Principles of Motor Learning and Rehabilitation - Research Paper Example

Business Principles of Motor Learning and its Application in Neuro-rehabilitation Motor learning refers to the process by which the human sensory system slowly but progressively acquires skills through procedural practice and training. In medicine, motor learning process involves subjection of patients to a recovery process to enable them to regain skills that may have been lost due to sickness or treatment. The medical application of this process is based on scientific research that has proven that the human sensory system is capable of learning by adapting new skills in a new environment in order to achieve a normal level of performance in the new environment. Over time now, Motor learning has been applied in neuro-recovery to rehabilitate to rehabilitate patients who have suffered from stroke, traumatic pain and other neurological disorders. This research paper seeks to evaluate the various principles that are used in motor learning and its application in rehabilitating neurological patients. Scientific research with animals and human experiences has provided that the brain and the spinal cord exhibit ability to change and learn if subjected to training. This condition referred to as neuroplasticity refer to alteration in pathways and processes that emanate from environmental changes and change of neural processes (Edwards 23). This idea of the brain became a new experience to put an end to the earlier believe that the brain remains static during a specific lifetime. Another believe that has become obsolete in the medical field is the idea that neuroplasticity only occurs in childhood. Medical researchers have garnered enough evidence to provide evidence that the human brain remains active through most of the adult life. This knowledge has become a new solution in the mental health environment where now brain damage can be subjected to a rehabilitation process after a severe brain damage (Schmidt 129). Motor Learning Principles Numerous Motor Learning principles are associated with the rehabilitation process of the neurological patients in the Hospitals. Motor adaptation is one of the principles that are employed in Motor learning programs during treatment of victims of brain injury. Motor adaptation occurs in the brain and the central nervous systems when there are external or internal body changes that bring about misalignment in movement or even decision making. Laboratory research simulations have attempted to show the concept of motor adaptation by using visuomotor rotation to create a trajectory error between the right body movement and a wrong path (Edwards 29). The findings of these experiments show that the brain has a mechanism to generate a feedback error between the right and the wrong path that is utilized in achieving a higher accuracy. The problem with neurological patients is that their brain is incapable of predicting the right position of objects, which results in mis-coordination of body movements. The ability of the brain to adapt is implicit and the subject finally learns to co-ordinate their physical movements unconsciously (Schmidt 129). Although the process of adaptation is slow, training can be used to hasten the process in patients who have suffered brain damage. Another important principle in motor learning is the use of skill acquisition and retention strategies. This deals with the ability of the brain to establish the processes required to execute a particular motion and use the necessary inputs to enhance speed and accuracy. To improve the speed and accuracy, the brain requires learning the requirements that are associated with each activity rather that memorizing the actions. In the brain, the recovery process may be implemented using either extrinsic or intrinsic sensory feedback mechanisms. In the intrinsic feedback, the brain evaluates performance of a specific activity, whether inaccurate or accurate. In extrinsic sensory feedback, an external person provides more information regarding a specific activity (Schmidt 129). For instance, an unhealthy patient learns to correct their mechanisms by evaluating the performance of healthy individuals. At the end the brain learns to control the body actions more precisely and accurately, which may help the body to acquire speed and accuracy. However, the ability of the brain to adapt and acquire and retain skills is a slow process that has a numerous challenges. For instance, when the patient’s brain adapts to a new environment it will specialize particular functions at the expense of others. That is, when particular portions of the brain change to suit the demands of one activity, they will lose accuracy of other functions which it had mastered previously. Another challenge that arises is that the speed of executing an activity will affect the performance of other activities (Krakauer 2-3). For instance, as patients improve their speed of using a knife, they will reduce their speed of using a pen, especially if the time lapse between the two activities is little. This has posed a great challenge to neural-rehabilitation trainers while administering brain therapy. Motor Learning in rehabilitation of neurological patients The process of rehabilitating neurological patients depends on the assumption that motor learning principles can be used to induce motor recovery in patients who have suffered brain damage. The process of recovery is facilitated by assisting the brain to restore lost skills such as body mechanisms and decision making attributes. In addition, functional recovery is induced by helping patients to acquire alternative means of survival by providing other support mechanisms or assisting patients to used their unaffected parts. The empirical researches that have delved into the effectiveness of this kind of motor therapy indicate that the process needs timely to guarantee effective recovery process (LeDoux 114). Motor learning principles have found a great application in the process of rehabilitating the patients of stroke. Post stroke patients have a severe brain malfunction that is exhibited by inability to coordinate accurately normal body activities such as walking or standing. Medical researchers have come into a concession that the post stroke patients can regain their performance if they are subjected to motor training during the first six months after recovering from a stroke (LeDoux 137). In brain therapy, various motor learning principles have been applied to improve the speed and accuracy of the behavioral characteristics of patients. For instance, Reisman subjected patients to a treadmill task to patients of hemiparetic stroke to normalize their physical symmetry gradually. In this process, Reisman increased the speed of the treadmill belts to help the patients learn to adapt to the process slowly and gradually. The results of this experiment indicated that the patient’s brain was able to master and adjust to the speed of the belt easily as opposed to when the belt speed was changed suddenly. Another area where motor learning has been applied is in the rehabilitation of Post Traumatic Injury (PTI) patients. PTI patients have severely damaged brain that is incapable of performing balance functions when predicting the body action paths. A medical scientist, BachyRita developed the Brain port machine that is used to replace the vestibular structure in PTI patients (Schmidt 129). The Brain port machine is capable of transmitting balance signals to the brain of the PTI patient from their tongue. BachRita experiments proved that after some time the patient brain learnt their functions and the machine could be withdrawn without affecting the body functions. His explanation for this phenomenon is that the machine aids in reorganizing the vestibular structure to send coherent and consistent signals to the brain. The brain plasticity allows it to learn and reorganize the incoherent signals that are transmitted by the affected vestibular structure. Another kind of treatment that has been proved effective for PTI patients is the injection of progesterone into the blood system of patients to enhance recovery (Jarvilehto para. 5). The principle behind this method is that high progesterone levels reduce the death rate of neuronal cells and hence increases chances of motor sense recovery. Technology development has promised to provide a solution to the challenges that have faced the process of neuro-rehabilitation in the medical field. One of the challenges that doctors experience during training of patients is that their ability to administer training is limited by time and fatigue (Tong 42). The Neuro-rehabilitation process requires intensive exercise, practice and training to hasten the recovery process (Zasler 57). The introduction of robotic neural therapy aims at providing high training dosage to phase out the limitations of human training. Robotic therapy involves use of actuating systems that can be fitted with arms or legs to initiate body movement and to generate feedback errors that can be fed to the brain to induce corrective measures (Patton 370). Although this technology has been fully rolled in the medical field, it is expected that this will give the Neuro-rehabilitation programs a new shape in terms of effectiveness. In conclusion, the motor learning principles have revolutionized the brain therapy strategies by providing the best approach to treatment of neurological patients. Brain plasticity in both children and adults has been applied in the medical sector to help patients who have lost normal brain functions regain their skills to live a normal life. Through intensive training, the brain is able to correct, acquire and retain physical performance skills that are necessary for performance of physical activities such as walking. While the adaptive principle helps the brain to correct its performance, the acquisition principle assists it to increase the speed and accuracy of performance. Although there exists time and physical challenges in the recovery process, the introduction of Robotic therapy will achieve higher accuracy and fast recovery. This is a new hope of neurological patients such as stroke and traumatic injury patients that have for long suffered after brain damage. Works Cited Edwards, W. Motor Learning and Control: From Theory to Practise. London: Cengage Learning. 2010. Print. Jarvilehto, T. The theory of the organism-environment system: The problem of mental activity and consciousness. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, 35, 35-57. 2000. Accessed from: < http://wwwedu. oulu.fi/homepage/tjarvile/orgenv4.pdf> [Accessed on 31 Aug, 2013] Krakauer, J. Motor Learning: It’s Relevance to Stroke recovery and neurorehabiltation. Accessed from:< http://www.jsmf.org/meetings/2008/may/Krakauer_COIN(2006).pdf> [Accessed on 31 Aug, 2013] LeDoux, E. Synaptic self: how our brains become who we are. New York, United States: Viking. 2000. Print. p. 137 Patton, L. Evaluation of robotic training forces that either enhance or reduce error in chronic Hemiparetic stroke survivors. Journal of Brain Rehabilitation. 168: 368–383. 2006. Schmidt, R. Motor Learning and Perfomance: A situation based Learnign approach. USA: Human Kinetics. 2008. Print. Tong, R. Bio-mechatronics in Medicine and Healthcare. USA: Pan Stanford Publishing. 2011. Print. Zasler, N. Brain Injury Medicine: Principles and Practice. USA: Demos Medical Publishing. 2007. Print Read More