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Author |
Friedman, J.; Amiaz, A.; Korman, M. |


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Title |
The online and offline effects of changing movement timing variability during training on a finger-opposition task |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2022 |
Publication |
Scientific Reports |
Abbreviated Journal |
Sci Rep |
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Volume |
12 |
Issue  |
1 |
Pages |
13319 |
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Keywords |
Fingers; Humans; *Learning; *Motor Skills; Movement; Psychomotor Performance; Upper Extremity |
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Abstract |
In motor learning tasks, there is mixed evidence for whether increased task-relevant variability in early learning stages leads to improved outcomes. One problem is that there may be a connection between skill level and motor variability, such that participants who initially have more variability may also perform worse on the task, so will have more room to improve. To avoid this confound, we experimentally manipulated the amount of movement timing variability (MTV) during training to test whether it improves performance. Based on previous studies showing that most of the improvement in finger-opposition tasks comes from optimizing the relative onset time of the finger movements, we used auditory cues (beeps) to guide the onset times of sequential movements during a training session, and then assessed motor performance after the intervention. Participants were assigned to three groups that either: (a) followed a prescribed random rhythm for their finger touches (Variable MTV), (b) followed a fixed rhythm (Fixed control MTV), or (c) produced the entire sequence following a single beep (Unsupervised control MTV). While the intervention was successful in increasing MTV during training for the Variable group, it did not lead to improved outcomes post-training compared to either control group, and the use of fixed timing led to significantly worse performance compared to the Unsupervised control group. These results suggest that manipulating MTV through auditory cues does not produce greater learning than unconstrained training in motor sequence tasks. |
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2045-2322 |
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PMID:35922460; PMCID:PMC9349301 |
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115 |
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Author |
Steinhart, S.; Weiss, P.L.; Friedman, J. |


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Title |
Proximal and distal movement patterns during a graphomotor task in typically developing children and children with handwriting problems |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2021 |
Publication |
Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Neuroeng Rehabil |
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18 |
Issue  |
1 |
Pages |
178 |
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Keywords |
Arm; Biomechanical Phenomena; Child; *Handwriting; Humans; Motor Skills; *Movement; Upper Extremity; Distal joints; Handwriting; Motor control; Movement analysis; Proximal; Stability |
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Abstract |
BACKGROUND: Therapists specializing in handwriting difficulties in children often address motor problems including both proximal and distal movements in the upper extremity. Kinematic measures can be used to investigate various aspects of handwriting. This study examined differences in movement patterns in proximal and distal joints of the upper extremity during graphomotor tasks between typically developing children with and without handwriting problems. Additionally, it explored relationships between movement patterns, speed, and legibility of writing. METHODS: Forty-one children, aged 7-11 years, were assessed with the Aleph Aleph Ktav Yad Hebrew Handwriting assessment and the Beery Test of Visual Motor Integration and, based on their scores, were divided into a research group (with handwriting difficulties) and a control group (without handwriting difficulties). Upper extremity joint movement patterns were analyzed with a motion capture system. Differences in the quality of shapes traced and copied on a graphics tablet positioned horizontally and vertically were compared. Between-group differences and relationships with speed and legibility were analyzed. RESULTS: In both groups, there was greater movement in the distal compared to the proximal joints, greater movement when performing the task in a horizontal compared to a vertical plane, and greater movement when tracing than copying. Joint movements in the arm executed scaled-down versions of the shapes being drawn. While the amount of joint displacement was similar between groups, children in the research group showed greater dissimilarity between the drawn shape and the shape produced by the proximal joints. Finally, the drawing measure on the tablet was a significant predictor of legibility, speed of writing, visual motor integration and motor coordination, whereas the dissimilarity measure of joint movement was a significant predictor of speed of writing and motor coordination. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides support for the role of the distal upper extremity joints in the writing process and some guidance to assist clinicians in devising treatment strategies for movement-related handwriting problems. While we observed differences in proximal joint movements between the children with and without handwriting difficulties, the extent to which they are responsible for the differences in drawing quality remains to be determined. Further studies should use a similar methodology to examine additional tasks such as drawing shapes of varying sizes. |
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Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. jason@tau.ac.il |
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1743-0003 |
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PMID:34930334; PMCID:PMC8690895 |
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118 |
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Lowenthal-Raz, J.; Liebermann, D.G.; Friedman, J.; Soroker, N. |

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Title |
Kinematic descriptors of arm reaching movement are sensitive to hemisphere-specific immediate neuromodulatory effects of transcranial direct current stimulation post stroke |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2024 |
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Scientific Reports |
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Sci Rep |
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14 |
Issue  |
1 |
Pages |
11971 |
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Humans; *Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation/methods; Male; Female; Middle Aged; *Stroke/physiopathology/therapy; Biomechanical Phenomena; Aged; *Arm/physiopathology; *Movement/physiology; *Stroke Rehabilitation/methods; Single-Blind Method; Cross-Over Studies |
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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) exerts beneficial effects on motor recovery after stroke, presumably by enhancement of adaptive neural plasticity. However, patients with extensive damage may experience null or deleterious effects with the predominant application mode of anodal (excitatory) stimulation of the damaged hemisphere. In such cases, excitatory stimulation of the non-damaged hemisphere might be considered. Here we asked whether tDCS exerts a measurable effect on movement quality of the hemiparetic upper limb, following just a single treatment session. Such effect may inform on the hemisphere that should be excited. Using a single-blinded crossover experimental design, stroke patients and healthy control subjects were assessed before and after anodal, cathodal and sham tDCS, each provided during a single session of reaching training (repeated point-to-point hand movement on an electronic tablet). Group comparisons of endpoint kinematics at baseline-number of peaks in the speed profile (NoP; smoothness), hand-path deviations from the straight line (SLD; accuracy) and movement time (MT; speed)-disclosed greater NoP, larger SLD and longer MT in the stroke group. NoP and MT revealed an advantage for anodal compared to sham stimulation of the lesioned hemisphere. NoP and MT improvements under anodal stimulation of the non-lesioned hemisphere correlated positively with the severity of hemiparesis. Damage to specific cortical regions and white-matter tracts was associated with lower kinematic gains from tDCS. The study shows that simple descriptors of movement kinematics of the hemiparetic upper limb are sensitive enough to demonstrate gain from neuromodulation by tDCS, following just a single session of reaching training. Moreover, the results show that tDCS-related gain is affected by the severity of baseline motor impairment, and by lesion topography. |
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Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. nachum@soroker.online |
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2045-2322 |
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PMID:38796610; PMCID:PMC11127956 |
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125 |
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Author |
Awasthi, B.; Williams, M.A.; Friedman, J. |


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Title |
Examining the role of red background in magnocellular contribution to face perception |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2016 |
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PeerJ |
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PeerJ |
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4 |
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e1617 |
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This study examines the role of the magnocellular system in the early stages of face perception, in particular sex categorization. Utilizing the specific property of magnocellular suppression in red light, we investigated visually guided reaching to low and high spatial frequency hybrid faces against red and grey backgrounds. The arm movement curvature measure shows that reduced response of the magnocellular pathway interferes with the low spatial frequency component of face perception. This finding provides behavioral evidence for magnocellular contribution to non-emotional aspect of face perception. |
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en |
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2167-8359 |
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81 |
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Author |
Friedman, J.; Korman, M. |


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Title |
Offline Optimization of the Relative Timing of Movements in a Sequence Is Blocked by Retroactive Behavioral Interference |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2016 |
Publication |
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
Abbreviated Journal |
Front. Hum. Neurosci. |
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10 |
Issue  |
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Pages |
623 |
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Keywords |
learning; interference; consolidation; finger movements; kinematics |
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Abstract |
Acquisition of motor skills often involves the concatenation of single movements into sequences. Along the course of learning, sequential performance becomes progressively faster and smoother, presumably by optimization of both motor planning and motor execution. Following its encoding during training, “how-to” memory undergoes consolidation, reflecting transformations in performance and its neurobiological underpinnings over time. This offline post-training memory process is characterized by two phenomena: reduced sensitivity to interference and the emergence of delayed, typically overnight, gains in performance. Here, using a training protocol that effectively induces motor sequence memory consolidation, we tested temporal and kinematic parameters of performance within (online) and between (offline) sessions, and their sensitivity to retroactive interference. One group learned a given finger-to-thumb opposition sequence (FOS), and showed robust delayed (consolidation) gains in the number of correct sequences performed at 24 h. A second group learned an additional (interference) FOS shortly after the first and did not show delayed gains. Reduction of touch times and inter-movement intervals significantly contributed to the overall offline improvement of performance overnight. However, only the offline inter-movement interval shortening was selectively blocked by the interference experience. Velocity and amplitude, comprising movement time, also significantly changed across the consolidation period but were interference-insensitive. Moreover, they paradoxically canceled out each other. Current results suggest that shifts in the representation of the trained sequence are subserved by multiple processes: from distinct changes in kinematic characteristics of individual finger movements to high-level, temporal reorganization of the movements as a unit. Each of these processes has a distinct time course and a specific susceptibility to retroactive interference. This multiple-component view may bridge the gap in understanding the link between the behavioral changes, which define online and offline learning, and the biological mechanisms that support those changes. |
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1662-5161 |
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