Current status of the motor program: Revisited

The motor program is a concept that has had a major influence on theorizing in the field of motor control. However, there has been a lack of consensus as to what exactly is a motor program and its role in movement organization and execution. In 1994 Morris, Summers, Matyas, and Iansek concluded from a review of the application of the motor program concept in the field of physical therapy that continued use of the term may impede progress in the field. In this paper we examine what has happened to the motor program concept in the thirteen years since the previous evaluation. The review indicates that although the term is still being used in different ways, the theoretical existence of a motor program appears to be generally accepted by researchers in experimental psychology, movement science, and neurophysiology. The recent development of powerful brain imaging techniques may allow determination of whether the motor program should be regarded as a metaphorical or literal concept.     

Imitation of transitive and intransitive actions in healthy individuals

A handful of patients have been described as being impaired in performing transitive gestures, despite being still able to perform intransitive gestures. This impairment need not be explained by assuming different mechanisms; rather, it can be due to transitive actions being more difficult. In this study we tested whether neurologically healthy participants had greater difficulties in imitating transitive actions with respect to intransitive actions. Consistent with the prediction, subjects imitated intransitive better than transitive gestures. The ease of imitation of intransitive actions supports the complexity account of apraxic impairments.     

Deficits in executed and imagined aiming performance in brain-injured children

Motor disorders are a frequent consequence of acquired brain injury (ABI) in children and much effort is currently invested in alleviating these deficits. The aim of the present study was to test motor imagery (MI) capabilities in children with ABI (n=25) and an age- and gender-matched control group (n=25). A computerized Virtual Radial Fitts Task (VRFT) was used to investigate the speed-accuracy trade-offs (or Fitts' law) that occur as target size is varied for both executed and imagined performance. In the control group, the speed for accuracy trade-off for both executed and imagined performance conformed to Fitts' law. In the ABI group, only executed movements conformed to Fitts' law. These findings suggest that children with ABI show an inferior ability to imagine the time needed to complete goal-directed movements with differential difficulty levels.     

Spider monkey ranging patterns in Mexican subtropical forest: do travel routes reflect planning?

Although it is well known that frugivorous spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis) occupy large home ranges, travelling long distances to reach highly productive resources, little is known of how they move between feeding sites. A 11 month study of spider monkey ranging patterns was carried out at the Otochma’ax Yetel Kooh reserve, Yucatán, Mexico. We followed single individuals for as long as possible each day and recorded the routes travelled with the help of a GPS (Global Positioning System) device; the 11 independently moving individuals of a group were targeted as focal subjects. Travel paths were composed of highly linear segments, each typically ending at a place where some resource was exploited. Linearity of segments did not differ between individuals, and most of the highly linear paths that led to food resources were much longer than the estimate visibility in the woodland canopy. Monkeys do not generally continue in the same ranging direction after exploiting a resource: travel paths are likely to deviate at the site of resource exploitation rather than between such sites. However, during the harshest months of the year consecutive route segments were more likely to retain the same direction of overall movement. Together, these findings suggest that while moving between feeding sites, spider monkeys use spatial memory to guide travel, and even plan more than one resource site in advance. This contribution is part of the special issue “A Socioecological Perspective on Primate Cognition” (Cunningham and Janson 2007).     

普通高校高水平运动员职业生涯规划的SWOT分析

“教体结合”模式已经成为高校高水平运动员培养和教育的重要形式,不仅有利于高水平运动员培养的可持续发展,而且有利于进一步提升校园文化内涵。但目前普遍存在的一个问题就是高水平运动员入校后,学训矛盾突出,职业生涯规划也难以开展,有待进一步探索。本文借鉴人力资源管理职业生涯规划理论和市场营销SWOT理论为基础,以SWOT分析为工具探讨如何科学实施高水平运动员职业生涯规划。     

从视觉知觉与行为的分离看行为的计划-控制模型

知觉与行为的分离现象最早是从临床病例中发现的,以后研究者在正常人身上利用错觉实验范式继续探索该现象,并由此发展了4个模型进行解释。其中,计划-控制模型得到了众多实验事实的支持。该模型认为：行为分为计划和控制两个阶段,每个阶段都有独立的加工模块,每个模块使用不同的视觉表征;错觉影响计划阶段,但是不影响在线控制阶段。本文重点回顾了动态错觉效应对计划-控制模型的实验验证,并进行了评价和展望     

我国中学生职业兴趣的特点与测验编制

随着当前就业压力的增加,社会竞争也愈演愈烈,职业生涯规划的问题逐渐受到人们的重视。本文基于当代高中毕业生选报大学专业时对自身兴趣特点深入了解的需要,在国内外职业兴趣研究的基础上,探讨了我国高中生职业兴趣的特点,并编制出一套适合当前中国高中生兴趣特点的职业兴趣测验。该测验将职业兴趣分为七种类型：艺术型、事务型、经营型、研究型、自然型、社会型和技术型。测验的信、效度测量指标均达到比较满意的水平。经过初步推广使用,获得了广大使用者的好评。     

Reaching skills of infants born very preterm predict neurodevelopment at 2.5 years

The purpose was to investigate associations between quality of reaching for moving objects at 8 months corrected age and neurodevelopment at 2.5 years in children born very preterm (gestational age (GA), 24–31 weeks). Thirtysix infants were assessed while reaching for moving objects. The movements were recorded by a 3D motion capture system. Reaching parameters included aiming, relative length of the reach, number of movement units, proportion of bimanual coupled reaches and number of hits. Neurodevelopment was assessed at 2.5 years by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development III. There were strong associations between infant reaching kinematics and neurodevelopment of cognition and language but the patterns differed: in children born extremely preterm (GA < 28 weeks), planning and control of reaching was strongly related to outcome, while in children born very preterm (GA 28–31 weeks) number of hits and bimanual strategies were of greater relevance. In conclusion, for extremely preterm infants, basic problems on how motion information is incorporated with action planning prevail, while in very preterm infants the coordination of bimanual reaches is more at the focus. We conclude that the results reflect GA related differences in neural vulnerability and that early motor coordination deficits have a cascading effect on neurodevelopment.     

Preconceptional family health evaluation: A regional education program for family planning clients and health professionals

The Preconceptional Family Health Evaluation Program was a regional project developed and funded for 2 years by the New England Regional Genetics Group (NERGG) to educate family planning health professionals about genetics, and to offer family planning clients preconceptional identification of genetic and environmental exposure risks. To meet these goals, genetic education was provided on a regional basis to 45 family planning professionals. A self-administered family health risk questionnaire adaptable to individual family planning settings was developed. Five hundred and twenty-nine family planning clients voluntarily completed the questionnaire. Cigarette smoking (35%) and alcohol use (57%) were two major categories of risks identified. The Preconceptional Family Health Evaluation Program was well received by all participants and provided an effective means for regional education of family planning health professionals. As a result of the program, state program planners, clinical genetics services, and family planning health professionals developed a strong relationship that will serve future educational and genetic risk screening efforts.