Understanding the Role of Variability in Motor Control and Learning: Towards an Accessible Protocol for Analysis.
The scientific literature highlights the significance of human motor variability in understanding motor control, learning, and neurological disorders. Visuomotor tasks in laboratory settings offer a controlled platform for studying motor variability, but the specialized equipment used for these task...
| Published in: | Perceptual & Motor Skills Vol. 133; no. 3; pp. 661 - 680 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Sage Publications Inc.
Jun2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=193394953&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 193394953 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00315125 PSK jtl: Perceptual & Motor Skills issn: 00315125 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 133 iid: 3 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. artinfo: ui: 193394953 10.1177/00315125251370874 ppf: 661 ppct: 19 formats: tig: atl: Understanding the Role of Variability in Motor Control and Learning: Towards an Accessible Protocol for Analysis. aug: au: Caballero, Carla Barbado, David Rodríguez, Óscar Moreno, Francisco J. affil: Department of Sport Sciences, Sports Research Centre, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Elche, Spain Neurosciences Research Group, Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), Alicante, Spain su: Spain Motor ability Cross-sectional method Task performance Home environment Analysis of variance Medical protocols In vitro studies Repeated measures design Pearson correlation (Statistics) T-test (Statistics) Data analysis Research funding Time series analysis Descriptive statistics Psychology of movement Mice (Computers) Statistical reliability Statistics Intraclass correlation Comparative studies Data analysis software Home rehabilitation sug: subj: Motor ability Cross-sectional method Task performance Home environment Analysis of variance Spain Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing Computer Terminal and Other Computer Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing Medical protocols In vitro studies Repeated measures design Pearson correlation (Statistics) T-test (Statistics) Data analysis Research funding Time series analysis Descriptive statistics Psychology of movement Mice (Computers) Statistical reliability Statistics Intraclass correlation Comparative studies Data analysis software Home rehabilitation keyword: motor variability assessment moused-based task reliability robustness motor variability assessment moused-based task reliability robustness ab: The scientific literature highlights the significance of human motor variability in understanding motor control, learning, and neurological disorders. Visuomotor tasks in laboratory settings offer a controlled platform for studying motor variability, but the specialized equipment used for these tasks limits their accessibility and generalizability. Thus, this study aimed to develop an accessible, standardized mouse-based task for home-based assessment of motor variability characteristics. Two protocols were conducted: (1) comparing the mouse-based task to a well-established force-sensor lab task (N = 10), and (2) assessing the mouse-based task across various computer setups (N = 31). Results demonstrated high reliability and accuracy of both tasks for the following measures of motor variability: fuzzy entropy and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). The mouse-based task exhibited slightly superior absolute reliability, suggesting potential sensitivity advantages for detecting longitudinal changes in motor control. While sampling frequency influenced nonlinear outputs, it did not significantly affect reliability, leading to the choice of 20 Hz for optimal parameter estimation. Correlation analyses revealed that although participants showed different performance during the mouse- and force-sensor-based tasks, their long-term movement adjustment strategies (assessed using the DFA) were similar. In addition, the robustness analysis showed that computer hardware can influence observed variability, with screen size being a key factor. Larger screens may increase error sensitivity and affect variability structure. Overall, the findings highlight the potential of the mouse-based task for home-based motor variability assessment, emphasizing its reliability, accuracy, and adaptability across various computer setups. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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