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Kinesiology 406: Motor Learning and Skilled Performance

The title of this course is Motor Learning, Control and Skill Performance. The course is designed to present the student with a general background covering all the varied aspects of motor control and learning; from cognitive aspects involved in planning movements and selecting movements, to the neurological components involved in muscle contraction and sensory pickup of information. Several themes predominant in the course: 1) neurophysiology of the motor unit, muscle, spinal cord and brain with specific reference to reflexive and voluntary movement control; 2) features of memory and cognitive processes associated with learning, storing and planning movements; 3) theories of motor control ranging from more traditional open and closed loop accounts to more recent perspectives emphasizing pattern formation in systems with many degrees of freedom (neurons, muscles, joints); and 4) application of the above theories to issues pertaining to motor learning, practice scheduling and composition, information feedback, and speed-accuracy tradeoffs. Below, I provide links to the current course syllabus as well as power point presentations of my lectures.

Textbook: Richard A. Magill (2006). Motor Learning and Control: Concept and Applications, 8th Edition. Boston, MA. McGraw-Hill.

Course Syllabus for Kinesiology 406: