Human Motor Control and Learning

Lecture 2:
The Measurement of Motor
Performance

Dr. Nicholas T. Antony

Email: [email protected]
 Lecture Outline

1. The measuring of motor performance

2. Performance outcome measures

3. Performance production measures

4. Neural Measures

5. Motor Abilities
 Part 1:
The Measuring of Motor
Performance
 Introduction

What characteristics could you

use to measure performance of
the following motor skills?
 The Measurement of Motor Performance

Serving a Tennis a Ball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAd4RnCPl98

Potential Measurements?
 Count the number of serves inside vs. outside the court
 Speed of the ball
 Proper form?
 The Measurement of Motor Performance

Relearning How to Walk After a Stroke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G4IYWsXeQ8

Potential Measurements?
 Count the number of steps
 The distance the patient can walk unassisted
 Posture and balance assessment
 Gait analysis
 The Measurement of Motor Performance

Why are measurements of motor

performance important?
 The Measurement of Motor Performance

Performance measurements are essential for:

 Performance assessment
o Overall evaluation of capabilities and limitations
o Determinant of progress
o Inferring areas disability/dysfunction

 Motor learning and control research

o Quantitative analysis of movements
o Studying basis of human motor control
 The Measurement of Motor Performance

 There are a variety of ways to measure motor skill

performance
 Can categorize using different levels of analysis
• Actions, movements and neuromotor processes

Two general categories of measurements:

1. Performance Outcome Measures

2. Performance Production Measures

 Performance Outcome Measures
 Indicates the outcome or result of performing a motor skill
 Ex. Distance ball thrown, slapshot speed, batting average, marathon time, running
speed etc.
• Concerned with accomplishment of task

However…
 Does not indicate the specific movements used to accomplish goal

 Does not provide information about the activity of various muscles involved
 Performance Production Measures
 Measurements that relate to the performance
characteristics which produced the outcome

 Describes the different movements used to achieve task

goal

 Indicates the activity of specific aspects of the motor

control system during the performance (neuromotor
processes)
Examples
 Part 2:
Performance Outcome Measures
 Performance Outcome Measures

Reaction Time

 Common measure indicating how long it takes a person

to prepare and initiate a movement

 Measured as the interval of time between onset of a

signal (stimulus) and the initiation of movement
 Reaction Time

CLINICAL: What is the minimum reaction time allowed for

a legal start the 100m sprint?

 A reaction time less than 100ms (0.1s) is illegal

 Has led to multiple rule changes over the time
 Reaction Time
 Reaction time (RT) has a long history as an “index” of
specific aspects of human performance
 Has been used extensively in motor control research

 RT is used to:
o Infer what a performer does to prepare an action
o Identify the environmental context information a person uses
to prepare an action
o Assess the capabilities of a person to anticipate a required
action and determine when to initiate it
 Reaction Time
Types of RT Situations

1. Simple RT: involves only one signal and requires only one
response
o Sprinter starting a race

2. Choice RT: involves more than one signal and each signal
requires its own specified response
o Traffic light at intersection

3. Discrimination RT: involves more than one signal; but only one
signal requires a response
o The other signals do not require a response
 Reaction Time
Types of RT Situations
 Reaction Time

RT Interval Components
 EMG enables researchers to fractionate RT to obtain
more specific information
 Allows study of action preparation

 Two component parts:

1. Pre-motor time – Quiet interval between the onset of
stimulus and beginning of activity
o Represents CNS processing and transmission time

2. Motor time – Interval from the initial increase in muscle

activity until the actual limb movement
Fractionated RT
 Reaction Time
 Movement Time (MT): interval of time between the
initiation of movement and completion of an action
o Dependent on the task (no typical MT)

 Response Time: interval of time between the stimulus

and the completion of the specific task
o RT + MT

The Speed/Accuracy Tradeoff

 Responding or moving very fast can (usually) result in
increased errors
 Reaction Time

Events and Time Intervals of RT and

Movement Time
 Reaction Time Tests

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/

http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/

 How did you do?

 Performance Outcome Measures

Error Measures

 Error measures allow us to evaluate performance for

skills that have spatial or temporal accuracy action goals

 Certain error measures can also infer performance

problems
 When evaluating a series of repetitions researchers can assess
bias and consistency
 Performance Outcome Measures

Three main outcome error measures:

1. Absolute error - Absolute value of difference between

the actual performance on each trial and the criterion
for each trial
• AE = ∑|(performance – criterion)| / no. of trials
• Provides a general index of performance accuracy
 Error Measures

2. Constant Error – Index of tendency to be directionally

biased when performing skill
• CE = ∑(performance – criterion) / no. of trials
• Provides an index of performance bias
• Tendency to overshoot or undershoot goal

3. Variable Error – the standard deviation of the CE

scores
• Provides an index of performance consistency or variability
 Error Measures

Error for Two-Dimension Accuracy Goals

1. Radial Error – General 2D accuracy measure

• AE calculation using hypotenuse
• Performance bias and consistency more difficult to assess
 Error Measures

 Can obtain a qualitative

assessment of bias and
consistency

How would you assess the

performance of the
following two golf putt
examples?
 Error Measures
Assessing Errors for Continuous Skills

 Many continuous skills require spatial accuracy over a

period of time
• Driving a car on a highway

 Root-Mean Squared Error: common accuracy measure

used in research to evaluate continuous skills
 AE for continuous skills
 Error Measures
RMSE for a Pursuit Tracking Task
 Part 3:
Performance Production Measures
 Performance Production Measures
Remember:
Production measures are used to describe the specific movements
and neuromotor processes utilized in motor skill performance

Examples:
 Kinematics
o Displacement, velocity and acceleration

 Kinetics
o Force and moments

 Neural Measures
o EMG and brain activity measures (brain & muscle)
 Kinematic Measures

Kinematics:
 Describes motion without regard to force or mass which
produced the movement

 Involves motion analysis

• Research has developed numerous technologies to assess
kinematics
• Examples: Photography, goniometers, accelerometers,
mechanical systems, magnetic systems, optoelectric devices
Photography
 Photography

Eadweard Muybridge
(1830-1904)
 Goniometers

Manual Electrogoniometer
 Accelerometers

R1

R2 m
Mechanical Systems

Exoskeleton
 Magnetic Systems

Source Sensor
Motion Cameras: Digital (Passive)

New Line Cinema EA Sports

Infrared Cameras
(Digital Video)
Optotrak (Active)
 Kinematic Measures

 Displacement: Change in
position of a limb or joint
over time
 Velocity: Rate of change
of displacement (i.e.
speed)
• V = Displacement / Time
 Acceleration: Rate of
change of velocity
• A = Velocity / Time
 Co-ordination: Angle-angle Diagrams
Measuring Coordination

 Assesses how one

limb/joint moves relative to
another

 Quantitative measurement
of angle-angle diagrams
• Cross-correlation
technique
• Relative phase
 Kinetic Measures
Kinetics: is the study of forces as a cause of motion
 Human movements
organized by external
and internal forces
 Use of biomechanics
• Angular and linear forces
• Kinetic values can be
calculated using
kinematic measurements
 Studies involve use of
force plates, forces
transducers and strain
gauges
 Part 4:
Neural Measures
 Neural Measures

Neural Measures: indicate how the brain and

CNS are involved in planning and executing
movements

Examples:
 Muscle Activity Measures
 Brain Activity Measures
The Motor Unit
 Muscle Activity Measures
a) Electromyograpy (EMG): Recording of muscle electrical activity
• Common use is to determine when a muscle begins and ends activation
• Indicates degree of activation of muscles being studied
• Used in fractionated RT
• More reading = more muscle is contracting
b) Whole Muscle Mechanomyography (wMMG): Displacement of
muscle belly after stimulation
• Potential to estimate muscle fibre composition
• How much muscle belly moves
c) Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS): Level of oxygenation in the
muscle (or brain)
• Portable
• Can be used to measure cerebral cortex
 EMG (Maximal Voluntary Contraction)
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Newtons
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Analog input

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Volts
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0.5000 1.0000 1.5000 2.0000 2.5000 3.0000 3.5000 4.0000
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EMG Recordings
Muscle Activity Measures
 Brain Activity Measures

Brain Activity Measures: now more widely used by motor

control and learning researchers to investigate the relationship
between brain activity and the performance of motor skills

a) Electroencephalography (EEG): Measures electrical activity in

brain
• Active brain regions produce electrical activity

b) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): Method of assessing

brain activity by exciting or inhibiting activity of the cortex
• Assess motor skills performance to infer function of brain regions
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
 Brain Activity Measures

Brain Scanning Techniques

a) Positron Emission Topography (PET): Neuroimaging technique
that measures blood flow in the brain (flow increases in active
regions)

b) Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): Neuroimaging

technique that measures blood oxygenation levels

c) Magentoencephalography (MEG): Measures magnetic fields

created by neuronal activity
• Directly measures activity NOT metabolism
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgInT8hbDuQ
• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140121113442.htm
Brain Activity Measures
 Part 5:
Motor Abilities
 Motor Abilities

Think of an elite athlete…..

Do some people just have a better ‘ability’ to perform

motor skills?
 Ability and Motor Ability

Ability
 General trait or capacity of a person
 Relatively enduring characteristic
 A determinant of a person’s achievement potential for
the performance of specific skills

Motor Ability
 An ability that is specifically related to the performance
of a motor skill
 Each person has a variety of motor abilities
 Abilities as Individual Difference Variables

 Motor abilities establish achievement potential for specific motor

skills
• Each motor skill requires specific motor abilities to successfully perform it
• Given identical practice, instruction and motivation; motor abilities will
influence the level of performance success an individual can achieve

Two Hypotheses
 General Motor Ability Hypothesis – motor abilities are highly
related to each other

 Specificity of Motor Ability Hypothesis – motor abilities are

relatively independent in an individual
 Controversy About Relationship Among Motor
Abilities

General Motor Ability Specificity of Motor Abilities

Hypothesis Hypothesis

 All motor abilities are  All motor abilities are

highly related to each relatively independent
other  Each person varies in the
 A person can be amount of each ability
described as having an  A person’s motor ability can
overall amount of be described only by a
general motor ability profile of amounts of each
specific motor ability
 Abilities as Individual Difference Variables

Research evidence supports SPECIFICITY HYPOTHESIS

 Consistent correlations could not be found between motor abilities
• Initial research compared reaction time and movement time

 Recent research investigated whether variations of a motor ability represents

one ability
1. Balance (postural stability) as a motor ability
• 2 types – static and dynamic
• Rose et al. (2002): Children with CP showed balance problems while walking but not
while standing
 Static and dynamic balance are distinct independent abilities
2. Timing as a motor ability
o 2 types – External vs. Internal timing
o External – movement based on external source (hitting a baseball)
o Internal – timing based on individuals internal representation of timing (dancer
keeping rhythm and tempo)
 Research also demonstrated distinct timing abilities that are skill specific
Abilities as Individual Difference Variables
Spencer and Zelaznik (2003)
Abilities as Individual Difference Variables

What about the

“all around athlete”?
 Identifying Motor Abilites
Fleishman’s Taxonomy of Motor Abilities
 Described two broad categories of motor abilities:
1. Perceptual motor abilities
2. Physical proficiency abilities
 Indicated people differ in amount of each ability
 Goal was to define the “fewest independent ability categories in describing
performance in a wide variety of tasks”

CLINICAL: Tests for motor abilities can be used for:

 The prediction of future performance of a motor skill or activity (aptitude
tests)
 Evaluation and assessment of the effectiveness of an intervention program
(rehabilitation and occupational therapy settings)
Relating Motor Abilities to Motor Skill
Performance