Dynamical Factors in the Development of Motor Skill

这个研究项目的目标是了解婴儿期和幼儿期运动技能的习得。具体来说，这项研究关注的是技能的双重性：儿童如何学会既在表现上保持稳定，又在参与新任务的能力上保持灵活。这些研究从动态系统的角度出发，从动态测试和水平和时间尺度耦合的角度来解决技能发展问题。这种理论方法侧重于导致运动的多种相互作用的因素。在这里，我们特别考虑知觉、运动记忆和任务如何交叉产生眼睛和头部的运动，以及不同复杂性的手动动作。研究着眼于现实和发展时间的变化，包括实证研究、模型仿真和机器人技术。具体目标1是基于一个新的婴儿视觉习惯模型。在六个实验中，我们操纵了影响婴儿视觉注意发展的度量参数。在具体目标2中，我们研究了婴幼儿简单的手和饲料的动作记忆的动态，以及这些记忆如何与视觉注意相互作用。具体目标3是研究复杂运动动作的动力学。研究人员用不同复杂程度的玩具对婴幼儿进行测试，以了解近期和长期的经验如何影响他们重复或转向新行为的倾向。在具体目标4中，我们在自主机器人中实现这些理论模型，以进一步探索实时行为的机制及其发展过程。具体目标5是继续目前资助的婴儿肢体扰动实验，具体目标6是在这些和以前的实验和建模工作的基础上写一本关于具身认知发展的书。这些研究影响了我们对技能发展的基本机制的理解，并继续为儿科物理和职业治疗的临床干预提供新的理论。

The goal of this research program is to understand the acquisition of motor skills in infancy and early childhood. Specifically, this research is concerned with the dual-nature of skill: how children learn to become both stable in their performance and flexible in their abilities to engage in new tasks. The studies are informed by a dynamic systems perspective and address skill development in terms of dynamics tested and coupled over levels and time scales. This theoretical approach focuses on the multiple, interacting factors that lead to movement. Here we especially consider how perception, motor memory, and task intersect in producing movements of eyes and head, and manual actions of varying complexities. Studies look at changes in real and developmental time and include empirical research, model simulation and robotics. Specific Aim 1 is based on a new model of infant visual habituation. In six experiments, we manipulate the metric parameters contributing to infants' development of visual attention. In Specific Aim 2 we study the dynamics of action memories for simple reaching with hands and with feed in infants and toddlers, and how those memories interact with visual attention. Specific Aim 3 is to study the dynamics of complex motor actions. Infants and toddlers are tested with toys of varying complexity to understand how recent and longer-term experience affect their tendencies to repeat or switch to new actions. In Specific Aim 4 we implement these theoretical models in an autonomous robot to further explore mechanisms of real time behavior and its developmental course. Specific Aim 5 is to continue experiments on infant limb perturbations currently funded and Specific Aim 6 to write a book on development of embodied cognition based on these and previous experimental and modeling work. These studies impact upon our understanding of basic mechanisms of skill development and continue to contribute new theories of clinical intervention in pediatric physical and occupational therapy.