Human behavior and cognition result from a complex pattern of interactions between brain regions. The flexible reconfiguration of these patterns enables behavioral adaptation, such as the acquisition of a new motor skill. Yet, the degree to which these reconfigurations depend on the brain's baseline sensorimotor integration is far from understood. Here, we asked whether spontaneous fluctuations...

This study examined the psychometric properties of Ulrichʼs (1988) Actual Physical Competence Scale for children with mental retardation. A total of 139 children with MR, 7 to 13 years of age participated. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a multidimensional model of skill assessment captures the motor performance of those with MR more accurately than a unidimensional model. Indices o...

UNLABELLED The development of fundamental movement skills (FMS) is associated with positive health-related outcomes. Children do not develop FMS naturally through maturational processes. These skills need to be learned, practised and reinforced. The objective was to determine the effectiveness of motor skill interventions in children. The following databases were searched for relevant articles:...

BACKGROUND Researchers found that children with a competent level of motor skill performance are more likely to be physically active. This study examined how well K-1 students demonstrated motor skill competency in relation to Physical Education Content Standard 1. METHODS Participants were K-1 grade students (N = 1,223-1,588; boys = 568-857; girls = 526-695; Mean age = 5.5 yrs old) who were ...

Reward and punishment motivate behavior, but it is unclear exactly how they impact skill performance and whether the effect varies across skills. The present study investigated the effect of reward and punishment in both a sequencing skill and a motor skill context. Participants trained on either a sequencing skill (serial reaction time task) or a motor skill (force-tracking task). Skill knowle...

PURPOSE Childhood obesity rates are increasing globally. Physical activity is one behavioral variable that influences weight status. Participation in physical activity requires basic gross motor proficiency in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gross motor skill level and weight status in a large national representative sample of kindergarten-aged...

AIM The aim of the current research was to explore the relationship between motor competence, physical fitness and self-perception, and to study to which extent this relationship may vary by gender. METHODS A sample of 67 children (mean age 11.46 years, SD 0.27) completed Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) and the Test of ...

The authors argued that death competence, defined as specialized skill in tolerating and managing clients' problems related to dying, death, and bereavement, is a necessary prerequisite for ethical practice in grief counseling. A selected review of the literature tracing the underpinnings of this concept reveals how a robust construct of death competence evolved. Using the vehicle of a case stu...

The studies reported here used an interference paradigm to determine whether a long-term consolidation process (i.e., one lasting from several hours to days) occurs in the learning of two implicit motor skills, learning of a movement sequence and learning of a visuo-motor mapping. Subjects learned one skill and were tested on that skill 48 h later. Between the learning session and test session,...

Despite its increasing use in experimental and clinical settings, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) remain unknown. Anodal tDCS applied to the human motor cortex (M1) improves motor skill learning. Here, we demonstrate in mouse M1 slices that DCS induces a long-lasting synaptic potentiation (DCS-LTP), which is polarity specific, NMDA...