Developing a Portable System for Measuring Human Motor Learning

Author

Karen Elizabeth Tew, Utah State University

Date of Award

5-2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Biology

Abstract

Point-to-point reaching is a commonly used paradigm in the field of human motor control. By studying how people move their arms from one location in space to another, researchers have gained insight into how the central nervous system controls and learns skilled movement. Many experimental methods that are designed to study reaching are not portable. This makes it difficult for researchers to access certain clinical populations with limited mobility or motor dysfunction. We have addressed this issue by developing a point-to-point reaching system that can capture key movement variables (e.g. speed and accuracy) yet is portable and inexpensive. We have developed this system with MATLAB software and MaKey MaKey hardware, a commercially-available, single-board microcontroller. Participants will reach with a metal stylus to and from targets on a tabletop made of aluminum foil (i.e. point-to-point reaching). Our current prototype system counts and time-stamps when the stylus touches each aluminum target, then exports these data to a continuously updating log in Microsoft Excel. In addition to the low cost and portability of this system, it allows the experimenter to adjust the reaches' difficulty without modifying the data acquisition code by simply changing the size, number, and/or distance between the targets. Our next step is to pilot this system in a motor learning study in which participants repetitively reach from point to point as training.

Recommended Citation

Tew, Karen Elizabeth, "Developing a Portable System for Measuring Human Motor Learning" (2015). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 562.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/562