Dynamical Factors in the Development of Motor Skill

这项研究计划的目的是了解婴幼儿和儿童早期运动技能的获得情况。具体地说，这项研究关注的是技能的双重性质：儿童如何学会在表现上变得稳定，并在参与新任务的能力上变得灵活。这些研究以动态系统的观点为依据，针对在水平和时间尺度上经过测试和耦合的动态方面的技能发展。这一理论方法关注的是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、运动记忆和任务在产生眼睛和头部的运动以及不同复杂程度的手动动作时是如何相交的。研究着眼于实时和发展时间的变化，包括实证研究、模型模拟和机器人学。具体目标1是基于一种新的婴儿视觉习惯化模型。在六个实验中，我们操纵了有助于婴儿视觉注意力发展的度量参数。在具体目标2中，我们研究了婴幼儿简单伸手和喂食时动作记忆的动态变化，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。婴儿和蹒跚学步的孩子用不同复杂程度的玩具进行测试，以了解最近和长期的经历如何影响他们重复或切换到新动作的倾向。在具体目标4中，我们将这些理论模型应用于自主机器人，以进一步探索实时行为的机制及其发展过程。具体目标5是继续目前得到资助的关于婴儿肢体扰动的实验，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作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.