The Perception & Action Podcast

A discussion with Mike Studer, President of Northwest Rehabilitation Associate. We discuss using dual tasks to encourage the development of procedural memories, constraint-induced practice, concussion rehabilitation in sports, and geriatric athletes.

How effective is neurofeedback training for improving sports performance? Is it worth the investment of time and money? Which brain rhythm should we be targeting for the best results?

What is the optimal level of task difficulty to use in practice? How does it depend on the complexity of the skill and the experience of the learner? A look at the Challenge Point Hypothesis and studies which have tested its predictions.

What does it mean to “practice with intent”? How does intention shape the way we learn and perform perceptual motor skills?

A discussion with Ragjv Ranganthan, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Michigan State University. We discuss motor synergies and redundancy, the role of movement variability in the development of coordination, and using robot aided movements for rehabilitation

How can we best sort through the myriad of vision and perceptual-cognitive training tools for sports? What are the key characteristics we should be looking for? How effectively can skilled athletes inhibit and prepare to inhibit movements?

What characterizes the brain activity of an elite performer? How does brain activity change during the process of skill acquisition? Do cultural environments influence motor skills? Are there “motor styles” common to members of a given cultural group?

Why might movement variability be beneficial for skill acquisition and execution? What distinguishes “good” from “bad” variability in movement? How do different coaching/instructional methods (e.g. ordering practice conditions, cueing, differential learning, and manipulating constraints) compare in terms of their ability to encourage functional variability? When should we be trying to maximize variability?

A discussion with Shawn Myszka from Movement Mastery. In the interview we discuss the upcoming Sport Movement Skill Conference and the Ecological Dynamics movement in coaching. More information about my guest: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sport-movement-skill-conference-2018-tickets-41843484990 https://twitter.com/MovementMiyagi https://twitter.com/Movement_Master

A discussion with Ed Coughlan, Phil Kearny and Olly Logan, founders of Movement & Skill Acquisition Ireland. In the interview we discuss the goals of the organization and their upcoming conference: Constraints based coaching and ecological dynamics to enhance sports performance.

A discussion with Mark O’Sullivan, Coach with AIK Football in Stockholm. We discuss Mark’s concept of football interactions and how it relates to practice design and affordances, and the "race to the bottom" in talent identification.

A look at research investigating the effects of assisted/guided movement on skill acquisition. Can experiencing the movement pattern on an elite athlete facilitate motor learning in a novice? Is it better to use assistance to reduce or augment errors?

A look at how Bernstein’s famous phrase “repetition without repetition” revolutionized how we think about motor learning. And an introduction to a few extensions of Bernstein’s ideas including coordinative structures and the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis.

A look at Bernstein’s theory of freezing/freeing degrees of freedom during skill acquisition and some research which has tested these ideas.

The first episode in a series looking at the contributions of Nikolai Bernstein to our understanding of motor control and motor learning. What were Bernstein’s “problems? Is finding solutions to these problems really what effective coaching is all about?