Biomedical subjects

Dana Maslovat

Publications and source records attributed to Dana Maslovat.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Anchoring strategies for learning a bimanual coordination pattern.

Anchoring has been defined as synchronizing a point in a movement cycle with an external stimulus (W. D. Byblow, R. G. Carson, & D. Goodman, 1994). Previously, investigators have examined anchoring during in-phase and antiphase movements. The present authors examined anchoring during acquisition of a novel bimanual coordination pattern. Participants performed a 90 degrees pattern at 1 Hz, with a 2- or 4-Hz metronome. No group differences were found in pattern performance; however, the 4-Hz group developed more consistent anchoring relative to the metronome. Mechanical anchor-point variability differed by hand, position (midpoint vs. endpoint), and direction (flexion vs. extension) but not by metronome frequency. Those results support and extend previous findings but leave unanswered questions regarding the benefits and effectiveness of anchoring during a 90 degrees pattern.

Hand↗

PubMed2005

Evaluation of scanning methodology in bimanual coordination.

A major component of a dynamical paradigm involves a "scanning" procedure in an attempt to determine an individual's intrinsic coordination tendencies before learning, as well as subsequent changes in the coordination landscape after practice. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate two methods of the scanning procedure. Scans were performed before and after 75 trials of a 90 degrees bimanual-coordination pattern and were compared with early and late acquisition trials. Four groups of participants performed scanning and acquisition trials using a combination of either concurrent visual feedback in the form of Lissajous figures, paced by an auditory metronome, or visual metronomes in the form of flashing stimuli. Analyses revealed that all groups improved performance of the 90 degrees pattern with practice. As predicted by the theory of practice specificity, scanning via the same method as acquisition appears to be valid. Scanning via Lissajous figures when the acquisition procedure was flashing squares was also found to be valid, but not the opposite condition. Reasons for this unidirectional transfer are given with these results suggesting that the sensitivity of a given scanning method might be influenced by the method of acquiring the coordination pattern.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2004

Contextual interference: single task versus multi-task learning.

This experiment examined contextual interference in producing a bimanual coordination pattern of 90 degree angle relative phase. Acquisition, retention, and transfer performance were compared in a single-task control group and groups that performed 2 tasks in either a blocked or random presentation. Surprisingly, acquisition data revealed that both the random and control groups outperformed the blocked group. Retention data showed a typical CI effect for performance variability, with the random group outperforming the blocked group. Neither the random nor blocked groups outperformed the control group, suggesting interference of a second task may be as beneficial to learning as extra practice on the initial task. No group effects were found during transfer performance. Results suggest that random practice is beneficial for learning only one task.

Hand↗