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Observational practice of relative but not absolute motion features in a single-limb multi-joint coordination task

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Abstract

The learning of relative and absolute motion features as a function of physical (actor group) and observational (observer group) practice was examined in a rhythmic single limb multi-joint coordination task. The task required the participants to learn a 90° relative phase pattern between the elbow and wrist in combination with an absolute elbow joint angle of 80° and a wrist joint angle of 48°. Each actor practiced the required relative and absolute motion features for 2 days while being watched by an observer. Overall, the actor group was characterized by an improvement in performance on the relative phase component and showed a clear differentiation in joint amplitudes. In a 24-h retention test, the observer group more closely matched the performance of the actors on the relative phase component in comparison to a control group that was not exposed to physical or observational practice. However, the observer and control groups did not demonstrate a clear differentiation in required joint amplitudes. In agreement with Scully and Newell (1985), we conclude that relative phase may be classified as a relative motion feature that may be picked through observation and benefit initial physical performance, whereas the joint amplitudes may be classified as absolute motion features that require physical practice to achieve the appropriate scaling.

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Notes

  1. Even though the required wrist amplitude for the IP and AP templates was 80°, we computed the IP and AP wrist amplitude errors based on the vertical ellipse template goal to highlight the differences in wrist amplitude across the three templates and the three participant groups.

  2. The learning trends exhibited by the actors in this experiment were very similar to the trends reported in Buchanan et al. (2007). For this reason, we select only the first and last block of practice to show the change in performance of the actor group with regard to the relative and absolute motion features. The variable Training arm (dominant or non-dominant) was not a significant factor regarding the performance of the observation and control groups and has been dropped as a variable from all the analyses. The impact of training arm on the performance of the actor group was consistent with those reported in a different manuscript (see Buchanan et al. 2007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Kinesiology, Human Performance Laboratories, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-4243, USA

    John J. Buchanan, Young U. Ryu, Kirk Zihlman & David L. Wright

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  1. John J. Buchanan
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  2. Young U. Ryu
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  3. Kirk Zihlman
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  4. David L. Wright
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Correspondence to John J. Buchanan.

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Buchanan, J.J., Ryu, Y.U., Zihlman, K. et al. Observational practice of relative but not absolute motion features in a single-limb multi-joint coordination task. Exp Brain Res 191, 157–169 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-008-1512-8

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