetization. After the highly nonlinear current-voltage characteristic of the superconductor is taken into account, the levitation performance change and the energy dissipation induced by the relative movement of the superconductor and the guideway are discussed. The results show that the levitation force, guidance force and power loss are strongly dependent on the movement direction and speed of the superconductor when it moves away from the working position. If the superconductor moves periodically through the working position, these three physical quantities will change periodically with time. Interestingly, the power loss drastically increases during the first cycle, and after the first cycle it starts to decrease and finally tends to a dynamic steady state. Moreover, an increase in the tilt angle of movement direction will improve the maximum levitation force and, simultaneously, enhance the energy dissipation of the maglev system.

THE INFLUENCE OF LOWER LIMB MOVEMENT ON UPPER LIMB MOVEMENT SYMMETRY WHILE SWIMMING THE BREASTSTROKE

OpenAIRE

M. Jaszczak

2011-01-01

This study 1) examined the influence of lower limb movement on upper limb movement symmetry, 2) determined the part of the propulsion phase displaying the greatest hand movement asymmetry, 3) diagnosed the range of upper limb propulsion phase which is the most prone to the influence of the lower limbs while swimming the breaststroke. Twenty-four participants took part in two tests. Half of them performed an asymmetrical leg movement. The propulsion in the first test was generated by four limb...

Control and prediction components of movement planning in stuttering vs. nonstuttering adults

Science.gov (United States)

Daliri, Ayoub; Prokopenko, Roman A.; Flanagan, J. Randall; Max, Ludo

2014-01-01

Purpose Stuttering individuals show speech and nonspeech sensorimotor deficiencies. To perform accurate movements, the sensorimotor system needs to generate appropriate control signals and correctly predict their sensory consequences. Using a reaching task, we examined the integrity of these control and prediction components, separately, for movements unrelated to the speech motor system. Method Nine stuttering and nine nonstuttering adults made fast reaching movements to visual targets while sliding an object under the index finger. To quantify control, we determined initial direction error and end-point error. To quantify prediction, we calculated the correlation between vertical and horizontal forces applied to the object—an index of how well vertical force (preventing slip) anticipated direction-dependent variations in horizontal force (moving the object). Results Directional and end-point error were significantly larger for the stuttering group. Both groups performed similarly in scaling vertical force with horizontal force. Conclusions The stuttering group's reduced reaching accuracy suggests limitations in generating control signals for voluntary movements, even for non-orofacial effectors. Typical scaling of vertical force with horizontal force suggests an intact ability to predict the consequences of planned control signals. Stuttering may be associated with generalized deficiencies in planning control signals rather than predicting the consequences of those signals. PMID:25203459

Exercise-Based Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention for Firefighters: Contrasting the Fitness- and Movement-Related Adaptations to Two Training Methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; Callaghan, Jack P; McGill, Stuart M

2015-09-01

Using exercise to enhance physical fitness may have little impact on performers' movement patterns beyond the gym environment. This study examined the fitness and movement adaptations exhibited by firefighters in response to 2 training methodologies. Fifty-two firefighters were assigned to a movement-guided fitness (MOV), conventional fitness (FIT), or control (CON) group. Before and after 12 weeks of training, participants performed a fitness evaluation and laboratory-based test. Three-dimensional lumbar spine and frontal plane knee kinematics were quantified. Five whole-body tasks not included in the interventions were used to evaluate the transfer of training. FIT and MOV groups exhibited significant improvements in all aspects of fitness; however, only MOV exhibited improvements in spine and frontal plane knee motion control when performing each transfer task (effect sizes [ESs] of 0.2-1.5). FIT exhibited less controlled spine and frontal plane knee motions while squatting, lunging, pushing, and pulling (ES: 0.2-0.7). More MOV participants (43%) exhibited only positive posttraining changes (i.e., improved control), in comparison with FIT (30%) and CON (23%). Fewer negative posttraining changes were also noted (19, 25, and 36% for MOV, FIT, and CON). These findings suggest that placing an emphasis on how participants move while exercising may be an effective training strategy to elicit behavioral changes beyond the gym environment. For occupational athletes such as firefighters, soldiers, and police officers, this implies that exercise programs designed with a movement-oriented approach to periodization could have a direct impact on their safety and effectiveness by engraining desirable movement patterns that transfer to occupational tasks.

Individual and team performance in team-handball: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Herbert; Finkenzeller, Thomas; Würth, Sabine; von Duvillard, Serge P

2014-12-01

Team handball is a complex sport game that is determined by the individual performance of each player as well as tactical components and interaction of the team. The aim of this review was to specify the elements of team-handball performance based on scientific studies and practical experience, and to convey perspectives for practical implication. Scientific studies were identified via data bases of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, SPORT Discus, Google Scholar, and Hercules. A total of 56 articles met the inclusion criteria. In addition, we supplemented the review with 13 additional articles, proceedings and book sections. It was found that the specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, team-handball techniques, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors specify the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition. Although we found comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex or age, there is a lack of studies, particularly for team-handball specific training, as well as cognition and social factors. Key PointsThe specific characteristics of team-handball with frequent intensity changes, specific skills, hard body confrontations, mental skills and social factors define the determinants of coordination, endurance, strength and cognition.To increase individual and team performance in team-handball specific training based on these determinants have been suggested.Although there are comprehensive studies examining individual performance in team-handball players of different experience level, sex, or age are published, there is a lack of training studies, particularly for team-handball specific techniques and endurance, as well as cognition and social factors.

Interacting noise sources shape patterns of arm movement variability in three-dimensional space.

Science.gov (United States)

Apker, Gregory A; Darling, Timothy K; Buneo, Christopher A

2010-11-01

Reaching movements are subject to noise in both the planning and execution phases of movement production. The interaction of these noise sources during natural movements is not well understood, despite its importance for understanding movement variability in neurologically intact and impaired individuals. Here we examined the interaction of planning and execution related noise during the production of unconstrained reaching movements. Subjects performed sequences of two movements to targets arranged in three vertical planes separated in depth. The starting position for each sequence was also varied in depth with the target plane; thus required movement sequences were largely contained within the vertical plane of the targets. Each final target in a sequence was approached from two different directions, and these movements were made with or without visual feedback of the moving hand. These combined aspects of the design allowed us to probe the interaction of execution and planning related noise with respect to reach endpoint variability. In agreement with previous studies, we found that reach endpoint distributions were highly anisotropic. The principal axes of movement variability were largely aligned with the depth axis, i.e., the axis along which visual planning related noise would be expected to dominate, and were not generally well aligned with the direction of the movement vector. Our results suggest that visual planning-related noise plays a dominant role in determining anisotropic patterns of endpoint variability in three-dimensional space, with execution noise adding to this variability in a movement direction-dependent manner.

Unraveling mysteries of personal performance style; biomechanics of left-hand position changes (shifting) in violin performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Visentin, Peter; Li, Shiming; Tardif, Guillaume; Shan, Gongbing

2015-01-01

Instrumental music performance ranks among the most complex of learned human behaviors, requiring development of highly nuanced powers of sensory and neural discrimination, intricate motor skills, and adaptive abilities in a temporal activity. Teaching, learning and performing on the violin generally occur within musico-cultural parameters most often transmitted through aural traditions that include both verbal instruction and performance modeling. In most parts of the world, violin is taught in a manner virtually indistinguishable from that used 200 years ago. The current study uses methods from movement science to examine the "how" and "what" of left-hand position changes (shifting), a movement skill essential during violin performance. In doing so, it begins a discussion of artistic individualization in terms of anthropometry, the performer-instrument interface, and the strategic use of motor behaviors. Results based on 540 shifting samples, a case series of 6 professional-level violinists, showed that some elements of the skill were individualized in surprising ways while others were explainable by anthropometry, ergonomics and entrainment. Remarkably, results demonstrated each violinist to have developed an individualized pacing for shifts, a feature that should influence timing effects and prove foundational to aesthetic outcomes during performance. Such results underpin the potential for scientific methodologies to unravel mysteries of performance that are associated with a performer's personal artistic style.

Trends and missing parts in the study of movement ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Holyoak, Marcel; Casagrandi, Renato; Nathan, Ran; Revilla, Eloy; Spiegel, Orr

2008-12-09

Movement is important to all organisms, and accordingly it is addressed in a huge number of papers in the literature. Of nearly 26,000 papers referring to movement, an estimated 34% focused on movement by measuring it or testing hypotheses about it. This enormous amount of information is difficult to review and highlights the need to assess the collective completeness of movement studies and identify gaps. We surveyed 1,000 randomly selected papers from 496 journals and compared the facets of movement studied with a suggested framework for movement ecology, consisting of internal state (motivation, physiology), motion and navigation capacities, and external factors (both the physical environment and living organisms), and links among these components. Most studies simply measured and described the movement of organisms without reference to ecological or internal factors, and the most frequently studied part of the framework was the link between external factors and motion capacity. Few studies looked at the effects on movement of navigation capacity, or internal state, and those were mainly from vertebrates. For invertebrates and plants most studies were at the population level, whereas more vertebrate studies were conducted at the individual level. Consideration of only population-level averages promulgates neglect of between-individual variation in movement, potentially hindering the study of factors controlling movement. Terminology was found to be inconsistent among taxa and subdisciplines. The gaps identified in coverage of movement studies highlight research areas that should be addressed to fully understand the ecology of movement.

Factors of Influence on the Performance of a Short-Latency Non-Invasive Brain Switch: Evidence in Healthy Individuals and Implication for Motor Function Rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ren eXu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Brain-computer interfacing (BCI has recently been applied as a rehabilitation approach for patients with motor disorders, such as stroke. In these closed-loop applications, a brain switch detects the motor intention from brain signals, e.g. scalp EEG, and triggers a neuroprosthetic device, either to deliver sensory feedback or to mimic real movements, thus re-establishing the compromised sensory-motor control loop and promoting neural plasticity. In this context, single trial detection of motor intention with short latency is a prerequisite. The performance of the event detection from EEG recordings is mainly determined by three factors: the type of motor imagery (e.g., repetitive, ballistic, the frequency band (or signal modality used for discrimination (e.g., alpha, beta, gamma, and MRCP, i.e. movement-related cortical potential, and the processing technique (e.g., time-series analysis, sub-band power estimation. In this study, we investigated single trial EEG traces during movement imagination on healthy individuals, and provided a comprehensive analysis of the performance of a short-latency brain switch when varying these three factors. The morphological investigation showed a cross-subject consistency of a prolonged negative phase in MRCP, and a delayed beta rebound in sensory-motor rhythms during repetitive tasks. The detection performance had the greatest accuracy when using ballistic MRCP with time-series analysis. In this case, the true positive rate was ~70% for a detection latency of ~200 ms. The results presented here are of practical relevance for designing BCI systems for motor function rehabilitation.

Behavioral Repertoire Influences the Rate and Nature of Learning in Climbing: Implications for Individualized Learning Design in Preparation for Extreme Sports Participation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominic Orth

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Extreme climbing where participants perform while knowing that a simple mistake could result in death requires a skill set normally acquired in non-extreme environments. In the ecological dynamics approach to perception and action, skill acquisition involves a process where the existing repertoire of behavioral capabilities (or coordination repertoire of a learner are destabilized and re-organized through practice—this process can expand the individuals affordance boundaries allowing the individual to explore new environments. Change in coordination repertoire has been observed in bi-manual coordination and postural regulation tasks, where individuals begin practice using one mode of coordination before transitioning to another, more effective, coordination mode during practice. However, individuals may also improve through practice without qualitatively reorganizing movement system components—they do not find a new mode of coordination. To explain these individual differences during learning (i.e., whether or not a new action is discovered, a key candidate is the existing coordination repertoire present prior to practice. In this study, the learning dynamics of body configuration patterns organized with respect to an indoor climbing surface were observed and the existing repertoire of coordination evaluated prior to and after practice. Specifically, performance outcomes and movement patterns of eight beginners were observed across 42 trials of practice over a 7-week period. A pre- and post-test scanning procedure was used to determine existing patterns of movement coordination and the emergence of new movement patterns after the practice period. Data suggested the presence of different learning dynamics by examining trial-to-trial performance in terms of jerk (an indicator of climbing fluency, at the individual level of analysis. The different learning dynamics (identified qualitatively included: continuous improvement, sudden improvement

Between-individual comparisons in performance evaluation: a perspective from prospect theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Kin Fai Ellick; Kwong, Jessica Y Y

2005-03-01

This article examines how between-individual comparisons influence performance evaluations in rating tasks. The authors demonstrated a systematic change in the perceived difference across ratees as a result of changing the way performance information is expressed. Study 1 found that perceived performance difference between 2 individuals was greater when their objective performance levels were presented with small numbers (e.g., absence rates of 2% vs. 5%) than when they were presented with large numbers (e.g., attendance rates of 98% vs. 95%). Extending this finding to situations involving trade-offs between multiple performance attributes across ratees, Study 2 showed that the relative preference for 1 ratee over another actually reversed when the presentation format of the performance information changed. The authors draw upon prospect theory to offer a theoretical framework describing the between-individual comparison aspect of performance evaluation.

Influence of maximum bite force on jaw movement during gummy jelly mastication.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuninori, T; Tomonari, H; Uehara, S; Kitashima, F; Yagi, T; Miyawaki, S

2014-05-01

It is known that maximum bite force has various influences on chewing function; however, there have not been studies in which the relationships between maximum bite force and masticatory jaw movement have been clarified. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maximum bite force on masticatory jaw movement in subjects with normal occlusion. Thirty young adults (22 men and 8 women; mean age, 22.6 years) with good occlusion were divided into two groups based on whether they had a relatively high or low maximum bite force according to the median. The maximum bite force was determined according to the Dental Prescale System using pressure-sensitive sheets. Jaw movement during mastication of hard gummy jelly (each 5.5 g) on the preferred chewing side was recorded using a six degrees of freedom jaw movement recording system. The motion of the lower incisal point of the mandible was computed, and the mean values of 10 cycles (cycles 2-11) were calculated. A masticatory performance test was conducted using gummy jelly. Subjects with a lower maximum bite force showed increased maximum lateral amplitude, closing distance, width and closing angle; wider masticatory jaw movement; and significantly lower masticatory performance. However, no differences in the maximum vertical or maximum anteroposterior amplitudes were observed between the groups. Although other factors, such as individual morphology, may influence masticatory jaw movement, our results suggest that subjects with a lower maximum bite force show increased lateral jaw motion during mastication. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Striking movements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Sofia

2011-01-01

Like all music performance, percussion playing requires high control over timing and sound properties. Specific to percussionists, however, is the need to adjust the movement to different instruments with varying physical properties and tactile feedback to the player. Furthermore, the well defined...... note onsets and short interaction times between player and instrument do not allow for much adjustment once a stroke is initiated. The paper surveys research that shows a close relationship between movement and sound production, and how playing conditions such as tempo and the rebound after impact...

Fish Individual-based Numerical Simulator (FINS): A particle-based model of juvenile salmonid movement and dissolved gas exposure history in the Columbia River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheibe, Timothy D.; Richmond, Marshall C.

2002-01-01

This paper describes a numerical model of juvenile salmonid migration in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The model, called the Fish Individual-based Numerical Simulator or FINS, employs a discrete, particle-based approach to simulate the migration and history of exposure to dissolved gases of individual fish. FINS is linked to a two-dimensional (vertically-averaged) hydrodynamic simulator that quantifies local water velocity, temperature, and dissolved gas levels as a function of river flow rates and dam operations. Simulated gas exposure histories can be input to biological mortality models to predict the effects of various river configurations on fish injury and mortality due to dissolved gas supersaturation. Therefore, FINS serves as a critical linkage between hydrodynamic models of the river system and models of biological impacts. FINS was parameterized and validated based on observations of individual fish movements collected using radiotelemetry methods during 1997 and 1998 . A quasi-inverse approach was used to decouple fish swimming movements from advection with the local water velocity, allowing inference of time series of non-advective displacements of individual fish from the radiotelemetry data. Statistical analyses of these displacements are presented, and confirm that strong temporal correlation of fish swimming behavior persists in some cases over several hours. A correlated random-walk model was employed to simulate the observed migration behavior, and parameters of the model were estimated that lead to close correspondence between predictions and observations

Memory and Culture in Social Movements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Doerr, Nicole

2014-01-01

on psychoanalytical, visual, and historical approaches. Movement scholars who focused on narrative, discourse, framing, and performance show how activists actively construct and mobilize collective memory. We know much less, however, about interactions between multiple layers and forms of remembering stored in images......, stories, or performances, or discursive forms. How do conflicting or contradictory memories about the past inside movement groups condition activists’ ability to speak, write, and even think about the future? While previous work conceived of memory in movements as a subcategory of narrative, discourse...

Movement disorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leenders, K.L.

1986-01-01

This thesis describes the measurement of brain-tissue functions in patients with movement disorders using positron emission tomography (PET). This scanning technique is a method for direct in vivo quantitation of the regional tissue content of positron emitting radionuclides in brain (or other organs) in an essentially non-invasive way. Ch. 2 outlines some general features of PET and describes the scanner which has been used for the studies in this thesis. Also the tracer methodology, as applied to data investigations of movement disorders, are discussed. Ch. 3 contains the results of the PET investigations which were performed in the study of movement disorders. The results are presented in the form of 12 papers. The main goals of these studies were the understanding of the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea, Steele-Richardson-Olzewski syndrome and special case reports. Ch. 4 summarizes the results of these publications and Ch. 5 concludes the main part of this thesis with a general discussion of movement disorders in relation to PET investigations. 697 refs.; 60 figs.; 31 tabs

Increasing convergence between imagined and executed movement across development: evidence for the emergence of movement representations.

Science.gov (United States)

Caeyenberghs, Karen; Wilson, Peter H; van Roon, Dominique; Swinnen, Stephan P; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C M

2009-04-01

Motor imagery (MI) has become a principal focus of interest in studies on brain and behavior. However, changes in MI across development have received virtually no attention so far. In the present study, children (N = 112, 6 to 16 years old) performed a new, computerized Virtual Radial Fitts Task (VRFT) to determine their MI ability as well as the age-related confluence between performance in executed and imagined movement conditions. Participants aimed at five targets, which were positioned along radial axes from a central target circle. The targets differed in width (2.5, 5, 10, 20 or 40 mm), resulting in an index of difficulty (ID) that varied from 6.9 to 2.9 bits. Performance was indexed by the linear relationship between ID and Movement Time (MT). The findings showed that executed task performance was slower than imagined performance. Moreover, conformance to Fitts' Law during executed movement performance was obtained from a very young age. Most importantly, correlations between imagined and executed movements were low in the young participants but gradually increased across age. These age-related changes in MI are hypothesized to reflect the children's emerging ability to represent internal models for prospective actions, consistent with the gradual unfolding of feedforward control processes.

Impaired Interlimb Coordination of Voluntary Leg Movements in Poststroke Hemiparesis

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Shih-Chiao

2010-01-01

Appropriate interlimb coordination of the lower extremities is particularly important for a variety of functional human motor behaviors such as jumping, kicking a ball, or simply walking. Specific interlimb coordination patterns may be especially impaired after a lesion to the motor system such as stroke, yet this has not been thoroughly examined to date. The purpose of this study was to investigate the motor deficits in individuals with chronic stroke and hemiparesis when performing unilateral versus bilateral inphase versus bilateral antiphase voluntary cyclic ankle movements. We recorded ankle angular trajectories and muscle activity from the dorsiflexors and plantarflexors and compared these between subjects with stroke and a group of healthy age-matched control subjects. Results showed clear abnormalities in both the kinematics and EMG of the stroke subjects, with significant movement degradation during the antiphase task compared with either the unilateral or the inphase task. The abnormalities included prolonged cycle durations, reduced ankle excursions, decreased agonist EMG bursts, and reduced EMG modulation across movement phases. By comparison, the control group showed nearly identical performance across all task conditions. These findings suggest that stroke involving the corticospinal system projection to the leg specifically impairs one or more components of the neural circuitry involved in lower extremity interlimb coordination. The express susceptibility of the antiphase pattern to exaggerated motor deficits could contribute to functional deficits in a number of antiphase leg movement tasks, including walking. PMID:20463199

Motor interactions with another person: Do individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder plan ahead?

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David A Gonzalez

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Interpersonal motor interactions (joint-actions occur on a daily basis. In joint-action situations, typically developing (TD individuals consider the end-goal of their partner and adjust their own movements to accommodate the other person. The movement planning processes required for joint-action may, however, be difficult for individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD given documented difficulties in performance on theory of mind (ToM and motor tasks. The goal of this experiment was to determine if individuals with ASD exhibit end-state comfort behaviours similar to their typically developing peers in joint-action situations. Participants were asked to either pass, place, or use three common tools: a wooden toy hammer, a stick, or a calculator. These tools were selected because the degree of affordance they offer (i.e., the physical characteristics they posses to prompt proper use ranges from direct (hammer to indirect (calculator. Participants were asked to pass the tool to a confederate who intended to place the tool down, or use the tool. Variables of interest included beginning and end-state grip orientations of the participant and confederate (comfortable or uncomfortable as a function of task goal, and the side to which the tool was placed or passed. Similar to Gonzalez et al. 2011, some individuals with ASD maximized their partner’s beginning-state comfort by adopting personally uncomfortable postures. That said, their performance was more variable than their TD peers who consistently passed tools in a manner that facilitated comfortable use by the confederate. Therefore, the movement planning processes used to prepare to pass a tool are not stereotypical across all individuals with ASD. We propose that the novel joint-action task described herein provides the basis for testing an important link between motor performance and more complex social and communication behaviours.

Mechanical energy expenditures and movement efficiency in full body reaching movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Sha, Daohang; France, Christopher R; Thomas, James S

2010-02-01

The effect of target location, speed, and handedness on the average total mechanical energy and movement efficiency is studied in 15 healthy subjects (7 males and 8 females with age 22.9 +/- 1.79 years old) performing full body reaching movements. The average total mechanical energy is measured as the time average of integration of joint power, potential energy, and kinetic energy respectively. Movement efficiency is calculated as the ratio of total kinetic energy to the total joint power and potential energy. Results show that speed and target location have significant effects on total mechanical energy and movement efficiency, but reaching hand only effects kinetic energy. From our findings we conclude that (1) efficiency in whole body reaching is dependent on whether the height of the body center of mass is raised or lowered during the task; (2) efficiency is increased as movement speed is increased, in part because of greater changes in potential energy; and (3) the CNS does not appear to use movement efficiency as a primary planning variable in full body reaching. It may be dependent on a combination of other factors or constraints.

Autism: The Micro-Movement Perspective

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Elizabeth B Torres

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The current assessment of behaviors in the inventories to diagnose autism spectrum disorders (ASD focus on observation and discrete categorizations. Behaviors require movements, yet measurements of physical movements are seldom included. Their inclusion however, could provide an objective characterization of behavior to help unveil interactions between the peripheral and the central nervous systems. Such interactions are critical for the development and maintenance of spontaneous autonomy, self-regulation and voluntary control. At present, current approaches cannot deal with the heterogeneous, dynamic and stochastic nature of development. Accordingly, they leave no avenues for real-time or longitudinal assessments of change in a coping system continuously adapting and developing compensatory mechanisms. We offer a new unifying statistical framework to reveal re-afferent kinesthetic features of the individual with ASD. The new methodology is based on the non-stationary stochastic patterns of minute fluctuations (micro-movements inherent to our natural actions. Such patterns of behavioral variability provide re-entrant sensory feedback contributing to the autonomous regulation and coordination of the motor output. From an early age, this feedback supports centrally driven volitional control and fluid, flexible transitions between intentional and spontaneous behaviors. We show that in ASD there is a disruption in the maturation of this form of proprioception. Despite this disturbance, each individual has unique adaptive compensatory capabilities that we can unveil and exploit to evoke faster and more accurate decisions. Measuring the kinesthetic re-afference in tandem with stimuli variations we can detect changes in their micro-movements indicative of a more predictive and reliable kinesthetic percept. Our methods address the heterogeneity of ASD with a personalized approach grounded in the inherent sensory-motor abilities that the individual has

Pre-Participation Screening: The Use of Fundamental Movements as an Assessment of Function – Part 1

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Lee; Hoogenboom, Barb

2006-01-01

To prepare an athlete for the wide variety of activities needed to participate in their sport, the analysis of fundamental movements should be incorporated into pre-participation screening in order to determine who possesses, or lacks, the ability to perform certain essential movements. In a series of two articles, the background and rationale for the analysis of fundamental movement will be provided. In addition, one such evaluation tool that attempts to assess the fundamental movement patterns performed by an individual, the Functional Movement Screen (FMS™), will be described. Three of the seven fundamental movement patterns that comprise the FMS™ are described in detail in Part I: deep squat, hurdle step, and in-line lunge. Part II of this series, which will be published in the August issue of NAJSPT, will provide a brief review of the analysis of fundamental movements, as well a detailed description of the four additional patterns that complement those presented in Part I (to complete the total of seven fundamental movement patterns which comprise the FMS™): shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability. The intent of this two part series is to introduce the concept of the evaluation of fundamental movements, whether it is the FMS™ system or a different system devised by another clinician. Such a functional assessment should be incorporated into pre-participation screening in order to determine whether the athlete has the essential movements needed to participate in sports activities with a decreased risk of injury. PMID:21522216

FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT SCREENING: THE USE OF FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENTS AS AN ASSESSMENT OF FUNCTION ‐ PART 1

OpenAIRE

Cook, Gray; Burton, Lee; Hoogenboom, Barbara J.; Voight, Michael

2014-01-01

To prepare an athlete for the wide variety of activities needed to participate in or return to their sport, the analysis of fundamental movements should be incorporated into screening in order to determine who possesses, or lacks, the ability to perform certain essential movements. In a series of two articles, the background and rationale for the analysis of fundamental movement will be provided. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS™) will be described, and any evidence related to its use will...

Unraveling mysteries of personal performance style; biomechanics of left-hand position changes (shifting in violin performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Visentin

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Instrumental music performance ranks among the most complex of learned human behaviors, requiring development of highly nuanced powers of sensory and neural discrimination, intricate motor skills, and adaptive abilities in a temporal activity. Teaching, learning and performing on the violin generally occur within musico-cultural parameters most often transmitted through aural traditions that include both verbal instruction and performance modeling. In most parts of the world, violin is taught in a manner virtually indistinguishable from that used 200 years ago. The current study uses methods from movement science to examine the “how” and “what” of left-hand position changes (shifting, a movement skill essential during violin performance. In doing so, it begins a discussion of artistic individualization in terms of anthropometry, the performer-instrument interface, and the strategic use of motor behaviors. Results based on 540 shifting samples, a case series of 6 professional-level violinists, showed that some elements of the skill were individualized in surprising ways while others were explainable by anthropometry, ergonomics and entrainment. Remarkably, results demonstrated each violinist to have developed an individualized pacing for shifts, a feature that should influence timing effects and prove foundational to aesthetic outcomes during performance. Such results underpin the potential for scientific methodologies to unravel mysteries of performance that are associated with a performer’s personal artistic style.

Wearable Performance Devices in Sports Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ryan T; Kling, Scott R; Salata, Michael J; Cupp, Sean A; Sheehan, Joseph; Voos, James E

2016-01-01

Wearable performance devices and sensors are becoming more readily available to the general population and athletic teams. Advances in technology have allowed individual endurance athletes, sports teams, and physicians to monitor functional movements, workloads, and biometric markers to maximize performance and minimize injury. Movement sensors include pedometers, accelerometers/gyroscopes, and global positioning satellite (GPS) devices. Physiologic sensors include heart rate monitors, sleep monitors, temperature sensors, and integrated sensors. The purpose of this review is to familiarize health care professionals and team physicians with the various available types of wearable sensors, discuss their current utilization, and present future applications in sports medicine. Data were obtained from peer-reviewed literature through a search of the PubMed database. Included studies searched development, outcomes, and validation of wearable performance devices such as GPS, accelerometers, and physiologic monitors in sports. Clinical review. Level 4. Wearable sensors provide a method of monitoring real-time physiologic and movement parameters during training and competitive sports. These parameters can be used to detect position-specific patterns in movement, design more efficient sports-specific training programs for performance optimization, and screen for potential causes of injury. More recent advances in movement sensors have improved accuracy in detecting high-acceleration movements during competitive sports. Wearable devices are valuable instruments for the improvement of sports performance. Evidence for use of these devices in professional sports is still limited. Future developments are needed to establish training protocols using data from wearable devices. © 2015 The Author(s).

Simulation of car movement along circular path

Science.gov (United States)

Fedotov, A. I.; Tikhov-Tinnikov, D. A.; Ovchinnikova, N. I.; Lysenko, A. V.

2017-10-01

Under operating conditions, suspension system performance changes which negatively affects vehicle stability and handling. The paper aims to simulate the impact of changes in suspension system performance on vehicle stability and handling. Methods. The paper describes monitoring of suspension system performance, testing of vehicle stability and handling, analyzes methods of suspension system performance monitoring under operating conditions. The mathematical model of a car movement along a circular path was developed. Mathematical tools describing a circular movement of a vehicle along a horizontal road were developed. Turning car movements were simulated. Calculation and experiment results were compared. Simulation proves the applicability of a mathematical model for assessment of the impact of suspension system performance on vehicle stability and handling.

Developing Emotional Literacy through Individual Dance Movement Therapy: A Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Meekums, Bonnie

2008-01-01

This paper reports a pragmatic mixed methods pilot study of teacher perceptions regarding a school-based Dance Movement therapy (DMT) service for six children aged four to seven in a North of England primary school. No previous studies have systematically evaluated DMT in terms of the development of Emotional Literacy (EL), though theoretical…

Performance of a Self-Paced Brain Computer Interface on Data Contaminated with Eye-Movement Artifacts and on Data Recorded in a Subsequent Session

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehrdad Fatourechi

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The performance of a specific self-paced BCI (SBCI is investigated using two different datasets to determine its suitability for using online: (1 data contaminated with large-amplitude eye movements, and (2 data recorded in a session subsequent to the original sessions used to design the system. No part of the data was rejected in the subsequent session. Therefore, this dataset can be regarded as a “pseudo-online” test set. The SBCI under investigation uses features extracted from three specific neurological phenomena. Each of these neurological phenomena belongs to a different frequency band. Since many prominent artifacts are either of mostly low-frequency (e.g., eye movements or mostly high-frequency nature (e.g., muscle movements, it is expected that the system shows a fairly robust performance over artifact-contaminated data. Analysis of the data of four participants using epochs contaminated with large-amplitude eye-movement artifacts shows that the system's performance deteriorates only slightly. Furthermore, the system's performance during the session subsequent to the original sessions remained largely the same as in the original sessions for three out of the four participants. This moderate drop in performance can be considered tolerable, since allowing artifact-contaminated data to be used as inputs makes the system available for users at ALL times.

Video-task assessment of learning and memory in Macaques (Macaca mulatta) - Effects of stimulus movement on performance

Science.gov (United States)

Washburn, David A.; Hopkins, William D.; Rumbaugh, Duane M.

1989-01-01

Effects of stimulus movement on learning, transfer, matching, and short-term memory performance were assessed with 2 monkeys using a video-task paradigm in which the animals responded to computer-generated images by manipulating a joystick. Performance on tests of learning set, transfer index, matching to sample, and delayed matching to sample in the video-task paradigm was comparable to that obtained in previous investigations using the Wisconsin General Testing Apparatus. Additionally, learning, transfer, and matching were reliably and significantly better when the stimuli or discriminanda moved than when the stimuli were stationary. External manipulations such as stimulus movement may increase attention to the demands of a task, which in turn should increase the efficiency of learning. These findings have implications for the investigation of learning in other populations, as well as for the application of the video-task paradigm to comparative study.

Movement rehabilitation: are the principles of re-learning in the recovery of function the same as those of original learning?

Science.gov (United States)

Newell, Karl M; Verhoeven, F Martijn

2017-01-01

This paper addresses the change in movement dynamics in rehabilitation through discussing issues that pertain to the question as to whether the principles of re-learning in functional recovery are the same as those of original learning. The many varieties of disease and injury states lead to significant differences in the constraints to action and these impairments in turn influence the pathway of change in re-learning and/or recovery of function. These altered constraints channel the effectiveness of many conditions and strategies of practice that influence learning and performance. Nevertheless, it is proposed that there is a small set of principles for the change in dynamics of motor learning, which drive the continuously evolving stability and instability of movement forms through the lifespan. However, this common set of dynamical principles is realized in individual pathways of change in the movement dynamics of learning, re-learning and recovery of function. The inherent individual differences of humans and environments insure that the coordination, control and skill of movement rehabilitation are challenged in distinct ways by the changing constraints arising from the many manifestations of disease and injury. Implications for rehabilitation The many varieties of disease and injury states lead to significant differences in the constraints to action that in turn influence the pathway of change in re-learning and/or recovery of function, and the effectiveness of the many conditions/strategies of practice to influence learning and performance. There are a small set of principles for the change in dynamics of motor learning that drive the continuously evolving ebb and flow of stability and instability of movement forms through the lifespan. The inherent individual differences of humans and environments insure that the coordination, control and skill of movement rehabilitation are uniquely challenged by the changing constraints arising from the many

Modelling the Immune Response to Cancer: An Individual-Based Approach Accounting for the Difference in Movement Between Inactive and Activated T Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Macfarlane, Fiona R; Lorenzi, Tommaso; Chaplain, Mark A J

2018-06-01

A growing body of experimental evidence indicates that immune cells move in an unrestricted search pattern if they are in the pre-activated state, whilst they tend to stay within a more restricted area upon activation induced by the presence of tumour antigens. This change in movement is not often considered in the existing mathematical models of the interactions between immune cells and cancer cells. With the aim to fill such a gap in the existing literature, in this work we present a spatially structured individual-based model of tumour-immune competition that takes explicitly into account the difference in movement between inactive and activated immune cells. In our model, a Lévy walk is used to capture the movement of inactive immune cells, whereas Brownian motion is used to describe the movement of antigen-activated immune cells. The effects of activation of immune cells, the proliferation of cancer cells and the immune destruction of cancer cells are also modelled. We illustrate the ability of our model to reproduce qualitatively the spatial trajectories of immune cells observed in experimental data of single-cell tracking. Computational simulations of our model further clarify the conditions for the onset of a successful immune action against cancer cells and may suggest possible targets to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Overall, our theoretical work highlights the importance of taking into account spatial interactions when modelling the immune response to cancer cells.

Protocols for the Investigation of Information Processing in Human Assessment of Fundamental Movement Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Brodie J; Thornton, Ashleigh; Lay, Brendan; Rosenberg, Michael

2017-01-01

Fundamental movement skill (FMS) assessment remains an important tool in classifying individuals' level of FMS proficiency. The collection of FMS performances for assessment and monitoring has remained unchanged over the last few decades, but new motion capture technologies offer opportunities to automate this process. To achieve this, a greater understanding of the human process of movement skill assessment is required. The authors present the rationale and protocols of a project in which they aim to investigate the visual search patterns and information extraction employed by human assessors during FMS assessment, as well as the implementation of the Kinect system for FMS capture.

Individuality in harpsichord performance: disentangling performer- and piece-specific influences on interpretive choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Gingras, Bruno; Asselin, Pierre-Yves; McAdams, Stephen

2013-01-01

Although a growing body of research has examined issues related to individuality in music performance, few studies have attempted to quantify markers of individuality that transcend pieces and musical styles. This study aims to identify such meta-markers by discriminating between influences linked to specific pieces or interpretive goals and performer-specific playing styles, using two complementary statistical approaches: linear mixed models (LMMs) to estimate fixed (piece and interpretation) and random (performer) effects, and similarity analyses to compare expressive profiles on a note-by-note basis across pieces and expressive parameters. Twelve professional harpsichordists recorded three pieces representative of the Baroque harpsichord repertoire, including three interpretations of one of these pieces, each emphasizing a different melodic line, on an instrument equipped with a MIDI console. Four expressive parameters were analyzed: articulation, note onset asynchrony, timing, and velocity. LMMs showed that piece-specific influences were much larger for articulation than for other parameters, for which performer-specific effects were predominant, and that piece-specific influences were generally larger than effects associated with interpretive goals. Some performers consistently deviated from the mean values for articulation and velocity across pieces and interpretations, suggesting that global measures of expressivity may in some cases constitute valid markers of artistic individuality. Similarity analyses detected significant associations among the magnitudes of the correlations between the expressive profiles of different performers. These associations were found both when comparing across parameters and within the same piece or interpretation, or on the same parameter and across pieces or interpretations. These findings suggest the existence of expressive meta-strategies that can manifest themselves across pieces, interpretive goals, or expressive devices.

Individuality in harpsichord performance: Disentangling performer- and piece-specific influences on interpretive choices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno eGingras

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Although a growing body of research has examined issues related to individuality in music performance, few studies have attempted to quantify markers of individuality that transcend pieces and musical styles. This study aims to identify such meta-markers by discriminating between influences linked to specific pieces or interpretive goals and performer-specific playing styles, using two complementary statistical approaches: linear mixed models (LMMs to estimate fixed (piece and interpretation and random (performer effects, and similarity analyses to compare expressive profiles on a note-by-note basis across pieces and expressive parameters. Twelve professional harpsichordists recorded three pieces representative of the Baroque harpsichord repertoire, including three interpretations of one of these pieces, each emphasizing a different melodic line, on an instrument equipped with a MIDI console. Four expressive parameters were analyzed: articulation, note onset asynchrony, timing, and velocity. LMMs showed that piece-specific influences were much larger for articulation than for other parameters, for which performer-specific effects were predominant, and that piece-specific influences were generally larger than effects associated with interpretive goals. Some performers consistently deviated from the mean values for articulation and velocity across pieces and interpretations, suggesting that global measures of expressivity may in some cases constitute valid markers of artistic individuality. Similarity analyses detected significant associations among the magnitudes of the correlations between the expressive profiles of different performers. These associations were found both when comparing across parameters and within the same piece or interpretation, or on the same parameter and across pieces or interpretations. These findings suggest the existence of expressive meta-strategies that can manifest themselves across pieces, interpretive goals, or

Social movements as emotional contexts: the emotional drive in the Basque linguistic movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ane Larrinaga Renteria

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This article is a reflection on some of the functions that the emotions perform in constructing and maintaining the collective action of social movements in the long term. Based on a case study, we applied the conceptual instrument known as “Frame Analysis” to the successive discursive frames produced by the linguistic movement of the Basque Country between the 1980s and the first decade of 2000. With the aid of qualitative techniques, consisting in in-depth interviews conducted with qualified activists of the movement and an analysis of documents it produced, we identified the emotional contexts associated with the discourses and meanings generated by the movement at different times. Activation of the emotional components aided both the movement’s internal solidarity and external adhesion and, in short, favored the long-term sustainability of an increasingly institutionalized and professionalized movement.

The effects of bending speed on the lumbo-pelvic kinematics and movement pattern during forward bending in people with and without low back pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsang, Sharon M H; Szeto, Grace P Y; Li, Linda M K; Wong, Dim C M; Yip, Millie M P; Lee, Raymond Y W

2017-04-17

Impaired lumbo-pelvic movement in people with low back pain during bending task has been reported previously. However, the regional mobility and the pattern of the lumbo-pelvic movement were found to vary across studies. The inconsistency of the findings may partly be related to variations in the speed at which the task was executed. This study examined the effects of bending speeds on the kinematics and the coordination lumbo-pelvic movement during forward bending, and to compare the performance of individuals with and without low back pain. The angular displacement, velocity and acceleration of the lumbo-pelvic movement during the repeated forward bending executed at five selected speeds were acquired using the three dimensional motion tracking system in seventeen males with low back pain and eighteen males who were asymptomatic. The regional kinematics and the degree of coordination of the lumbo-pelvic movement during bending was compared and analysed between two groups. Significantly compromised performance in velocity and acceleration of the lumbar spine and hip joint during bending task at various speed levels was shown in back pain group (p back pain group adopted a uniform lumbo-pelvic pattern across all the speed levels examined. The present findings show that bending speed imposes different levels of demand on the kinematics and pattern of the lumbo-pelvic movement. The ability to regulate the lumbo-pelvic movement pattern during the bending task that executed at various speed levels was shown only in pain-free individuals but not in those with low back pain. Individuals with low back pain moved with a stereotyped strategy at their lumbar spine and hip joints. This specific aberrant lumbo-pelvic movement pattern may have a crucial role in the maintenance of the chronicity in back pain.

Performance Comparison of Student-Athletes and General College Students on the Functional Movement Screen and the Y Balance Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Engquist, Katherine D; Smith, Craig A; Chimera, Nicole J; Warren, Meghan

2015-08-01

Although various studies have assessed performance of athletes on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and the Y Balance Test (YBT), no study to date has directly evaluated a comparison of performance between athletes and members of the general population. Thus, to better understand the application of the FMS and the YBT to general college students, this study examined whether or not general college students performed similarly to student-athletes on the FMS (composite and movement pattern scores) and the YBT (composite and reach directions). This study evaluated 167 Division I student-athletes and 103 general college students from the same university on the FMS and the YBT. No difference was found in FMS composite scores between student-athletes and general college students. For FMS movement patterns, female student-athletes scored higher than general college students in the deep squat. No difference was found for men in any FMS movement pattern. Female student-athletes scored higher than female general college students in YBT composite scores; no difference was found for men in YBT composite scores. In analysis of YBT reach directions, female student-athletes scored higher than female general college students in all reach directions, whereas no difference was found in men. Existing research on the FMS composite score in athletic populations may apply to a general college population for the purposes of preparticipation screening, injury prediction, etc. Existing research on the YBT in male athletic populations is expected to apply equally to general college males for the purposes of preparticipation screening, injury prediction, etc.

Anti-nuclear movements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruedig, W.

1990-01-01

Nuclear power, heralded in the years after World War II as the answer to the world's energy needs, has in more recent times become the focus of intense ecological, political and economic debate. In this study, the current worldwide opposition to nuclear power is examined from its origins in expert dissent to the widespread development of grassroots activity. Chapter headings include: Social Movements: A Theoretical Framework; Creating the Preconditions for Public Protest; Local and Regional Opposition: Mobilizing the Grass Roots; Local Opposition and the Politicization of Nuclear Power; The Use of Local Opposition as a Political Resource; Local Opposition and Social Movement Analysis; The Removal of Political Stimuli: The Unpolitics of Nuclear Siting; Analyzing Host Community Attitudes: The Survey Evidence; Attitudes and Political Action of Nuclear Host Communities: Approaches and Explanations; Novel Siting Approaches and their Political Implications; Siting and Social Movement Analysis; Patterns and Outcomes of Nuclear Energy Conflicts; The Future of the Nuclear Energy Conflict. Throughout the text, analysis and theory are blended with detailed accounts of the growth and activities of individual anti-nuclear organizations in different countries. (author)

Recognizing Induced Emotions of Happiness and Sadness from Dance Movement

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dyck, Edith; Vansteenkiste, Pieter; Lenoir, Matthieu; Lesaffre, Micheline; Leman, Marc

2014-01-01

Recent research revealed that emotional content can be successfully decoded from human dance movement. Most previous studies made use of videos of actors or dancers portraying emotions through choreography. The current study applies emotion induction techniques and free movement in order to examine the recognition of emotional content from dance. Observers (N = 30) watched a set of silent videos showing depersonalized avatars of dancers moving to an emotionally neutral musical stimulus after emotions of either sadness or happiness had been induced. Each of the video clips consisted of two dance performances which were presented side-by-side and were played simultaneously; one of a dancer in the happy condition and one of the same individual in the sad condition. After every film clip, the observers were asked to make forced-choices concerning the emotional state of the dancer. Results revealed that observers were able to identify the emotional state of the dancers with a high degree of accuracy. Moreover, emotions were more often recognized for female dancers than for their male counterparts. In addition, the results of eye tracking measurements unveiled that observers primarily focus on movements of the chest when decoding emotional information from dance movement. The findings of our study show that not merely portrayed emotions, but also induced emotions can be successfully recognized from free dance movement. PMID:24587026

Brain-state classification and a dual-state decoder dramatically improve the control of cursor movement through a brain-machine interface

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Sachs, Nicholas A.; Ruiz-Torres, Ricardo; Perreault, Eric J.; Miller, Lee E.

2016-02-01

Objective. It is quite remarkable that brain machine interfaces (BMIs) can be used to control complex movements with fewer than 100 neurons. Success may be due in part to the limited range of dynamical conditions under which most BMIs are tested. Achieving high-quality control that spans these conditions with a single linear mapping will be more challenging. Even for simple reaching movements, existing BMIs must reduce the stochastic noise of neurons by averaging the control signals over time, instead of over the many neurons that normally control movement. This forces a compromise between a decoder with dynamics allowing rapid movement and one that allows postures to be maintained with little jitter. Our current work presents a method for addressing this compromise, which may also generalize to more highly varied dynamical situations, including movements with more greatly varying speed. Approach. We have developed a system that uses two independent Wiener filters as individual components in a single decoder, one optimized for movement, and the other for postural control. We computed an LDA classifier using the same neural inputs. The decoder combined the outputs of the two filters in proportion to the likelihood assigned by the classifier to each state. Main results. We have performed online experiments with two monkeys using this neural-classifier, dual-state decoder, comparing it to a standard, single-state decoder as well as to a dual-state decoder that switched states automatically based on the cursor’s proximity to a target. The performance of both monkeys using the classifier decoder was markedly better than that of the single-state decoder and comparable to the proximity decoder. Significance. We have demonstrated a novel strategy for dealing with the need to make rapid movements while also maintaining precise cursor control when approaching and stabilizing within targets. Further gains can undoubtedly be realized by optimizing the performance of the

Influence of a Physical Education Methods Course on Elementary Education Majors' Knowledge of Fundamental Movement Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Melanie A.

2005-01-01

With an increase concern for childhood obesity, many individuals and organizations are emphasizing the importance of quality physical education. The need for quality physical education at the elementary level is extremely important as research has shown a relationship between the performance of fundamental movement skills and children's body…

Geometry and Gesture-Based Features from Saccadic Eye-Movement as a Biometric in Radiology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hammond, Tracy [Texas A& M University, College Station; Tourassi, Georgia [ORNL; Yoon, Hong-Jun [ORNL; Alamudun, Folami T. [ORNL

2017-07-01

In this study, we present a novel application of sketch gesture recognition on eye-movement for biometric identification and estimating task expertise. The study was performed for the task of mammographic screening with simultaneous viewing of four coordinated breast views as typically done in clinical practice. Eye-tracking data and diagnostic decisions collected for 100 mammographic cases (25 normal, 25 benign, 50 malignant) and 10 readers (three board certified radiologists and seven radiology residents), formed the corpus for this study. Sketch gesture recognition techniques were employed to extract geometric and gesture-based features from saccadic eye-movements. Our results show that saccadic eye-movement, characterized using sketch-based features, result in more accurate models for predicting individual identity and level of expertise than more traditional eye-tracking features.

Performance adaptive training control strategy for recovering wrist movements in stroke patients: a preliminary, feasibility study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandini Giulio

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the last two decades robot training in neuromotor rehabilitation was mainly focused on shoulder-elbow movements. Few devices were designed and clinically tested for training coordinated movements of the wrist, which are crucial for achieving even the basic level of motor competence that is necessary for carrying out ADLs (activities of daily life. Moreover, most systems of robot therapy use point-to-point reaching movements which tend to emphasize the pathological tendency of stroke patients to break down goal-directed movements into a number of jerky sub-movements. For this reason we designed a wrist robot with a range of motion comparable to that of normal subjects and implemented a self-adapting training protocol for tracking smoothly moving targets in order to facilitate the emergence of smoothness in the motor control patterns and maximize the recovery of the normal RoM (range of motion of the different DoFs (degrees of Freedom. Methods The IIT-wrist robot is a 3 DoFs light exoskeleton device, with direct-drive of each DoF and a human-like range of motion for Flexion/Extension (FE, Abduction/Adduction (AA and Pronation/Supination (PS. Subjects were asked to track a variable-frequency oscillating target using only one wrist DoF at time, in such a way to carry out a progressive splinting therapy. The RoM of each DoF was angularly scanned in a staircase-like fashion, from the "easier" to the "more difficult" angular position. An Adaptive Controller evaluated online performance parameters and modulated both the assistance and the difficulty of the task in order to facilitate smoother and more precise motor command patterns. Results Three stroke subjects volunteered to participate in a preliminary test session aimed at verify the acceptability of the device and the feasibility of the designed protocol. All of them were able to perform the required task. The wrist active RoM of motion was evaluated for each patient at the

ASSESSING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: A NEW MODEL

OpenAIRE

Diah Hari Suryaningrum

2012-01-01

This paper aims to propose a new model in assessing individual performance on information technology adoption. The new model to assess individual performance was derived from two different theories: decomposed theory of planned behavior and task-technology fit theory. Although many researchers have tried to expand these theories, some of their efforts might lack of theoretical assumptions. To overcome this problem and enhance the coherence of the integration, I used a theory from social scien...

Uncertainty in aiming movements and its association to hand function

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Flávia Priscila de Paiva Silva

2015-09-01

Full Text Available AbstractThe purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the uncertainty of target location on the planning and execution of aiming movements performed towards the ipsilateral and contralateral directions by the right and left upper limbs. In addition, the association between the performance of aiming movements and the performance of functional manual tasks was investigated. Two tasks were proposed: with prior knowledge of the movement direction (simple reaction time or not (choice reaction time. The grip strength and manual dexterity were measured. The choice option in response (i.e. uncertainty influenced planning of the aiming movements, but not its execution, while movements performed towards the contralateral direction were worse in execution as compared to the ipsilateral direction. Manual dexterity was significantly correlated with reaction times, while the performance during movement execution was significantly correlated with handgrip/pinch strength.

EEG Mu Rhythm and Imitation Impairments in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Bernier, R.; Dawson, G.; Webb, S.; Murias, M.

2009-01-01

Imitation ability has consistently been shown to be impaired in individuals with autism. A dysfunctional execution/observation matching system has been proposed to account for this impairment. The EEG mu rhythm is believed to reflect an underlying execution/observation matching system. This study investigated evidence of differential mu rhythm attenuation during the observation, execution, and imitation of movements and examined its relation to behaviorally assessed imitation abilities. Fourteen high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 15 IQ- and age-matched typical adults participated. On the behavioral imitation task, adults with ASD demonstrated significantly poorer performance compared to typical adults in all domains of imitation ability. On the EEG task, both groups demonstrated significant attenuation of the mu rhythm when executing an action. However, when observing movement, the individuals with ASD showed significantly reduced attenuation of the mu wave. Behaviorally assessed imitation skills were correlated with degree of mu wave attenuation during observation of movement. These findings suggest that there is execution/observation matching system dysfunction in individuals with autism and that this matching system is related to degree of impairment in imitation abilities. PMID:17451856

Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements

OpenAIRE

Boehning-Gaese, Katrin; Fagan, William F.; Fryxell, John M.; Van Moorter, Bram; Alberts, Susan C.; Ali, Abdullahi H.; Allen, Andrew M.; Attias, Nina; Avgar, Tal; Bartlam-Brooks, Hattie; Bayarbaatar, Buuveibaatar; Belant, Jerrold L.; Bertassoni, Alessandra; Beyer, Dean; Bidner, Laura

2018-01-01

Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral cha...

Eye movements provide insight into individual differences in children's analogical reasoning strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Starr, Ariel; Vendetti, Michael S; Bunge, Silvia A

2018-05-01

Analogical reasoning is considered a key driver of cognitive development and is a strong predictor of academic achievement. However, it is difficult for young children, who are prone to focusing on perceptual and semantic similarities among items rather than relational commonalities. For example, in a classic A:B::C:? propositional analogy task, children must inhibit attention towards items that are visually or semantically similar to C, and instead focus on finding a relational match to the A:B pair. Competing theories of reasoning development attribute improvements in children's performance to gains in either executive functioning or semantic knowledge. Here, we sought to identify key drivers of the development of analogical reasoning ability by using eye gaze patterns to infer problem-solving strategies used by six-year-old children and adults. Children had a greater tendency than adults to focus on the immediate task goal and constrain their search based on the C item. However, large individual differences existed within children, and more successful reasoners were able to maintain the broader goal in mind and constrain their search by initially focusing on the A:B pair before turning to C and the response choices. When children adopted this strategy, their attention was drawn more readily to the correct response option. Individual differences in children's reasoning ability were also related to rule-guided behavior but not to semantic knowledge. These findings suggest that both developmental improvements and individual differences in performance are driven by the use of more efficient reasoning strategies regarding which information is prioritized from the start, rather than the ability to disengage from attractive lure items. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Clinical importance of voluntary and induced Bennett movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Tupac, R G

1978-07-01

A total of 136 dentulous patients were divided into three groups for purposes of quantitative pantographic comparison of voluntary and induced Bennett movement. The effects of patient age and operator experience on recording the Bennett movement were also studied. The results indicates that for patients studied with Bennett movement iduced in the manner described: 1. Experienced operators can obtain more induced Bennett movement that inexperienced operators. 2. Inducing Bennett movement has a greater effect on the immediate side shift component than it has on the progressive side shift component. 3. For older individuals the amount and direction of induced immediate side shift is greater than for younger patients, statistically highly significant, and therefore clinically important. In conclusion, if the objective of a pantographic survey is to record the complete capacity of the joint to move, *lateral jaw movements must be induced.

Expressive body movement responses to music are coherent, consistent, and low dimensional.

Science.gov (United States)

Amelynck, Denis; Maes, Pieter-Jan; Martens, Jean Pierre; Leman, Marc

2014-12-01

Embodied music cognition stresses the role of the human body as mediator for the encoding and decoding of musical expression. In this paper, we set up a low dimensional functional model that accounts for 70% of the variability in the expressive body movement responses to music. With the functional principal component analysis, we modeled individual body movements as a linear combination of a group average and a number of eigenfunctions. The group average and the eigenfunctions are common to all subjects and make up what we call the commonalities. An individual performance is then characterized by a set of scores (the individualities), one score per eigenfunction. The model is based on experimental data which finds high levels of coherence/consistency between participants when grouped according to musical education. This shows an ontogenetic effect. Participants without formal musical education focus on the torso for the expression of basic musical structure (tempo). Musically trained participants decode additional structural elements in the music and focus on body parts having more degrees of freedom (such as the hands). Our results confirm earlier studies that different body parts move differently along with the music.

Movement dynamics reflect a functional role for weak coupling and role structure in dyadic problem solving.

Science.gov (United States)

Abney, Drew H; Paxton, Alexandra; Dale, Rick; Kello, Christopher T

2015-11-01

Successful interaction requires complex coordination of body movements. Previous research has suggested a functional role for coordination and especially synchronization (i.e., time-locked movement across individuals) in different types of human interaction contexts. Although such coordination has been shown to be nearly ubiquitous in human interaction, less is known about its function. One proposal is that synchrony supports and facilitates communication (Topics Cogn Sci 1:305-319, 2009). However, questions still remain about what the properties of coordination for optimizing communication might look like. In the present study, dyads worked together to construct towers from uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows. Using cross-recurrence quantification analysis, we found that dyads with loosely coupled gross body movements performed better, supporting recent work suggesting that simple synchrony may not be the key to effective performance (Riley et al. 2011). We also found evidence that leader-follower dynamics-when sensitive to the specific role structure of the interaction-impact task performance. We discuss our results with respect to the functional role of coordination in human interaction.

Individual, Social, and Environmental Correlates of Active Transportation Patterns in French Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Perchoux, Camille; Enaux, Christophe; Oppert, Jean-Michel; Menai, Mehdi; Charreire, Hélène; Salze, Paul; Weber, Christiane; Hercberg, Serge; Feuillet, Thierry; Hess, Franck; Roda, Célina; Simon, Chantal; Nazare, Julie-Anne

2017-01-01

The objectives were (1) to define physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors (SB) patterns in daily life contexts (work, leisure, and transportation) in French working women from NutriNet-Santé web-cohort and (2) to identify pattern(s) of active transportation and their individual, social, and environmental correlates. 23,432 participants completed two questionnaires to evaluate PA and SB in daily life contexts and individual representations of residential neighborhood and transportation modes. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed which identified 6 distinct movement behavior patterns: (i) active occupation, high sedentary leisure, (ii) sedentary occupation, low leisure, (iii) sedentary transportation, (iv) sedentary occupation and leisure, (v) active transportation, and (vi) active leisure. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed to identify correlates of the "active transportation" cluster. The perceived environmental characteristics positively associated with "active transportation" included "high availability of destinations around home," "presence of bicycle paths," and "low traffic." A "positive image of walking/cycling," the "individual feeling of being physically active," and a "high use of active transport modes by relatives/friends" were positively related to "active transportation," identified as a unique pattern regarding individual and environmental correlates. Identification of PA and SB context-specific patterns will help to understand movement behaviors' complexity and to design interventions to promote active transportation in specific subgroups.

New market actors: economic social movements and politicized consumers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fátima Portilho

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This article presents reflections on new market actors, and economic social movements in particular - that is, those in which actors build a new culture of political action that seeks to reappropriate the economy through their own values. Some examples of this are the movements organized around “solidarity economics”, fair trade, geographic indications, “slow food” and consumer organization. This interface of social movements and the market may be the most marked, differentiated and polemic trait of contemporary political mobilizations. Nonetheless, beyond economic social movements, this article simultaneously emphasizes and problematizes political action within the sphere of individual consumption, that is, that which has been referred to as “political consumption”. Keywords: economic social movements, consumer movements, political consumption.

Performance analysis of the TNO TLD individual monitoring service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dijk, J.W.E. van; Julius, H.W.

1990-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyse the performance and to establish the lowest detectable occupational dose (LDOD) of the TNO TL dosemeter, in use for large scale routine individual monitoring since 1983. The TNO individual monitoring service uses three TLD reader systems and over 45000 TL dosemeters, designed to measure H s (0.07) and H p (10). Each reader system is normalised daily and each individual dosemeter is calibrated every ten readout cycles. The performance of the service is monitored by a double blind experimental set-up. A series of 10 routine dosemeters is issued every fortnight, mailed, exposed by staff not involved in the monitoring service, sent back and evaluated. The conclusion of this study is that the lowest detectable occupational dose is less than 0.04 mSv and that the integrated dose at the level of the annual dose limit is measured within 2%. (author)

Distinct eye movement patterns enhance dynamic visual acuity

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Palidis, Dimitrios J.; Wyder-Hodge, Pearson A.; Fooken, Jolande; Spering, Miriam

2017-01-01

Dynamic visual acuity (DVA) is the ability to resolve fine spatial detail in dynamic objects during head fixation, or in static objects during head or body rotation. This ability is important for many activities such as ball sports, and a close relation has been shown between DVA and sports expertise. DVA tasks involve eye movements, yet, it is unclear which aspects of eye movements contribute to successful performance. Here we examined the relation between DVA and the kinematics of smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements in a cohort of 23 varsity baseball players. In a computerized dynamic-object DVA test, observers reported the location of the gap in a small Landolt-C ring moving at various speeds while eye movements were recorded. Smooth pursuit kinematics—eye latency, acceleration, velocity gain, position error—and the direction and amplitude of saccadic eye movements were linked to perceptual performance. Results reveal that distinct eye movement patterns—minimizing eye position error, tracking smoothly, and inhibiting reverse saccades—were related to dynamic visual acuity. The close link between eye movement quality and DVA performance has important implications for the development of perceptual training programs to improve DVA. PMID:28187157

Distinct eye movement patterns enhance dynamic visual acuity.

Science.gov (United States)

Palidis, Dimitrios J; Wyder-Hodge, Pearson A; Fooken, Jolande; Spering, Miriam

2017-01-01

Dynamic visual acuity (DVA) is the ability to resolve fine spatial detail in dynamic objects during head fixation, or in static objects during head or body rotation. This ability is important for many activities such as ball sports, and a close relation has been shown between DVA and sports expertise. DVA tasks involve eye movements, yet, it is unclear which aspects of eye movements contribute to successful performance. Here we examined the relation between DVA and the kinematics of smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements in a cohort of 23 varsity baseball players. In a computerized dynamic-object DVA test, observers reported the location of the gap in a small Landolt-C ring moving at various speeds while eye movements were recorded. Smooth pursuit kinematics-eye latency, acceleration, velocity gain, position error-and the direction and amplitude of saccadic eye movements were linked to perceptual performance. Results reveal that distinct eye movement patterns-minimizing eye position error, tracking smoothly, and inhibiting reverse saccades-were related to dynamic visual acuity. The close link between eye movement quality and DVA performance has important implications for the development of perceptual training programs to improve DVA.

iTemplate: A template-based eye movement data analysis approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Naiqi G; Lee, Kang

2018-02-08

Current eye movement data analysis methods rely on defining areas of interest (AOIs). Due to the fact that AOIs are created and modified manually, variances in their size, shape, and location are unavoidable. These variances affect not only the consistency of the AOI definitions, but also the validity of the eye movement analyses based on the AOIs. To reduce the variances in AOI creation and modification and achieve a procedure to process eye movement data with high precision and efficiency, we propose a template-based eye movement data analysis method. Using a linear transformation algorithm, this method registers the eye movement data from each individual stimulus to a template. Thus, users only need to create one set of AOIs for the template in order to analyze eye movement data, rather than creating a unique set of AOIs for all individual stimuli. This change greatly reduces the error caused by the variance from manually created AOIs and boosts the efficiency of the data analysis. Furthermore, this method can help researchers prepare eye movement data for some advanced analysis approaches, such as iMap. We have developed software (iTemplate) with a graphic user interface to make this analysis method available to researchers.

[Transposition errors during learning to reproduce a sequence by the right- and the left-hand movements: simulation of positional and movement coding].

Science.gov (United States)

Liakhovetskiĭ, V A; Bobrova, E V; Skopin, G N

2012-01-01

Transposition errors during the reproduction of a hand movement sequence make it possible to receive important information on the internal representation of this sequence in the motor working memory. Analysis of such errors showed that learning to reproduce sequences of the left-hand movements improves the system of positional coding (coding ofpositions), while learning of the right-hand movements improves the system of vector coding (coding of movements). Learning of the right-hand movements after the left-hand performance involved the system of positional coding "imposed" by the left hand. Learning of the left-hand movements after the right-hand performance activated the system of vector coding. Transposition errors during learning to reproduce movement sequences can be explained by neural network using either vector coding or both vector and positional coding.

Development and reliability of the rating of compensatory movements in upper limb prosthesis wearers during work-related tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Laan, Tallie M J; Postema, Sietke G; Reneman, Michiel F; Bongers, Raoul M; van der Sluis, Corry K

2018-02-10

Reliability study. Quantifying compensatory movements during work-related tasks may help to prevent musculoskeletal complaints in individuals with upper limb absence. (1) To develop a qualitative scoring system for rating compensatory shoulder and trunk movements in upper limb prosthesis wearers during the performance of functional capacity evaluation tests adjusted for use by 1-handed individuals (functional capacity evaluation-one handed [FCE-OH]); (2) to examine the interrater and intrarater reliability of the scoring system; and (3) to assess its feasibility. Movement patterns of 12 videotaped upper limb prosthesis wearers and 20 controls were analyzed. Compensatory movements were defined for each FCE-OH test, and a scoring system was developed, pilot tested, and adjusted. During reliability testing, 18 raters (12 FCE experts and 6 physiotherapists/gait analysts) scored videotapes of upper limb prosthesis wearers performing 4 FCE-OH tests 2 times (2 weeks apart). Agreement was expressed in % and kappa value. Feasibility (focus area's "acceptability", "demand," and "implementation") was determined by using a questionnaire. After 2 rounds of pilot testing and adjusting, reliability of a third version was tested. The interrater reliability for the first and second rating sessions were к = 0.54 (confidence interval [CI]: 0.52-0.57) and к = 0.64 (CI: 0.61-0.66), respectively. The intrarater reliability was к = 0.77 (CI: 0.72-0.82). The feasibility was good but could be improved by a training program. It seems possible to identify compensatory movements in upper limb prosthesis wearers during the performance of FCE-OH tests reliably by observation using the developed observational scoring system. Interrater reliability was satisfactory in most instances; intrarater reliability was good. Feasibility was established. Copyright © 2018 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring personality dimensions that influence practice and performance of a simulated laparoscopic task in the objective structured clinical examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Malhotra, Neha; Poolton, Jamie M; Wilson, Mark R; Leung, Gilberto; Zhu, Frank; Fan, Joe K M; Masters, Rich S W

2015-01-01

Surgical educators have encouraged the investigation of individual differences in aptitude and personality in surgical performance. An individual personality difference that has been shown to influence laparoscopic performance under time pressure is movement specific reinvestment. Movement specific reinvestment has 2 dimensions, movement self-consciousness (MS-C) (i.e., the propensity to consciously monitor movements) and conscious motor processing (CMP) (i.e., the propensity to consciously control movements), which have been shown to differentially influence laparoscopic performance in practice but have yet to be investigated in the context of psychological stress (e.g., the objective structured clinical examination [OSCE]). This study investigated the role of individual differences in propensity for MS-C and CMP in practice of a fundamental laparoscopic skill and in laparoscopic performance during the OSCE. Furthermore, this study examined whether individual differences during practice of a fundamental laparoscopic skill were predictive of laparoscopic performance during the OSCE. Overall, 77 final-year undergraduate medical students completed the movement specific reinvestment scale, an assessment tool that quantifies the propensity for MS-C and CMP. Participants were trained to proficiency on a fundamental laparoscopic skill. The number of trials to reach proficiency was measured, and completion times were recorded during early practice, later practice, and the OSCE. There was a trend for CMP to be negatively associated with the number of trials to reach proficiency (p = 0.064). A higher propensity for CMP was associated with fewer trials to reach proficiency (β = -0.70, p = 0.023). CMP and MS-C did not significantly predict completion times in the OSCE (p > 0.05). Completion times in early practice (β = 0.05, p = 0.016) and later practice (β = 0.47, p personality differences and individual differences in ability during practice could help inform the

The feasibility and concurrent validity of performing the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2nd Edition via telerehabilitation technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicola, Kristy; Waugh, Jemimah; Charles, Emily; Russell, Trevor

2018-06-01

In rural and remote communities children with motor difficulties have less access to rehabilitation services. Telerehabilitation technology is a potential method to overcome barriers restricting access to healthcare in these areas. Assessment is necessary to guide clinical reasoning; however it is unclear which paediatric assessments can be administered remotely. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2nd Edition is commonly used by various health professionals to assess motor performance of children. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and concurrent validity of performing the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2nd Edition remotely via telerehabilitation technology compared to the conventional in-person method. Fifty-nine children enrolled in a state school (5-11 years old) volunteered to perform one in-person and one telerehabilitation mediated assessment. The order of the method of delivery and the therapist performing the assessment were randomized. After both assessments were complete, a participant satisfaction questionnaire was completed by each child. The Bland-Altman limits of agreement for the total test standard score were -3.15 to 3.22 which is smaller than a pre-determined clinically acceptable margin based on the smallest detectable change. This study establishes the feasibility and concurrent validity of the administration of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2nd Edition via telerehabilitation technology. Overall, participants perceived their experience with telerehabilitation positively. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Construct validity of the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Vet, H.C.W. de; Beek, A.J. van der

2014-01-01

Objective: To examine the construct validity of the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ). Methods: A total of 1424 Dutch workers from three occupational sectors (blue, pink, and white collar) participated in the study. First, IWPQ scores were correlated with related constructs

Construct validity of the individual work performance questionnaire

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Vet, H.C.W. de; Beek, A.J. van der

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE:: To examine the construct validity of the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ). METHODS:: A total of 1424 Dutch workers from three occupational sectors (blue, pink, and white collar) participated in the study. First, IWPQ scores were correlated with related constructs

Individual Alpha Peak Frequency in Ice Hockey Shooting Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sommer Christie

2017-05-01

Full Text Available There are several important inter- and intra-individual variations in individual alpha peak frequency (IAPF in the cognitive domain. The rationale for the present study was to extend the research on IAPF in the cognitive domain to IAPF in the sport domain. Specifically, the purpose of the present study was twofold: (a to explore whether baseline IAPF is related to performance in an ice hockey shooting task and (b to explore whether a shooting task has an effect on IAPF variability. The present investigation is one of the first studies to examine links between IAPF and sport performance. Study results did not show significant changes in IAPF when comparing baseline IAPF and pre- to post-task IAPF across three performance levels. The findings support previous literature in the cognitive domain suggesting that IAPF is a stable neurophysiological marker. Future research should consider the following methodological suggestions: (a measuring IAPF during sport performance instead of at a resting state, (b changing the pre-performance resting baseline instructions to take into account sport-specific mental preparation, (c exploring an expert-novice paradigm to accentuate performance ability differences between groups (d comparing tasks with different levels of complexity, and (e analyzing the possible correlation between IAPF and performance on different days.

Memory for past events: movement and action chains in high-functioning autism spectrum disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Daprati, Elena; Nico, Daniele; Delorme, Richard; Leboyer, Marion; Zalla, Tiziana

2013-05-01

In the present study, we assessed whether individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show memory impairments for previously performed actions, as previously suggested for people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (Ecker and Engelkamp in Behav Cogn Psychother 23:349-371, 1995; Merckelbach and Wessel in J Nerv Ment Dis 188(12):846-848, 2000). To test this possibility, we explored verbal memory for actions in individuals with a diagnosis of ASD, with and without co-morbidity for OCD, and in controls matched for age and gender. Participants observed or observed and enacted a number of actions while listening to the corresponding phrases being spoken. After a suitable delay, they were submitted to an old/new recognition task. Results showed that ASD individuals with OCD were less accurate and slower in responding compared to ASD individuals without OCD and controls, particularly when dealing with phrases describing simple movements. In contrast, ASD participants without OCD were more impaired when phrases described complex actions that involved pantomiming object use or coordinating movements of multiple body parts. These findings are discussed in terms of differential organization of the motor trace for simple versus complex actions in ASD individuals according to the concurrent presence of OCD.

Movement coordination and differential kinematics of the cervical and thoracic spines in people with chronic neck pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsang, Sharon M H; Szeto, Grace P Y; Lee, Raymond Y W

2013-07-01

Research on the kinematics and inter-regional coordination of movements between the cervical and thoracic spines in motion adds to our understanding of the performance and interplay of these spinal regions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of chronic neck pain on the three-dimensional kinematics and coordination of the cervical and thoracic spines during active movements of the neck. Three-dimensional spinal kinematics and movement coordination between the cervical, upper thoracic, and lower thoracic spines were examined by electromagnetic motion sensors in thirty-four individuals with chronic neck pain and thirty-four age- and gender-matched asymptomatic subjects. All subjects performed a set of free active neck movements in three anatomical planes in sitting position and at their own pace. Spinal kinematic variables (angular displacement, velocity, and acceleration) of the three defined regions, and movement coordination between regions were determined and compared between the two groups. Subjects with chronic neck pain exhibited significantly decreased cervical angular velocity and acceleration of neck movement. Cross-correlation analysis revealed consistently lower degrees of coordination between the cervical and upper thoracic spines in the neck pain group. The loss of coordination was most apparent in angular velocity and acceleration of the spine. Assessment of the range of motion of the neck is not sufficient to reveal movement dysfunctions in chronic neck pain subjects. Evaluation of angular velocity and acceleration and movement coordination should be included to help develop clinical intervention strategies to promote restoration of differential kinematics and movement coordination. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of the Flo-Dynamics Movement System© intervention on measures of performance in older persons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlson LA

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Lara A Carlson,1 Alexander J Koch,2 Michael Lawrence11University of New England, Biddeford, ME, 2Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, NC, USABackground: Fall-related injuries associated with aging are a serious clinical and economic problem. The Flo-Dynamics Movement System© (FDMS, which consists of eight movements with a water-filled device, may be a useful low-impact exercise suited for older persons. This study investigated the effects of the FDMS regimen with the Wun-Jo™ trainer on measures of strength, flexibility, and balance in older individuals.Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, 15 healthy subjects aged 61–79 years participated in an FDMS exercise program with the Wun-Jo trainer, consisting of three weekly 30-minute sessions. The following measures were assessed pretraining and after 8 weeks of training: knee flexor and extensor isokinetic strength; grip strength; the Short Physical Performance Battery; functional reach; and low back and hamstring flexibility. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance, with statistical significance set at the P ≤ 0.05 confidence level.Results: Sit and reach test scores significantly increased (+21% from baseline to week 8 (P < 0.001. Forward-left functional reach testing significantly increased (P = 0.012, while forward-right functional reach testing did not change (P = 0.474. Both left-lateral (P = 0.012 and right-lateral (P = 0.036 functional reach scores improved. Grip strength increased in both the left (+11.9% and right (+14.5% hands (P < 0.001 for each. Isokinetic knee extension at 60° per second increased for the left (+15.6% and right (+17.6% significantly (P = 0.001 for each. Isokinetic knee flexion at 60° per second significantly increased for both the left (+43.2%, P = 0.010 and right (+41.7%, P < 0.001. Time to complete the ten-repetition chair stand decreased significantly (-31%, P = 0.004. The 8-feet walk time also significantly decreased (-21.6%, P < 0

Effect- and Performance-Based Auditory Feedback on Interpersonal Coordination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tong-Hun Hwang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available When two individuals interact in a collaborative task, such as carrying a sofa or a table, usually spatiotemporal coordination of individual motor behavior will emerge. In many cases, interpersonal coordination can arise independently of verbal communication, based on the observation of the partners' movements and/or the object's movements. In this study, we investigate how social coupling between two individuals can emerge in a collaborative task under different modes of perceptual information. A visual reference condition was compared with three different conditions with new types of additional auditory feedback provided in real time: effect-based auditory feedback, performance-based auditory feedback, and combined effect/performance-based auditory feedback. We have developed a new paradigm in which the actions of both participants continuously result in a seamlessly merged effect on an object simulated by a tablet computer application. Here, participants should temporally synchronize their movements with a 90° phase difference and precisely adjust the finger dynamics in order to keep the object (a ball accurately rotating on a given circular trajectory on the tablet. Results demonstrate that interpersonal coordination in a joint task can be altered by different kinds of additional auditory information in various ways.

Individual differences in infant fearfulness and cognitive performance: a testing, performance, or competence effect?

Science.gov (United States)

Rieser-Danner, Loretta A

2003-02-01

The author conducted 2 studies to examine the relations between infant fear and cognitive testing performance in 12-month-old infants. In Study 1, fear was assessed by using 2 standard temperament questionnaires and a laboratory-based, standardized stranger approach. Individual differences in cognitive development were assessed using the Object Permanence Scale of the Infant Psychological Development Scales (I. C. Uzgiris & J. M. Hunt, 1975). All 3 assessments of fear significantly predicted object permanence performance, with correlations ranging from -.32 to -.35. In Study 2, fear was assessed via a maternal report questionnaire, and habituation performance was assessed via a basic-level categorization task. Familiarity with the examiner and with the testing environment was manipulated to test for a familiarity influence on performance. Testing revealed individual differences in both fear and habituation. Results suggest that highly fearful infants required more trials to habituate and were less likely to meet the habituation criterion than infants who were less fearful. Methodological and conceptual implications of these results are discussed.

Movement patterns of limb coordination in infant rolling.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Yoshio; Watanabe, Hama; Taga, Gentaro

2016-12-01

Infants must perform dynamic whole-body movements to initiate rolling, a key motor skill. However, little is known regarding limb coordination and postural control in infant rolling. To address this lack of knowledge, we examined movement patterns and limb coordination during rolling in younger infants (aged 5-7 months) that had just begun to roll and in older infants (aged 8-10 months) with greater rolling experience. Due to anticipated difficulty in obtaining measurements over the second half of the rolling sequence, we limited our analysis to the first half. Ipsilateral and contralateral limbs were identified on the basis of rolling direction and were classified as either a stationary limb used for postural stability or a moving limb used for controlled movement. We classified the observed movement patterns by identifying the number of stationary limbs and the serial order of combinational limb movement patterns. Notably, older infants performed more movement patterns that involved a lower number of stationary limbs than younger infants. Despite the wide range of possible movement patterns, a small group of basic patterns dominated in both age groups. Our results suggest that the fundamental structure of limb coordination during rolling in the early acquisition stages remains unchanged until at least 8-10 months of age. However, compared to younger infants, older infants exhibited a greater ability to select an effective rotational movement by positioning themselves with fewer stationary limbs and performing faster limb movements.

[Individual physical performance capacity with physiological and biochemical indicators of stress].

Science.gov (United States)

Bergert, K D; Nestler, K; Böttger, H; Schettler, R

1989-09-01

22 health male subjects were exposed by a combination of physical exercises and heat. Strain related physiological and biochemical parameters were measured. Different individual reactions were obtained under controlled conditions. In dependence on the individual performance an increased mobilisation of lactat, free fatty acids and catecholamines were found. The determination of aerob physical performance can be applied for the evaluation of working capacity.

Long term ground movement of TRISTAN synchrotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Endo, K.; Ohsawa, Y.; Miyahara, M.

1989-01-01

The long term ground movement is estimated through the geological survey before a big accelerator is planned. For the case of TRISTAN-MR (main ring), its site was surveyed to reflect the underground information to the building prior to the construction. The movement of the synchrotron magnet mainly results from the structure of the tunnel. If an individual movement of the magnet exceeds a certain threshold limit, it gives a significant effect on the particle behavior in a synchrotron. Height of the quadrupole magnets were observed periodically during past two years at the TRISTAN-MR and their height differences along the 3 km circumference of the accelerator ring were decomposed into the Fourier components depicting the causes of the movements. Results shows the movement of the tunnel foundation which was also observed by the simultaneous measurement of both magnets and fiducial marks on the tunnel wall. The long term movement of the magnets is summarized with the geological survey prior to construction. 1 ref., 6 figs., 1 tab

Assessing the clinical utility of combined movement examination in symptomatic degenerative lumbar spondylosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Monie, A P; Price, R I; Lind, C R P; Singer, K P

2015-07-01

The aim of this study is to report the development and validation of a low back computer-aided combined movement examination protocol in normal individuals and record treatment outcomes of cases with symptomatic degenerative lumbar spondylosis. Test-retest, following intervention. Self-report assessments and combined movement examination were used to record composite spinal motion, before and following neurosurgical and pain medicine interventions. 151 normal individuals aged from 20 years to 69 years were assessed using combined movement examination between L1 and S1 spinal levels to establish a reference range. Cases with degenerative low back pain and sciatica were assessed before and after therapeutic interventions with combined movement examination and a battery of self-report pain and disability questionnaires. Change scores for combined movement examination and all outcome measures were derived. Computer-aided combined movement examination validation and intraclass correlation coefficient with 95% confidence interval and least significant change scores indicated acceptable reliability of combined movement examination when recording lumbar movement in normal subjects. In both clinical cases lumbar spine movement restrictions corresponded with self-report scores for pain and disability. Post-intervention outcomes all showed significant improvement, particularly in the most restricted combined movement examination direction. This study provides normative reference data for combined movement examination that may inform future clinical studies of the technique as a convenient objective surrogate for important clinical outcomes in lumbar degenerative spondylosis. It can be used with good reliability, may be well tolerated by individuals in pain and appears to change in concert with validated measures of lumbar spinal pain, functional limitation and quality of life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Framing as a cultural resource in health social movements: funding activism and the breast cancer movement in the US 1990-1993.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolker, Emily S

2004-09-01

Disease-specific funding activism in the US has required health social movements (HSMs) to draw on both structural and cultural resources in order to persuade audiences and to redefine dominant conceptions of disease. Using a social constructionist analysis of Congressional testimony and media accounts of breast cancer funding activism between 1990-1993, this paper demonstrates that the use of culturally resonant frames served as an important cultural resource for breast cancer activists in the early 1990s. The breast cancer movement's use of three interconnected and culturally resonant frames aided the movement in redefining breast cancer as a problem of individual women to a major public health problem in need of governmental attention. This research contributes to both social movement and HSM scholarship by demonstrating that cultural resources, in the form of movement frames, are as central to social movement analysis as structural resources.

The neurophysiology of paediatric movement disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

McClelland, Verity M

2017-12-01

To demonstrate how neurophysiological tools have advanced our understanding of the pathophysiology of paediatric movement disorders, and of neuroplasticity in the developing brain. Delineation of corticospinal tract connectivity using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is being investigated as a potential biomarker for response to therapy. TMS measures of cortical excitability and neuroplasticity are also being used to investigate the effects of therapy, demonstrating neuroplastic changes that relate to functional improvements. Analyses of evoked potentials and event-related changes in the electroencephalogaphy spectral activity provide growing evidence for the important role of aberrant sensory processing in the pathophysiology of many different movement disorders. Neurophysiological findings demonstrate that children with clinically similar phenotypes may have differing underlying pathophysiology, which in turn may explain differential response to therapy. Neurophysiological parameters can act as biomarkers, providing a means to stratify individuals, and are well suited to provide biofeedback. They therefore have enormous potential to facilitate improvements to therapy. Although currently a small field, the role of neurophysiology in paediatric movement disorders is poised to expand, both fuelled by and contributing to the rapidly growing fields of neuro-rehabilitation and neuromodulation and the move towards a more individualized therapeutic approach.

The scoring of movements in sleep.

Science.gov (United States)

Walters, Arthur S; Lavigne, Gilles; Hening, Wayne; Picchietti, Daniel L; Allen, Richard P; Chokroverty, Sudhansu; Kushida, Clete A; Bliwise, Donald L; Mahowald, Mark W; Schenck, Carlos H; Ancoli-Israel, Sonia

2007-03-15

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-2) has separated sleep-related movement disorders into simple, repetitive movement disorders (such as periodic limb movements in sleep [PLMS], sleep bruxism, and rhythmic movement disorder) and parasomnias (such as REM sleep behavior disorder and disorders of partial arousal, e.g., sleep walking, confusional arousals, night terrors). Many of the parasomnias are characterized by complex behaviors in sleep that appear purposeful, goal directed and voluntary but are outside the conscious awareness of the individual and therefore inappropriate. All of the sleep-related movement disorders described here have specific polysomnographic findings. For the purposes of developing and/or revising specifications and polysomnographic scoring rules, the AASM Scoring Manual Task Force on Movements in Sleep reviewed background literature and executed evidence grading of 81 relevant articles obtained by a literature search of published articles between 1966 and 2004. Subsequent evidence grading identified limited evidence for reliability and/or validity for polysomnographic scoring criteria for periodic limb movements in sleep, REM sleep behavior disorder, and sleep bruxism. Published scoring criteria for rhythmic movement disorder, excessive fragmentary myoclonus, and hypnagogic foot tremor/alternating leg muscle activation were empirical and based on descriptive studies. The literature review disclosed no published evidence defining clinical consequences of excessive fragmentary myoclonus or hypnagogic foot tremor/alternating leg muscle activation. Because of limited or absent evidence for reliability and/or validity, a standardized RAND/UCLA consensus process was employed for recommendation of specific rules for the scoring of sleep-associated movements.

Antinuclear movement in Middle Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dwyer, L.E.

1977-01-01

This is a social anthropological analysis of the antinuclear movement in Middle Tennessee. This social movement was determined to halt the construction of proposed nuclear power plants in Tennessee, especially one the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intended to build in Middle Tennessee. The data for the study were gathered by participant-observation interviewing, and the examination of documents from February 1973 through March 1975. The treatment of the data is based on transactional analysis and portions of the network model. This social movement was composed of a series of informally organized cells connected by a loose network of people who visited and talked with one another. Individual cells tended to be organized on a geographical basis, as was communication. Activity-initiators, however, often contacted antinuclear personnel in other Middle Tennessee cells. Movement activity for many of the antinuclear activists was short-lived. The strategic maneuvers of the movement utilized all the structurally and legally possible alternatives and the nuclear opponents hoped that the public would pressure public officials to oppose nuclear plants. Although the antinuclear activists worked very hard, they did not succeed in halting the planned construction of the Middle Tennessee nuclear plant. Indeed, they had not succeeded in the summer of 1977

Individual differences in language ability are related to variation in word recognition, not speech perception: Evidence from eye-movements

Science.gov (United States)

McMurray, Bob; Munson, Cheyenne; Tomblin, J. Bruce

2013-01-01

Purpose This study examined speech perception deficits associated with individual differences in language ability contrasting auditory, phonological or lexical accounts by asking if lexical competition is differentially sensitive to fine-grained acoustic variation. Methods 74 adolescents with a range of language abilities (including 35 impaired) participated in an experiment based on McMurray, Tanenhaus and Aslin (2002). Participants heard tokens from six 9-step Voice Onset Time (VOT) continua spanning two words (beach/peach, beak/peak, etc), while viewing a screen containing pictures of those words and two unrelated objects. Participants selected the referent while eye-movements to each picture were monitored as a measure of lexical activation. Fixations were examined as a function of both VOT and language ability. Results Eye-movements were sensitive to within-category VOT differences: as VOT approached the boundary, listeners made more fixations to the competing word. This did not interact with language ability, suggesting that language impairment is not associated with differential auditory sensitivity or phonetic categorization. Listeners with poorer language skills showed heightened competitors fixations overall, suggesting a deficit in lexical processes. Conclusions Language impairment may be better characterized by a deficit in lexical competition (inability to suppress competing words), rather than differences phonological categorization or auditory abilities. PMID:24687026

Individual differences in language ability are related to variation in word recognition, not speech perception: evidence from eye movements.

Science.gov (United States)

McMurray, Bob; Munson, Cheyenne; Tomblin, J Bruce

2014-08-01

The authors examined speech perception deficits associated with individual differences in language ability, contrasting auditory, phonological, or lexical accounts by asking whether lexical competition is differentially sensitive to fine-grained acoustic variation. Adolescents with a range of language abilities (N = 74, including 35 impaired) participated in an experiment based on McMurray, Tanenhaus, and Aslin (2002). Participants heard tokens from six 9-step voice onset time (VOT) continua spanning 2 words (beach/peach, beak/peak, etc.) while viewing a screen containing pictures of those words and 2 unrelated objects. Participants selected the referent while eye movements to each picture were monitored as a measure of lexical activation. Fixations were examined as a function of both VOT and language ability. Eye movements were sensitive to within-category VOT differences: As VOT approached the boundary, listeners made more fixations to the competing word. This did not interact with language ability, suggesting that language impairment is not associated with differential auditory sensitivity or phonetic categorization. Listeners with poorer language skills showed heightened competitors fixations overall, suggesting a deficit in lexical processes. Language impairment may be better characterized by a deficit in lexical competition (inability to suppress competing words), rather than differences in phonological categorization or auditory abilities.

Vocal performance reflects individual quality in a nonpasserine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janicke, T.; Hahn, S.M.; Ritz, M.S.; Peter, H.-U.

2008-01-01

Recent studies on mate-quality recognition in passerines showed that females use subtle differences in sound production to assess males. We analysed long calls of brown skuas, Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi, to test whether vocal performance could serve as an indicator of individual quality in a

Movement and Drama in Therapy: The Therapeutic Use of Movement, Drama and Music.

Science.gov (United States)

Wethered, Audrey

Basic principles in body movement, drama, and music therapy for the emotionally disturbed are explored in this text. Various approaches to therapy are illustrated by accounts of individuals and groups with whom the author has worked. A list of musical pieces, with notes on possible application in therapy, is also included. The book is designed to…

Hybrid Modelling of Individual Movement and Collective Behaviour

KAUST Repository

Franz, Benjamin

2013-01-01

Mathematical models of dispersal in biological systems are often written in terms of partial differential equations (PDEs) which describe the time evolution of population-level variables (concentrations, densities). A more detailed modelling approach is given by individual-based (agent-based) models which describe the behaviour of each organism. In recent years, an intermediate modelling methodology - hybrid modelling - has been applied to a number of biological systems. These hybrid models couple an individual-based description of cells/animals with a PDE-model of their environment. In this chapter, we overview hybrid models in the literature with the focus on the mathematical challenges of this modelling approach. The detailed analysis is presented using the example of chemotaxis, where cells move according to extracellular chemicals that can be altered by the cells themselves. In this case, individual-based models of cells are coupled with PDEs for extracellular chemical signals. Travelling waves in these hybrid models are investigated. In particular, we show that in contrary to the PDEs, hybrid chemotaxis models only develop a transient travelling wave. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

A Review of Techniques for Detection of Movement Intention Using Movement-Related Cortical Potentials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aqsa Shakeel

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The movement-related cortical potential (MRCP is a low-frequency negative shift in the electroencephalography (EEG recording that takes place about 2 seconds prior to voluntary movement production. MRCP replicates the cortical processes employed in planning and preparation of movement. In this study, we recapitulate the features such as signal’s acquisition, processing, and enhancement and different electrode montages used for EEG data recoding from different studies that used MRCPs to predict the upcoming real or imaginary movement. An authentic identification of human movement intention, accompanying the knowledge of the limb engaged in the performance and its direction of movement, has a potential implication in the control of external devices. This information could be helpful in development of a proficient patient-driven rehabilitation tool based on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs. Such a BCI paradigm with shorter response time appears more natural to the amputees and can also induce plasticity in brain. Along with different training schedules, this can lead to restoration of motor control in stroke patients.

A dynamic Brownian bridge movement model to estimate utilization distributions for heterogeneous animal movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Kranstauber, Bart; Kays, Roland; Lapoint, Scott D; Wikelski, Martin; Safi, Kamran

2012-07-01

1. The recently developed Brownian bridge movement model (BBMM) has advantages over traditional methods because it quantifies the utilization distribution of an animal based on its movement path rather than individual points and accounts for temporal autocorrelation and high data volumes. However, the BBMM assumes unrealistic homogeneous movement behaviour across all data. 2. Accurate quantification of the utilization distribution is important for identifying the way animals use the landscape. 3. We improve the BBMM by allowing for changes in behaviour, using likelihood statistics to determine change points along the animal's movement path. 4. This novel extension, outperforms the current BBMM as indicated by simulations and examples of a territorial mammal and a migratory bird. The unique ability of our model to work with tracks that are not sampled regularly is especially important for GPS tags that have frequent failed fixes or dynamic sampling schedules. Moreover, our model extension provides a useful one-dimensional measure of behavioural change along animal tracks. 5. This new method provides a more accurate utilization distribution that better describes the space use of realistic, behaviourally heterogeneous tracks. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society.

Individualized Next-Generation Biomathematical Modeling of Fatigue and Performance

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Van Dongen, Hans P

2006-01-01

.... This project employed a cutting-edge technique called Bayesian forecasting to develop a novel biomathematical performance model to predict responses to sleep loss and circadian displacement for individual subjects...

Continuous Auditory Feedback of Eye Movements: An Exploratory Study toward Improving Oculomotor Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric O. Boyer

2017-04-01

Full Text Available As eye movements are mostly automatic and overtly generated to attain visual goals, individuals have a poor metacognitive knowledge of their own eye movements. We present an exploratory study on the effects of real-time continuous auditory feedback generated by eye movements. We considered both a tracking task and a production task where smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM can be endogenously generated. In particular, we used a visual paradigm which enables to generate and control SPEM in the absence of a moving visual target. We investigated whether real-time auditory feedback of eye movement dynamics might improve learning in both tasks, through a training protocol over 8 days. The results indicate that real-time sonification of eye movements can actually modify the oculomotor behavior, and reinforce intrinsic oculomotor perception. Nevertheless, large inter-individual differences were observed preventing us from reaching a strong conclusion on sensorimotor learning improvements.

Orthodontic decompensation in skeletal Class III malocclusion: redefining the amount of movement assessed by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Antonio Zuega Cappellozza

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT is essential for tridimensional planning of orthognathic surgery, as it allows visualization and evaluation of bone structures and mineralized tissues. Tomographic slices allow evaluation of tooth inclination and individualization of movement performed during preoperative decompensation. The aim of this paper was to assess maxillary and mandibular incisors inclination pre and post orthodontic decompensation in skeletal Class III malocclusion.Methods:The study was conducted on six individuals with skeletal Class III malocclusion, surgically treated, who had Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic scans obtained before and after orthodontic decompensation. On multiplanar reconstruction view, tomographic slices (axial, coronal and sagittal were obtained on the long axis of each incisor. The sagittal slice was used for measurement taking, whereas the references used to assess tooth inclination were the long axis of maxillary teeth in relation to the palatal plane and the long axis of mandibular teeth in relation to the mandibular plane.Results:There was significant variation in the inclination of incisors before and after orthodontic decompensation. This change was of greater magnitude in the mandibular arch, evidencing that natural compensation is more effective in this arch, thereby requiring more intensive decompensation.Conclusion:When routinely performed, the protocols of decompensation treatment in surgical individuals often result in intensive movements, which should be reevaluated, since the extent of movement predisposes to reduction in bone attachment levels and root length.

Movement constraints on interpersonal coordination and communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Tolston, Michael T; Shockley, Kevin; Riley, Michael A; Richardson, Michael J

2014-10-01

The present study investigated how constraining movement affects interpersonal coordination and joint cognitive performance. Pairs of participants worked cooperatively to solve picture-puzzle tasks in which they conversed to identify differences between pictures in 3 degree-of-constraint conditions: both participants were free to move their hands (free-free; FF); both participants' hands were restrained (restrained-restrained; RR); and the hands of 1 participant were free while the hands of the other participant were restrained (free-restrained; FR). Eye tracking data were collected, and movement was measured at the waist, hand, and head. Data were analyzed using Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis (CRQ). Postural sway coordination, gaze coordination, and task performance were predicted to be highest in FF, followed by RR, and then by FR. Results showed the asymmetric FR condition generally exhibited lesser degrees of coordination than the symmetric Conditions FF and RR, and that the patterning of coordination in the symmetric conditions varied across the measured body segments. These results demonstrate that movement restraints affect not only interpersonal postural coordination, but also joint attention. Additionally, significant positive relationships were found between task performance and total amount of anterior-posterior movement measured at the head, hand and waist; number of utterances; and number of differences pairs found in the puzzles. These findings indicate a relationship between movement and task performance consistent with the hypotheses that both interpersonal coordination and cognitive performance are sensitive to local action constraints.

Integrating movement ecology with biodiversity research-exploring new avenues to address spatiotemporal biodiversity dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jeltsch, F.; Bonte, D.; Pe'er, G.; Reineking, B.; Leimgruber, P.; Balkenhol, N.; Schröder, B.; Buchmann, C.M.; Mueller, T.; Blaum, N.; Zurell, D.; Böhning-Gaese, K.; Wiegand, T.; Eccard, J.A.; Hofer, H.; Reeg, J.; Eggers, U.; Bauer, S.

2013-01-01

Movement of organisms is one of the key mechanisms shaping biodiversity, e.g. the distribution of genes, individuals and species in space and time. Recent technological and conceptual advances have improved our ability to assess the causes and consequences of individual movement, and led to the

Role of Leadership and Employee Engagement towards Individual Performance of Pharmacy Employees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susi A. Rahayu

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Employees dissatisfaction to the head of the hospital pharmacy will decrease employees performance and unsatisfied customers. To solve the problems, employees should be based on performance as customer expectations in providing services. One of the ways to improve the performance of the employees, they must feel engage to the work. One of the factors to improve employee engagement is the leadership factor. Therefore, it is necessary to study the impact of leadership on individual performance employee in hospital pharmacy and also the influence of employee engagement as a mediator. A total of 79 employees from the pharmacy in two private hospitals in Bandung became the participants. This study used the technique of partial least squares to test the hypothesized relationships. The results showed that there were significant between leadership to employee engagement (t value (12,84 > t-table (1.64, the significance of employee engagement on individual performance (t value (3.83 > t-table (1.64. In contrast, there was no influence and significance in leadership on individual performance (t value (0.45 < t-table (1.64. Employee engagement fully mediated the relationship between leadership and individual performance. Therefore, improving pharmacy services is a set of actions and involvement of pharmacy employees who are consistent, sustainable and clear.

Environmental drivers of harbour porpoise fine‑scale movements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Beest, Floris; Teilmann, Jonas; Dietz, Rune

2018-01-01

Quantifying intraspecific variation in movement behaviour of marine predators and the underlying environmental drivers is important to inform conservation management of protected species. Here, we provide the first empirical data on fine-scale movements of free-ranging harbour porpoises (Phocoena...... of various static and dynamic environmental conditions on the movement characteristics: speed, turning angle, dive duration, dive depth, dive wiggliness (a proxy for prey chasing behaviour), and post-dive duration. Despite substantial individual differences in horizontal and vertical movement patterns, we...... found that all the tracked porpoises responded similar to variation in environmental conditions and displayed movements that indicate a higher likelihood of foraging behaviour in shallower and more saline waters. Our study contributes to the identification of important feeding areas for porpoises...

MOVEMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF ELITE TENNIS PLAYERS ON HARD COURTS WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF GROUND STROKES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Martínez-Gallego

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Previous studies of movement characteristics in tennis have considered the effect of playing surface but have assumed that playing strategies are simply determined by the surface as opposed to being under an individual's control. This study considered the selection of cross court or down the line ground strokes as being indicative of playing strategy and measured the outcome of playing these shots in terms of the opponent's movements. Matches (N = 8 at the 2011 ATP tournament 500 Valencia were recorded and analysed using SAGIT, a computer vision tracking system that allowed both players' movements to be tracked automatically, albeit with operator supervision. The data was split into (N = 188 games for analysis purposes and these lasted a median 174.24 seconds with active time (ball in play a median proportion of 34.89% (IQR = 10.64% of total time. During the active time losers of games tended to cover less distance (median = 80.17 m, move quicker (median = 1.38 m·s-1, spend more time in the defensive zones (median = 14.24 s and less in the offensive zones (median = 44.74 s. These results suggested that game winners tended to dominate game losers, forcing them to exhibit behaviors typically associated with a defensive strategy. Defensive and offensive strategy are not well defined currently and future investigations should consider movements in relation to individual shots, in particular their velocities, at the rally level and by different individuals to better understand successful performance

Correlations among measures of knee stiffness, gait performance and complaints in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Oatis, Carol A; Wolff, Edward F; Lockard, Margery A; Michener, Lori A; Robbins, Steven J

2013-03-01

Stiffness is a common complaint in individuals with knee osteoarthritis and is a component of the osteoarthritis diagnosis. Yet the relationship between stiffness and function is poorly understood and methods to quantify stiffness are limited. Using a cross-sectional observational design with 66 subjects with knee osteoarthritis, stiffness and damping coefficients were calculated from a relaxed knee oscillation procedure. Gait parameters were measured using an electronic walkway. Self-reported pain, stiffness, and function were measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index. Correlation and Alexander's normalized-t approximation analyses were used to assess associations among the variables. Subset analysis was performed on subjects with and without tibiofemoral joint crepitus. Slight to moderate correlations existed between stiffness and damping coefficients and most gait parameters ((| r |=0.30-0.56; PMcMaster Osteoarthritis Index scores and all gait parameters (| r |=0.35-0.62; Pcoefficient was only slightly associated with patient-rated Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index stiffness subscale scores. Subset analysis revealed significant correlations that differed between those with and without crepitus. These findings suggest that laboratory measured stiffness and damping coefficients, Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index scores and gait-related measurements assess different aspects related to movement in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Stiffness and damping coefficients may offer the ability to explain gait changes in the knee that are independent of a person's perceptions particularly in the early stages of the disease. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensorimotor Reorganizations of Arm Kinematics and Postural Strategy for Functional Whole-Body Reaching Movements in Microgravity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Macaluso

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Understanding the impact of weightlessness on human behavior during the forthcoming long-term space missions is of critical importance, especially when considering the efficiency of goal-directed movements in these unusual environments. Several studies provided a large set of evidence that gravity is taken into account during the planning stage of arm reaching movements to optimally anticipate its consequence upon the moving limbs. However, less is known about sensorimotor changes required to face weightless environments when individuals have to perform fast and accurate goal-directed actions with whole-body displacement. We thus aimed at characterizing kinematic features of whole-body reaching movements in microgravity, involving high spatiotemporal constraints of execution, to question whether and how humans are able to maintain the performance of a functional behavior in the standards of normogravity execution. Seven participants were asked to reach as fast and as accurately as possible visual targets while standing during microgravity episodes in parabolic flight. Small and large targets were presented either close or far from the participants (requiring, in the latter case, additional whole-body displacement. Results reported that participants successfully performed the reaching task with general temporal features of movement (e.g., movement speed close to land observations. However, our analyses also demonstrated substantial kinematic changes related to the temporal structure of focal movement and the postural strategy to successfully perform -constrained- whole-body reaching movements in microgravity. These immediate reorganizations are likely achieved by rapidly taking into account the absence of gravity in motor preparation and execution (presumably from cues about body limbs unweighting. Specifically, when compared to normogravity, the arm deceleration phase substantially increased. Furthermore, greater whole-body forward displacements

Mixed Movements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brabrand, Helle

2010-01-01

levels than those related to building, and this exploration is a special challenge and competence implicit artistic development work. The project Mixed Movements generates drawing-material, not primary as representation, but as a performance-based media, making the body being-in-the-media felt and appear...... as possible operational moves....

Learning fast accurate movements requires intact frontostriatal circuits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Britne eShabbott

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The basal ganglia are known to play a crucial role in movement execution, but their importance for motor skill learning remains unclear. Obstacles to our understanding include the lack of a universally accepted definition of motor skill learning (definition confound, and difficulties in distinguishing learning deficits from execution impairments (performance confound. We studied how healthy subjects and subjects with a basal ganglia disorder learn fast accurate reaching movements, and we addressed the definition and performance confounds by: 1 focusing on an operationally defined core element of motor skill learning (speed-accuracy learning, and 2 using normal variation in initial performance to separate movement execution impairment from motor learning abnormalities. We measured motor skill learning learning as performance improvement in a reaching task with a speed-accuracy trade-off. We compared the performance of subjects with Huntington’s disease (HD, a neurodegenerative basal ganglia disorder, to that of premanifest carriers of the HD mutation and of control subjects. The initial movements of HD subjects were less skilled (slower and/or less accurate than those of control subjects. To factor out these differences in initial execution, we modeled the relationship between learning and baseline performance in control subjects. Subjects with HD exhibited a clear learning impairment that was not explained by differences in initial performance. These results support a role for the basal ganglia in both movement execution and motor skill learning.

Dance for Individuals With Dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lapum, Jennifer L; Bar, Rachel J

2016-03-01

The movement and music associated with dance plays an important role in many individuals' lives and can become imprinted upon the body and mind. Dance is thus closely associated with memory because of these deep connections. Without conscious thought, dance has the potential to be initiated as individuals age. In the current article, the authors share narrative reflections about their experiences with, and the potential of, dance as an intervention for aging populations diagnosed with dementia-related diseases. They draw upon their experiences in working with the aging population and a dance program currently being developed by Canada's National Ballet School and Baycrest Health Sciences for individuals with dementia-related diseases in long-term care. The current article is structured as dialogue between the authors because it mimics dance as a dialogical encounter between movement and music, and/or between individuals. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Movement Structure in Young and Elderly Adults during Goal-Directed Movements of the Left and Right Arm

Science.gov (United States)

Poston, Brach; Van Gemmert, Arend W. A.; Barduson, Beth; Stelmach, George E.

2009-01-01

Elderly adults often exhibit performance deficits during goal-directed movements of the dominant arm compared with young adults. Recent studies involving hemispheric lateralization have provided evidence that the dominant and non-dominant hemisphere-arm systems are specialized for controlling different movement parameters and that hemispheric…

DEVELOPING OF INDIVIDUAL INSTRUMENT PERFORMANCE ANXIETY SCALE: VALIDITY - RELIABILITY STUDY

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Esra DALKIRAN

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop a scale unique to our culture, concerning  individual instrument performance anxiety of the students  who are getting instrument training  in the Department of Music Education. In the study, the descriptive research model is used and qualitative research techniques are utilized. The study population consists of the students attending the 23 universities which has Music Education Department. The sample of the study consists of 438 girls and 312 boys, totally 750 students  who are studying in the Department of Music Education of randomly selected 10 universities. As a result of the explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses that were performed, a one-dimensional structure consisting of 14 items was obtained. Also, t-scores and  the coefficient scores of total item correlation concerning the distinguishing power of the items, the difference in the scores of the set of lower and upper 27% was calculated, and it was observed that the items are distinguishing as a result of both analyses. Of the scale, Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency was calculated as .94, and test-retest reliability coefficient was calculated as .93. As a result, a valid and reliable assessment and evaluation instrument that measures the exam performance anxiety of the students studying in the Department of Music Education, has been developed.Extended AbstractsIntroductionAnxiety is a universal phenomenon which people experience once or a few times during lives. It was accepted as concern for the future or as an unpleasant emotional experience regarding probable hitches of the events (Di Tomasso & Gosch, 2002.In general, the occasions on which negative feelings are experienced cause anxiety to arise (Baltaş and Baltaş, 2000. People also feel anxious in dangerous situations. Anxiety may lead a person to be creative, while it may have hindering characteristics. Anxiety is that an individual considers him

Islamic Puritanism Movements in Indonesia as Transnational Movements

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Benny Baskara

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Islamic puritanism movements are the movements compelling to return to the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, as the pure teachings of Islam and abandon even abolish other teachings outside the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. The movements of Islamic puritanism can be considered as transnational movements because they spread their teachings and ideologies, create organizations, networks, and provide financial supports across nations. This paper describes Islamic puritanism movements in Indonesia and their transnational connections. Some Islamic puritanism movements in Indonesia can be considered as part of Islamic transnational movements, in which most of the movements are centered in the Middle East. In Indonesia, Islamic puritanism movements firstly appeared in the beginning of the nineteenth century, called Padri movement in West Sumatra. It was then continued to the emergence of Islamic organizations in the twentieth century. Recently, Islamic puritanism movements in Indonesia mostly take form as Salafism-Wahabism movements.

Mobile Performance and Nomadic Theory : Staging Movement, Thinking Mobility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot Nibbelink, L.W.

2015-01-01

This essay discusses the nomadic not so much in terms of mobile existence or physical displacement, but primarily in connection with the concept as a type of movement that disturbs the notion of territory, and that is intrinsically related to processes of deterritorialization and

Population consequences of aggregative movement

Science.gov (United States)

Peter Turchin

1989-01-01

Gregarious behaviour is an important factor influencing survival and reproduction of animals, as well as population interactions. In this paper I develop a model of movement with attraction or repulsion between conspecifics. To facilitate its use in empirical studies, the model is based on experimentally measurable features of individual behaviour.

Sliding mode closed-Loop control of FES: controlling the shank movement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jezernik, Saso; Wassink, R.G.V.; Keller, Thierry

2004-01-01

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) enables restoration of movement in individuals with spinal cord injury. FES-based devices use electric current pulses to stimulate and excite the intact peripheral nerves. They produce muscle contractions, generate joint torques, and thus, joint movements.

Treating individuals with debilitating performance anxiety: An introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Douglas H

2004-08-01

Clinicians often see clients who have debilitating performance anxiety. They suffer from public speaking anxiety, stage fright, test-taking anxiety, and writing block. Their condition is so severe as to threaten to end their academic or professional career. Musicians and athletes also seek help because their anxiety before and during an event causes them to perform at a level well below their demonstrated capabilities. An estimated 2% of the U.S. population is afflicted by debilitating performance anxiety. Effective treatments are now available. This article reviews those behavioral, cognitive, and technological therapies that have shown great promise for treating individuals who have debilitating performance anxiety and introduces this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session devoted to this topic. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Individual, Social, and Environmental Correlates of Active Transportation Patterns in French Women

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Camille Perchoux

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The objectives were (1 to define physical activity (PA and sedentary behaviors (SB patterns in daily life contexts (work, leisure, and transportation in French working women from NutriNet-Santé web-cohort and (2 to identify pattern(s of active transportation and their individual, social, and environmental correlates. 23,432 participants completed two questionnaires to evaluate PA and SB in daily life contexts and individual representations of residential neighborhood and transportation modes. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed which identified 6 distinct movement behavior patterns: (i active occupation, high sedentary leisure, (ii sedentary occupation, low leisure, (iii sedentary transportation, (iv sedentary occupation and leisure, (v active transportation, and (vi active leisure. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed to identify correlates of the “active transportation” cluster. The perceived environmental characteristics positively associated with “active transportation” included “high availability of destinations around home,” “presence of bicycle paths,” and “low traffic.” A “positive image of walking/cycling,” the “individual feeling of being physically active,” and a “high use of active transport modes by relatives/friends” were positively related to “active transportation,” identified as a unique pattern regarding individual and environmental correlates. Identification of PA and SB context-specific patterns will help to understand movement behaviors’ complexity and to design interventions to promote active transportation in specific subgroups.

A preliminary investigation into the relationship between functional movement screen scores and athletic physical performance in female team sport athletes

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, AB; Callaghan, SJ; Jordan, CA; Luczo, TM; Jeffriess, MD

2014-01-01

There is little research investigating relationships between the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and athletic performance in female athletes. This study analyzed the relationships between FMS (deep squat; hurdle step [HS]; in-line lunge [ILL]; shoulder mobility; active straight-leg raise [ASLR]; trunk stability push-up; rotary stability) scores, and performance tests (bilateral and unilateral sit-and-reach [flexibility]; 20-m sprint [linear speed]; 505 with turns from each leg; modified T-test with movement to left and right [change-of-direction speed]; bilateral and unilateral vertical and standing broad jumps; lateral jumps [leg power]). Nine healthy female recreational team sport athletes (age = 22.67 ± 5.12 years; height = 1.66 ± 0.05 m; body mass = 64.22 ± 4.44 kilograms) were screened in the FMS and completed the afore-mentioned tests. Percentage between-leg differences in unilateral sit-and-reach, 505 turns and the jumps, and difference between the T-test conditions, were also calculated. Spearman's correlations (p ≤ 0.05) examined relationships between the FMS and performance tests. Stepwise multiple regressions (p ≤ 0.05) were conducted for the performance tests to determine FMS predictors. Unilateral sit-and-reach positive correlated with the left-leg ASLR (r = 0.704-0.725). However, higher-scoring HS, ILL, and ASLR related to poorer 505 and T-test performance (r = 0.722-0.829). A higher-scored left-leg ASLR related to a poorer unilateral vertical and standing broad jump, which were the only significant relationships for jump performance. Predictive data tended to confirm the correlations. The results suggest limitations in using the FMS to identify movement deficiencies that could negatively impact athletic performance in female team sport athletes. PMID:25729149

A preliminary investigation into the relationship between functional movement screen scores and athletic physical performance in female team sport athletes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert G Lockie

2014-11-01

Full Text Available There is little research investigating relationships between the Functional Movement Screen (FMS and athletic performance in female athletes. This study analyzed the relationships between FMS (deep squat; hurdle step [HS]; in-line lunge [ILL]; shoulder mobility; active straight-leg raise [ASLR]; trunk stability push-up; rotary stability scores, and performance tests (bilateral and unilateral sit-and-reach [flexibility]; 20-m sprint [linear speed]; 505 with turns from each leg; modified T-test with movement to left and right [change-of-direction speed]; bilateral and unilateral vertical and standing broad jumps; lateral jumps [leg power]. Nine healthy female recreational team sport athletes (age = 22.67 ± 5.12 years; height = 1.66 ± 0.05 m; body mass = 64.22 ± 4.44 kilograms were screened in the FMS and completed the afore-mentioned tests. Percentage between-leg differences in unilateral sit-and-reach, 505 turns and the jumps, and difference between the T-test conditions, were also calculated. Spearman’s correlations (p ≤ 0.05 examined relationships between the FMS and performance tests. Stepwise multiple regressions (p ≤ 0.05 were conducted for the performance tests to determine FMS predictors. Unilateral sit-and-reach positive correlated with the left-leg ASLR (r = 0.704-0.725. However, higher-scoring HS, ILL, and ASLR related to poorer 505 and T-test performance (r = 0.722-0.829. A higher-scored left-leg ASLR related to a poorer unilateral vertical and standing broad jump, which were the only significant relationships for jump performance. Predictive data tended to confirm the correlations. The results suggest limitations in using the FMS to identify movement deficiencies that could negatively impact athletic performance in female team sport athletes.

Movement of the diaphragm during radiation treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishioka, Masayuki; Fujioka, Tomio; Sakurai, Makoto; Nakajima, Toshifumi; Onoyama, Yasuto.

1991-01-01

Movement of the target volume during the exposure to radiation results in decreased accuracy in radiotherapy. We carried out the quantitative evaluation of the movement of the diaphragm during the radiation therapy. Seventy seven patients, who received radiation therapy for lung cancer from December 1988 to February 1990 at the Osaka-prefectural Habikino Hospital, were studied. The movement was recorded with a sonoprinter at the time of treatment planning for radiotherapy, and the length of movement was evaluated at 6 points on the diaphragm. In a study of 402 points in 77 patients, the average movement was 12 mm, and the maximum movement was 40 mm. At the 17% of the points, the movement exceeded 20 mm. The largest movement was observed at the outer point of the right lung. Movement was greater in men than in women. Performance status was not related to the degree of movement. We concluded that in chest and abdominal irradiation, movement caused by respiration is not negligible, and synchronized radiotherapy should be developed in the future. (author)

Constraining movement alters the recruitment of motor processes in mental rotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, David

2013-02-01

Does mental rotation depend on the readiness to act? Recent evidence indicates that the involvement of motor processes in mental rotation is experience-dependent, suggesting that different levels of expertise in sensorimotor interactions lead to different strategies to solve mental rotation problems. Specifically, experts in motor activities perceive spatial material as objects that can be acted upon, triggering covert simulation of rotations. Because action simulation depends on the readiness to act, movement restriction should therefore disrupt mental rotation performance in individuals favoring motor processes. In this experiment, wrestlers and non-athletes judged whether pairs of three-dimensional stimuli were identical or different, with their hands either constrained or unconstrained. Wrestlers showed higher performance than controls in the rotation of geometric stimuli, but this difference disappeared when their hands were constrained. However, movement restriction had similar consequences for both groups in the rotation of hands. These findings suggest that expert's advantage in mental rotation of abstract objects is based on the readiness to act, even when physical manipulation is impossible.

Functional connectivity experiments reflect routine movement behavior of a tropical hummingbird species.

Science.gov (United States)

Volpe, Noelia L; Hadley, Adam S; Robinson, W Douglas; Betts, Matthew G

Translocation experiments, in which researchers displace animals and then monitor their movements to return home, are commonly used as tools to assess functional connectivity of fragmented landscapes. Such experiments are purported to have important advantages of being time efficient and of standardizing “motivation” to move across individuals. Yet, we lack tests of whether movement behavior of translocated birds reflects natural behavior of unmanipulated birds. We compared the routine movement behavior of a tropical hummingbird, the Green Hermit (Phaethornis guy), to that of experimentally translocated individuals. We tested for differences in site selection patterns during movement at two spatial scales (point and path levels). We also compared movement rates between treatments. Behaviors documented during translocation experiments reflected those observed during routine movements. At the point level, both translocated and non-translocated birds showed similar levels of preference for mature tropical forest. At the path level, step selection functions showed both translocated and non-translocated hummingbirds avoiding movement across non-forested matrix and selecting streams as movement corridors. Movement rates were generally higher during translocation experiments. However, the negative influence of forest cover on movement rates was proportionately similar in translocation and routine movement treatments. We report the first evidence showing that movement behavior of birds during translocation experiments is similar to their natural movement behavior. Therefore, translocation experiments may be reliable tools to address effects of landscape structure on animal movement. We observed consistent selection of landscape elements between translocated and non-translocated birds, indicating that both routine and translocation movement studies lead to similar conclusions regarding the effect of landscape structure and forest composition on functional connectivity

Abnormal motor patterns in the framework of the equilibrium-point hypothesis: a cause for dystonic movements?

Science.gov (United States)

Latash, M L; Gutman, S R

1994-01-01

Until now, the equilibrium-point hypothesis (lambda model) of motor control has assumed nonintersecting force-length characteristics of the tonic stretch reflex for individual muscles. Limited data from animal experiments suggest, however, that such intersections may occur. We have assumed the possibility of intersection of the characteristics of the tonic stretch reflex and performed a computer simulation of movement trajectories and electromyographic patterns. The simulation has demonstrated, in particular, that a transient change in the slope of the characteristic of an agonist muscle may lead to temporary movement reversals, hesitations, oscillations, and multiple electromyographic bursts that are typical of movements of patients with dystonia. The movement patterns of three patients with idiopathic dystonia during attempts at fast single-joint movements (in the elbow, wrist, and ankle) were recorded and compared with the results of the computer simulation. This approach considers that motor disorders in dystonia result from faulty control patterns that may not correlate with any morphological or neurophysiological changes. It provides a basis for the high variability of dystonic movements. The uniqueness of abnormal motor patterns in dystonia, that precludes statistical analysis across patients, may result from subtle differences in the patterns of intersecting characteristics of the tonic stretch reflex. The applicability of our analysis to disordered multijoint movement patterns is discussed.

Woman Suffrage Movement: 1848-1920.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenberg, Bonnie

This unit is designed to be used in a history or government class in grades 5-12. It introduces students to individuals, organizations, and the political processes of the women's suffrage movement. In addition, the guide links past women's organizations to today's womens organizations, and helps students understand political strategies used in…

Individualized tracking of self-directed motor learning in group-housed mice performing a skilled lever positioning task in the home cage.

Science.gov (United States)

Silasi, Gergely; Boyd, Jamie D; Bolanos, Federico; LeDue, Jeff M; Scott, Stephen H; Murphy, Timothy H

2018-01-01

Skilled forelimb function in mice is traditionally studied through behavioral paradigms that require extensive training by investigators and are limited by the number of trials individual animals are able to perform within a supervised session. We developed a skilled lever positioning task that mice can perform within their home cage. The task requires mice to use their forelimb to precisely hold a lever mounted on a rotary encoder within a rewarded position to dispense a water reward. A Raspberry Pi microcomputer is used to record lever position during trials and to control task parameters, thus making this low-footprint apparatus ideal for use within animal housing facilities. Custom Python software automatically increments task difficulty by requiring a longer hold duration, or a more accurate hold position, to dispense a reward. The performance of individual animals within group-housed mice is tracked through radio-frequency identification implants, and data stored on the microcomputer may be accessed remotely through an active internet connection. Mice continuously engage in the task for over 2.5 mo and perform ~500 trials/24 h. Mice required ~15,000 trials to learn to hold the lever within a 10° range for 1.5 s and were able to further refine movement accuracy by limiting their error to a 5° range within each trial. These results demonstrate the feasibility of autonomously training group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. This paradigm may be used in the future to assess functional recovery after injury or cortical reorganization induced by self-directed motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We developed a low-cost system for fully autonomous training of group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. We demonstrate the feasibility of tracking both end-point, as well as kinematic performance of individual mice, with each performing thousands of trials over 2.5 mo. The task is run and controlled by a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, which allows for cages to be

Culture and individual performance management in University of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Their success depends not only on socio-economic and political factors but also on cultural values that influence their activities. In this article, we draw upon the case of one Ghanaian university to illustrate the extent to which cultural values that individuals bring to the workplace pose challenges to performance management ...

Movement Skill Assessment of Typically Developing Preschool Children: A Review of Seven Movement Skill Assessment Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Cools, Wouter; Martelaer, Kristine De; Samaey, Christiane; Andries, Caroline

2009-01-01

The importance of movement is often overlooked because it is such a natural part of human life. It is, however, crucial for a child’s physical, cognitive and social development. In addition, experiences support learning and development of fundamental movement skills. The foundations of those skills are laid in early childhood and essential to encourage a physically active lifestyle. Fundamental movement skill performance can be examined with several assessment tools. The choice of a test will depend on the context in which the assessment is planned. This article compares seven assessment tools which are often referred to in European or international context. It discusses the tools’ usefulness for the assessment of movement skill development in general population samples. After a brief description of each assessment tool the article focuses on contents, reliability, validity and normative data. A conclusion outline of strengths and weaknesses of all reviewed assessment tools focusing on their use in educational research settings is provided and stresses the importance of regular data collection of fundamental movement skill development among preschool children. Key pointsThis review discusses seven movement skill assessment tool’s test content, reliability, validity and normative samples.The seven assessment tools all showed to be of great value. Strengths and weaknesses indicate that test choice will depend on specific purpose of test use.Further data collection should also include larger data samples of able bodied preschool children.Admitting PE specialists in assessment of fundamental movement skill performance among preschool children is recommended.The assessment tool’s normative data samples would benefit from frequent movement skill performance follow-up of today’s children. Abbreviations MOT 4-6: Motoriktest fur vier- bis sechsjährige Kinder, M-ABC: Movement Assessment Battery for Children, PDMS: Peabody Development Scales, KTK: K�

Application of individually performed titanium mesh in infraorbital wall fracture reconstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai-Jian Sun

2016-04-01

Full Text Available AIM:To discuss the application effect of individually performed titanium mesh in infraorbital wall fracture reconstruction. METHODS:Sixty-seven patients(67 eyesdiagnosed as infraorbital fracture from January 2011 to February 2014 were performed reconstruction with individually performed titanium mesh. The recovery of incision, visual acuity, eyeball mobility, diplopia and proptosis were monitored by post-operation follow-up which lasted for 1a. RESULTS:No infection, titanium mesh transposition, prolapse, deformities, exclusion or ectropion were occurred in the follow-up period. The eyeball embole was less than 2mm by bilateral proptosis contrast. The diplopia in 5 eyes were disappeared in 4 and approved in one. The eyeball descent in 2 cases was disappeared. The visual acuity was the same compared with pre-operation. The rate of disappeared diplopia at primary position was 93% and improved significantly in the other 3 patients. The rate of disappeared diplopia at peripheral visual field was 86% and improved significantly in the other 2 patients.CONCLUSION:The reconstruction effect of individually performed titanium mesh in infraorbital wall fracture was satisfied and safe.

Identification of resilient individuals and those at risk for performance deficits under stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Winslow, Brent D; Carroll, Meredith B; Martin, Jonathan W; Surpris, Glenn; Chadderdon, George L

2015-01-01

Human task performance is affected by exposure to physiological and psychological stress. The ability to measure the physiological response to stressors and correlate that to task performance could be used to identify resilient individuals or those at risk for stress-related performance decrements. Accomplishing this prior to performance under severe stress or the development of clinical stress disorders could facilitate focused preparation such as tailoring training to individual needs. Here we measure the effects of stress on physiological response and performance through behavior, physiological sensors, and subjective ratings, and identify which individuals are at risk for stress-related performance decrements. Participants performed military-relevant training tasks under stress in a virtual environment, with autonomic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) reactivity analyzed. Self-reported stress, as well as physiological indices of stress, increased in the group pre-exposed to socioevaluative stress. Stress response was effectively captured via electrodermal and cardiovascular measures of heart rate and skin conductance level. A resilience classification algorithm was developed based upon physiological reactivity, which correlated with baseline unstressed physiological and self-reported stress values. Outliers were identified in the experimental group that had a significant mismatch between self-reported stress and salivary cortisol. Baseline stress measurements were predictive of individual resilience to stress, including the impact stress had on physiological reactivity and performance. Such an approach may have utility in identifying individuals at risk for problems performing under severe stress. Continuing work has focused on adapting this method for military personnel, and assessing the utility of various coping and decision-making strategies on performance and physiological stress.

Disentangling the effects of forage, social rank, and risk on movement autocorrelation of elephants using Fourier and wavelet analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wittemyer, George; Polansky, Leo; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Getz, Wayne M

2008-12-09

The internal state of an individual-as it relates to thirst, hunger, fear, or reproductive drive-can be inferred by referencing points on its movement path to external environmental and sociological variables. Using time-series approaches to characterize autocorrelative properties of step-length movements collated every 3 h for seven free-ranging African elephants, we examined the influence of social rank, predation risk, and seasonal variation in resource abundance on periodic properties of movement. The frequency domain methods of Fourier and wavelet analyses provide compact summaries of temporal autocorrelation and show both strong diurnal and seasonal based periodicities in the step-length time series. This autocorrelation is weaker during the wet season, indicating random movements are more common when ecological conditions are good. Periodograms of socially dominant individuals are consistent across seasons, whereas subordinate individuals show distinct differences diverging from that of dominants during the dry season. We link temporally localized statistical properties of movement to landscape features and find that diurnal movement correlation is more common within protected wildlife areas, and multiday movement correlations found among lower ranked individuals are typically outside of protected areas where predation risks are greatest. A frequency-related spatial analysis of movement-step lengths reveal that rest cycles related to the spatial distribution of critical resources (i.e., forage and water) are responsible for creating the observed patterns. Our approach generates unique information regarding the spatial-temporal interplay between environmental and individual characteristics, providing an original approach for understanding the movement ecology of individual animals and the spatial organization of animal populations.

Monitoring individual and joint action outcomes in duet music performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Loehr, Janeen; Kourtis, Dimitrios; Vesper, Cordula

2013-01-01

We investigated whether people monitor the outcomes of their own and their partners’ individual actions as well as the outcome of their combined actions when performing joint actions together. Pairs of pianists memorized both parts of a piano duet. Each pianist then performed one part while their...

Patterns of movement of radioactive carabid beetles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baars, M.A.

1980-01-01

Tracking of individual 192 Ir-labelled ground beetles released in the field revealed that both the day-active and night-active species studied showed periods of small distances covered per day in random directions, alternating with periods of directed movement with large distances covered per day. This pattern occurred not only in the reproductive period but outside the breeding season as well in juvenile Pterostichus versicolor and spent Calathus melanocephalus. Although mean locomotory activity increased with temperature, great daily differences occurred between individuals, pointing to asynchronous behaviour. In an unfavorable habitat directed movement occurred both more frequently and more extremely, sometimes resulting in escape to more favorable areas. Most of the radioactive beetles died within 7 weeks due to radiation effects, but independent field experiments and simulations showed that the recorded patterns were valid. Simulated individuals of P. versicolor living on 1 ha spread over 49 ha, whereas simulated C. melanocephalus covered only 9 ha after one activity season. Normal locomotory activities lead to both exchange of individuals between subpopulations and dispersal out of the habitat. The significance of these phenomena for population stability and for the survival of the species is discussed. (orig.) [de

Ability of aphasic individuals to perform numerical processing and calculation tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela De Luccia

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Objective To compare performance on EC301 battery calculation task between aphasic subjects and normal controls of the same sex, age, and education. Method Thirty-two aphasic patients who had suffered a single left hemisphere stroke were evaluated. Forty-four healthy volunteers were also selected. All subjects underwent a comprehensive arithmetic battery to assess their numerical and calculation skills. Performances on numerical processing and calculation tasks were then analyzed. Results Aphasic individuals showed changes in their ability to perform numerical processing and calculation tasks that were not observed in the healthy population. Conclusion Compared with healthy subjects of the same age and education level, individuals with aphasia had difficulty performing various tasks that involved numerical processing and calculation.

A common control signal and a ballistic stage can explain the control of coordinated eye-hand movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Gopal, Atul; Murthy, Aditya

2016-06-01

Voluntary control has been extensively studied in the context of eye and hand movements made in isolation, yet little is known about the nature of control during eye-hand coordination. We probed this with a redirect task. Here subjects had to make reaching/pointing movements accompanied by coordinated eye movements but had to change their plans when the target occasionally changed its position during some trials. Using a race model framework, we found that separate effector-specific mechanisms may be recruited to control eye and hand movements when executed in isolation but when the same effectors are coordinated a unitary mechanism to control coordinated eye-hand movements is employed. Specifically, we found that performance curves were distinct for the eye and hand when these movements were executed in isolation but were comparable when they were executed together. Second, the time to switch motor plans, called the target step reaction time, was different in the eye-alone and hand-alone conditions but was similar in the coordinated condition under assumption of a ballistic stage of ∼40 ms, on average. Interestingly, the existence of this ballistic stage could predict the extent of eye-hand dissociations seen in individual subjects. Finally, when subjects were explicitly instructed to control specifically a single effector (eye or hand), redirecting one effector had a strong effect on the performance of the other effector. Taken together, these results suggest that a common control signal and a ballistic stage are recruited when coordinated eye-hand movement plans require alteration. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.