Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis

Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis, Fourth Edition, is the only graduate textbook that combines motor control and motor learning with the in-depth details students need in order to understand the topic and distinguish between different sides of an issue. Authored by two of the leading researchers in the field, the new edition features an up-to-date review of the latest research, more than 400 new references, new figures, and these new features: Highlight boxes featuring in-depth discussion of relevant issues, new topics, and classic research Selected quotes representing important contributions to the field, interpreted for current and future researchers Web-based references that support and enhance students comprehension of the material

Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis, Fourth Edition, is the only text that focuses specifically on the motor learning and motor control areas of motor behavior. The new features and ancillaries make it ideal for students to use as a text and for professionals to access as a reference.

Part I introduces the fields of motor control and learning. It provides a brief history; explains the tools of motor behavior research; presents the information-processing approach, which is fundamental to understanding how humans think and act; and describes how attention influences motor behavior.

Part II addresses various factors contributing to the complex whole of the human motor system. It examines the roles of sensory information and the ways in which information from the environment influences movement behavior, considers the central control and representation of action, deals with laws and models regarding speed and accuracy, looks at the coordination needed for more complex tasks, and addresses factors that make people differ in their skilled behaviors.

Part III addresses performance changes that accompany motor learning. It describes the research methods used for studying and measuring motor learning, discusses the effects of various conditions under which a learner can practice motor skills, considers the effects of providing augmented information about what was done, and examines the empirical relationships and principles concerned with the retention and transfer of motor skills.