Search results for "Motor task"

2017

Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a promising neuroimaging method for investigating networks of cortical regions over time. We propose a directed effective connectivity method (TPDC) allowing the capture of both time and frequency evolution of the brain’s networks using fNIRS data acquired from healthy subjects performing a continuous finger-tapping task. Using this method we show the directed connectivity patterns among cortical motor regions involved in the task and their significant variations in the strength of information flow exchanges. Intra and inter-hemispheric connections during the motor task with their temporal evolution are also provided. Characterisation of the …

Decline in motor prediction in elderly subjects: right versus left arm differences in mentally simulated motor actions.

2008

This study investigates the effects of age upon the temporal features of executed and imagined movements performed with the dominant (D; right) and nondominant (ND; left) arms. Thirty right-handed subjects were divided into two groups: (i) the young group (n=15; mean age: 22.5+/-2.5 years) and (ii) the elderly group (n=15; mean age: 70.2+/-2.2 years). The motor task, involving arm pointing movements among four pairs of targets (.5cm, 1cm, 1.5cm and 2cm), imposed strong spatiotemporal constraints. During overt performance, young and elderly subjects modulated movement duration according to the size of targets, despite the fact that movement speed decreased with age as well as in the left arm…

Speeding up gait initiation and gait-pattern with a startling stimulus.

2008

Human gait involves a repetitive leg motor pattern that emerges after gait initiation. While the automatic maintenance of the gait-pattern may be under the control of subcortical motor centres, gait initiation requires the voluntary launching of a different motor program. In this study, we sought to examine how the two motor programmes respond to an experimental manipulation of the timing of gait initiation. Subjects were instructed to start walking as soon as possible at the perception of an imperative signal (IS) that, in some interspersed trials was accompanied by a startling auditory stimulus (SAS). This method is known to shorten the latency for execution of the motor task under prepar…

The impact of a concurrent motor task on auditory and visual temporal discrimination tasks

2016

Previous studies have shown the presence of an interference effect on temporal perception when participants are required to simultaneously execute a nontemporal task. Such interference likely has an attentional source. In the present work, a temporal discrimination task was performed alone or together with a self-paced finger-tapping task used as concurrent, nontemporal task. Temporal durations were presented in either the visual or the auditory modality, and two standard durations (500 and 1, 500 ms) were used. For each experimental condition, the participant’s threshold was estimated and analyzed. The mean Weber fraction was higher in the visual than in the auditory modality, but only for…

The gait is less stable in children with cerebral palsy in normal and dual-task gait compared to typically developed peers

2021

There is limited evidence about gait stability and its alteration by concurrent motor and cognitive tasks in children with cerebral palsy (CP). We examined gait stability and how it is altered by constrained cognitive or motor task in CP and their typically developed (TD) controls. Gait kinematics were recorded using inertial-measurement units (IMU) from 18 patients with hemiplegia (13.5 +/- 2.4 years), 12 with diplegia (13.0 +/- 2.1 years), and 31 TD controls (13.5 +/- 2.2 years) during unconstrained gait, and motor (carrying a tray) and cognitive (word naming) task constrained gait at preferred speed (similar to 400 steps/task). Step duration, its standard deviation and refined-compound-m…

The execution of the Grooved Pegboard test in a Dual-Task situation: A pilot study

2020

Background Manual dexterity is an important aspect in everyday life, which is widely studied through the Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT). Since Dual-Tasks (DT) activities are widely investigated and important to simulate everyday life situations, the objectives of the present pilot study were the evaluation of the effect of a cognitive task and a motor task during the performance of the GPT and the feasibility of the GPT in a DT contest. A secondary objective was to evaluate the training effect of the GPT. Methods A total of 31 young adults (20 man and 11 woman, age (SD): 27.7 (2.5)) performed the GPT eight times to understand the presence of a training effect before performing the GPT in DT. T…

Stereotype threat and lift effects on perceived ability and motor task performance of high school physical education students: the moderating role of…

2016

This study investigated the effects of stereotype threat and lift on perceived ability and motor task performance, and tested the moderating effects of stereotype endorsement and domain identification. One hundred and twenty French high school students were randomly assigned to control, stereotype threat, or stereotype lift conditions, in a 3 (condition) × 2 (sex) study design. The results revealed a stereotype lift effect on boys’ performance moderated by domain identification and a stereotype threat effect on girls’ perceived ability moderated by domain identification and stereotype endorsement. Perceived ability did not mediate the effects of stereotype threat and lift on performance. Th…

Mentally Simulated Motor Actions in Children

2009

The present study investigated the effects of age and arm preference on motor imagery ability. Children (groups: 6.5, 8.3, and 10.1 years) and young adults (22.4 years) physically or mentally performed a drawing motor task with the right or the left arm. Imagery ability, accessed by the timing correspondence between executed and imagined movements, was poor at 6 and 8 years but improved at age 10, and was robust in adults. The arm condition had no influence on imagery ability. We suggest that maturation of parietal and prefrontal cortices during development may contribute to improvement of action representation.

Chapter 9 The effects of a prepulse on the StartReact phenomenon

2006

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a study to investigate whether the inhibitory effects of the prepulse are different in the condition of motor preparation with respect to that of unexpectancy and whether the inhibition of the startle reaction by a prepulse is associated with the inhibition of the StartReact phenomenon. The chapter demonstrates that the procedure could help in ascertaining whether reflex and volitional components are actually combined in the StartReact phenomenon. Eight healthy volunteers, six men and two women, aged between 25 and 52 years were investigated and the startle reaction was recorded with surface electrodes over the right orbicularis oculi muscle and, in t…

The role of attention in preschoolers’ working memory

2015

Abstract Recent studies showed that introducing an unfilled delay or a secondary task between encoding and recall reduces recall performance in preschoolers, whereas increasing the attentional demand of this secondary task does not. Based on these results, different authors drew opposing conclusions regarding the use of attention in preschoolers’ memory maintenance. This study aimed to bring further evidence to bear on the issue. In two experiments, recall was reduced when an unfilled delay was introduced before recall, but also when the demand of the concurrent task increased. These effects did not interact with age, although performance improved from 4 to 6 years of age. A third experimen…