The contribution of visual information to human brake behaviour

In this study the contribution of visual information to the onset and control of braking in front of a stationary target vehicle was investigated. In a first experiment, participants drove a go-cart along a linear track towards a stationary vehicle, in monocular and binocular conditions. They could start braking from a distance of 4, 7, or 10 metres from the vehicle. In a second experiment, the same braking task was executed under three visual conditions: normal vision, central vision and central vision with restricted peripheral vision. No significant differences between monocular and binocular vision were reported, whereas the restriction of peripheral vision was associated with more reserved brake behaviour. The results are discussed with respect to the functional significance of visual information during braking and related to the theoretical discussion on the exact nature of the information used

The contribution of visual information to human brake behaviour

In this study the contribution of visual information to the onset and control of braking in front of a stationary target vehicle was investigated. In a first experiment, participants drove a go-cart along a linear track towards a stationary vehicle, in monocular and binocular conditions. They could start braking from a distance of 4, 7, or 10 metres from the vehicle. In a second experiment, the same braking task was executed under three visual conditions: normal vision, central vision and central vision with restricted peripheral vision. No significant differences between monocular and binocular vision were reported, whereas the restriction of peripheral vision was associated with more reserved brake behaviour. The results are discussed with respect to the functional significance of visual information during braking and related to the theoretical discussion on the exact nature of the information used

Kijk eens diep met je ogen

De bal misslaan tijdens de tennisles, de puck niet kunnen raken tijdens het uurtje hockey, een schitterende vangbal verkwanselen, de auto niet geparkeerd krijgen. Onhandig, gebrek aan coördinatie, luidt dikwijls het verdict. Maar soms is er ook iets anders aan de hand, of beter, aan de ogen. Bij elke beweging die we uitvoeren, gebruiken we immers informatie die via de ogen binnenkomt om de actie mee te controleren en bij te sturen. Zo blijkt dieptezicht een belangrijke rol te spelen in vele balsporten, maar helpt het evenzeer om blik- en andere schade in het verkeer te vermijden.status: publishe

The influence of stress and muscle fatigue on implicitly and explicitly learned motor skills

According to Beek (2000), disturbing causes at the upper level of action (i.e. stress) and at the lower level of control (i.e. muscular fatigue) might result in different effects on performance when comparing implicit and explicit learning. In the present experiment an errorless/errorfull learning paradigm was used to enable the implicit/explicit acquisition of a dart throwing skill. After a pretest, the errorfull group (N=23) throwed from a progressively decreasing distance (from 317 to 257 cm), while the inverse procedure was used for the errorless group (N=21) (from 157 to 217 cm). One week after the four-day learning period (400 trials) both groups performed a transfer test, a fatigue test and a stress test (all from 237 cm). The fatigue test was preceded by a double Wingate protocol on an arm crank ergometer. At the beginning of the stress test participants were told they could win a significant financial reward in case of a good performance. Retrospective self-report of nervousness was administered under stressed and unstressed conditions. Hitting accuracy of the errorfull group improved from M=5.29 (maximum=15) in the first learning block to M=7.81 in the final learning block, while the errorless group evolved from M=9.67 to M=8.74, which is typical for an errorless/errorfull learning paradigm. In comparison to the scores at the pre-test both groups performed equally (performance increase of 22%) at the transfer test. Performance of both groups decreased at the fatigue test, but this decrease was much less in the explicit group (5%, ns) as compared to the implicit group (18%, p<.005). Stress manipulation resulted in an increase of self-reported nervousness; however stress did not have a differential impact on performance in both groups. Our results of the fatigue test confirmed the hypothesis of robustness of explicit motor learning to physiological fatigue, meaning that success depends on the person’s ability to circumvent the (temporary) impairment induced by muscular fatigue, and thus develop alternative strategies based upon explicit knowledge. The contradiction with the findings of Poolton et al. (2006) may be due to task specificity and the sort of fatigue induced (local vs. global), which calls for further research on this topic. Our results of the stress test do not show the superiority of implicit or explicit learning when performing under stress

Postural adjustments in catching: on the interplay between segment stabilization and equilibrium control

The purpose of this study was to investigate postural adjustments in one-handed ball catching. Specifically, the functional role of anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) during the initial arm raising and subsequent postural adjustments (SPA) for equilibrium control and ball-hand impact were scrutinized. Full-body kinematics and kinetics allowed an analysis of the mechanical consequences of raising up the arm and preparing for ball-hand impact. APA for catching were suggested to be for segment stabilization. SPA had a functional role for equilibrium control by an inverted pendulum mechanism but were also involved in preparing for the impact of the ball on the hand, which was illustrated by an increased postural response at the end of the movement. These results were compared with raising up the arm in a well-studied reaction-time task, for which an additional counter rotation equilibrium mechanism was observed. Together, our findings demonstrate that postural adjustments should be investigated in relation to their specific functional task constraints, rather than generalizing the functional role of these postural adjustments over different tasks

Zijn kleutertjes ratjes? De neuromythe van het verrijkte klaslokaal

zie https://kleutergewijs.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/zijn-kleutertjes-ratjes-de-neuromythe-van-het-verrijkte-klaslokaal/status: publishe

Neuromythes

'We gebruiken maar 10% van onze hersenen!' 'We moeten ervoor zorgen dat de linker hersenhelft van onze leerlingen meer in verbinding komen met de rechter'. Er bestaan heel wat misverstanden over hoe onze hersenen en die van onze leerlingen werken. Dit noemen we neuromythes. Doel van deze lezing is het onderwijs wakker te schudden, te wijzen op het feit dat er neuromythes leven in het onderwijs en hiermee de kritische geest aanscherpen. Er is op dit moment al heel wat kennis over neurowetenschappen en onderwijs voorhanden. Toch blijven bepaalde neuromythes hardnekkig leven. Deze neuromythes hebben niet alleen een impact op hoe sommige leerkrachten les geven (bv. “deze leerling is een visueel lerende, dan zal ik hem enkel nog via prentjes laten leren”), maar ook hoe kinderen bepaalde misvattingen over onze hersenen overnemen (bv. “deze oefeningen helpen mijn linkerhersenhelft beter samenwerken met mijn rechterhersenhelft”). In deze lezing gaan we dieper in op de neuromythes en hoe leerkrachten/onderwijspractici hiermee moeten omgaan. Er wordt een educatief pakket voor leerkrachten verspreid waarbij elke leerkracht in zijn/haar school een miniproject kan opzetten om neuromythes te bestrijden.status: publishe

Powerfull learning, a neuroscientific approach

Deze lezing gaat dieper in op de link tussen neurowetenschappen en leren. Een voorgesteld kader laat toe enkele neuromythes te ontkrachten en de rol van inzichten uit de neurowetenschappen voor leeromgevingen in te schatten. Ten slotte worden enkele conclusies toegelicht die we wél uit neurowetenschappelijk onderzoek kunnen trekken ten behoeve van een krachtige leeromgeving.status: publishe