Human Movement Research papers using MovAlyzeR

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Acta Astronautica, 64 (7), p.678-681, Apr 2009
Mental representation of spatial cues in microgravity: Writing and drawing tests
Gilles Clément(a, b), Corinna Lathan(c), Anna Lockerd(c), and Angie Bukley(b),
(a)Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5549 CNRS-UPS Cerveau et Cognition, Toulouse, France
(b)Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
(c)AnthroTronix Inc., Silver Spring, MD, USA
Humans have mental representation of their environment based on sensory information and experience. A series of experiments has been designed to allow the identification of disturbances in the mental representation of three-dimensional space during space flight as a consequence of the absence of the gravitational frame of reference. This NASA/ESA-funded research effort includes motor tests complemented by psychophysics measurements, designed to distinguish the effects of cognitive versus perceptual-motor changes due to microgravity exposure. Preliminary results have been obtained during the microgravity phase of parabolic flight. These results indicate that the vertical height of handwritten characters and drawn objects is reduced in microgravity compared to normal gravity, suggesting that the mental representation of the height of objects and the environment change during short-term microgravity. Identifying lasting abnormalities in the mental representation of spatial cues will establish the scientific and technical foundation for development of preflight and in-flight training and rehabilitative schemes, enhancing astronaut performance of perceptual-motor tasks, for example, interaction with robotic systems during exploration-class missions.
Corresponding author at: UMR 5549 CNRS-UPS, Faculté de Médecine de Rangueil, 31062 Toulouse, France. Tel.: +33 562 172 831; fax: +33 562 172 809.
ABSTRACT & FIGURES: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...d&searchtype=a

...1). Trajectory of the stylus pen on the tablet was recorded on a laptop computer using dedicated script analysis software (MovAlyzeR, NeuroScript, LLC). Each subject was required to execute 10 different types of drawings (Fig. 2) using the digitizing tablet...

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Program#/Poster#: 293.6/HHH4
Title: The asymmetry of bilateral transfer of a visuo-motor rotated aiming task
Location: Halls B-H
Presentation Time: Sunday, Nov 14, 2010, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Authors: *Z. PAN, A. W. A. VAN GEMMERT;
Kinesiology, Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA

Abstract: The asymmetry of bilateral transfer is a well accepted principle, and most studies show greater bilateral transfer benefits for the non-preferred limb than for the preferred limb. Although these studies have shown directional performance benefits, they have been limited mostly to outcome measures, like overall performance time and correctness of the movement result. These crude measures could have occluded some performance benefits of bilateral transfer of the preferred hand due to a ceiling effect. Purpose: To investigate kinematic changes to better understand the origin of the asymmetry in bilateral transfer of motor tasks. Method: Twenty right handed students participated in an aiming task. They were required to perform a sequential point-to-point movement task as quickly and accurately as possible on a digitizer tablet. The visual feedback of the pen movement was rotated 45 degrees counterclockwise. Thus, subjects were required to learn the visuo-motor rotation in order to perform the sequential aiming task. Half of the subjects performed the training with their right hand, while the other subjects were trained with their left hand. After practice, baseline performance was compared to performance on a retention test with the trained and non-trained hand. Movement time, linearity ratio, normalized jerk and straightness error were recorded and analyzed to investigate directional effects of bilateral transfer. Results: 1) after training of the right hand, all dependent performance variables of right hand improved (p < .05), and movement time and normalized jerk measures improved significantly for the untrained left hand (p < .05); 2) after training of the left hand, similarly to training the right hand, all dependent performance variables improved (p < .05), however, only normalized jerk scores improved for the untrained right hand (p < .05); 3) the untrained left hand got greater improvements in movement time than that of untrained right hand (p = .05); 4) however, improvements in normalized jerk were similar for both untrained hands. Conclusion: Even though in bilateral transfer, movement time improvements are limited to the non-preferred hand, both untrained hands benefit in terms of movement smoothness. This suggests that the benefits of bilateral transfer for movement coordination are not directional but comparable between the preferred and non-preferred hand.
Disclosures: Z. Pan, None; A.W.A. Van Gemmert, None.
Keyword(s): asymmetry of bilateral transfer
kinematic measures
visuo-motor rotation aiming task
[Authors]. [Abstract Title]. Program No. XXX.XX. 2010 Neuroscience Meeting Planner. San Diego, CA: Society for Neuroscience, 2010. Online.

2010 Copyright by the Society for Neuroscience all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of any abstract in any form must be obtained in writing by SfN office prior to publication.

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Human Movement Science (2010), doi:10.1016/j.humov.2010.05.005

Linguistic and perceptual-motor contributions to the
kinematic properties of the braille reading finger

Barry Hughes (a), Arend W.A. Van Gemmert (b), George E. Stelmach (c)

(a) Department of Psychology, Research Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019,
Auckland, New Zealand
(b) Department of Kinesiology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
(c) Motor Control Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

A b s t r a c t
Recordings of the dominant finger during the reading of braille
sentences by experienced readers reveal that the velocity of the
finger changes frequently during the traverse of a line of text.
These changes, not previously reported, involve a multitude of
accelerations and decelerations, as well as reversals of direction.
We investigated the origin of these velocity intermittencies (as
well as movement reversals) by asking readers to twice read outloud
or silently sentences comprising high- or low-frequency
words which combined to make grammatical sentences that were
either meaningful or nonmeaningful. In a control condition we
asked braille readers to smoothly scan lines of braille comprised
of meaningless cell combinations. Word frequency and re-reading
each contribute to the kinematics of finger movements, but neither
sentence meaning nor the mode of reading do so. The velocity
intermittencies were so pervasive that they are not easily attributable
either to linguistic processing, text familiarity, mode of reading,
or to sensory–motor interactions with the textured patterns
of braille, but seem integral to all braille finger movements except
reversals. While language-related processing can affect the finger
movements, the effects are superimposed on a highly intermittent
velocity profile whose origin appears to lie in the motor control of
slow movements.

"Temporal accuracy was limited by the digitizer’s 200 Hz clock speed which
was well in excess of the 100 Hz sampling rate of the location of the pen tip using MovAlyzer (v. 4.2, from
Neuroscript, LLC) to sample and store these coordinates for subsequent analyses."

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FULL TEXT: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...WkS92Q&cad=rja

Writer Independent Online Handwriting recognition for Ethiopic Characters
Daniel Negussie

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES OF
ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN
COMPUTER SCIENCE
JUNE 2006

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
FACULTY OF INFORMATICS
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
Since the conception of the first alphabet, handwriting has been a medium of
communication. As the literacy rate in most societies improved, handwriting has played a
major role in technological advancement, keeping historical records and also as a persistent
means of communication [8]. With the advancement of technology more and more
technical barriers have been broken. The advent of computers was a great enhancement to
mankind’s everyday life which also revolutionized writing systems. In addition to the
automated writing systems, various technologies like foldable keyboards, virtual keyboards
and speech recognition are some of the methods implemented so far. However these
methods have encountered challenges that have made them ineffective at times. Both
virtual and real-life keyboards have introduced stress related ailments like Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome [4]. Additionally, these keyboard technologies are difficult to make use of when
implemented in small cramped spaces. Speech recognition is plagued by environmental
noise pollution. In order for this technology to function one needs a reasonably quite arena.
Through time, state of the art innovations led to the miniaturization of computing devices.
The integration of communication technology and computing has opened the door to
everyday use gadgets like the smart phone and PDAs. The pervasive nature of small
handheld computing devices is spear heading a new movement in information technology.
Small devices like handheld computers; smart phones and PDAs are a few of the gadgets
that are making this phenomenon become a reality. In spite of this, handwriting has still
prevailed in this day and age of modern technology.

Interaction between human beings and most computing devices employed keyboards and
pointing devices like the mouse. However, these input methods are inappropriate when it
comes to the application of small devices; mostly because of their size [11]. This
necessitates the need for innovative input methods. Handheld computing devices required
easier methods of interaction for use. Researchers have come up with yet another means of
interaction, handwriting recognition [8, 10, 14].

Smart Phones, Palmtop computers and PDAs utilize a stylus as one of their main input
devices. The stylus is used as both a pointing device and also for text entry [17].
Handwriting Recognition systems (HWR) with PDAs, comprises of the software
component that facilitates data entry, recognition and interpretation [10].

Handwriting recognition can be broadly classified into two groups: online recognition and
offline recognition. Online handwriting recognition makes use of pressure put upon an
electrostatic-sensitive writing surface upon which the user forms handwriting with the
stylus. Online recognition system considers samples of the movement of the pen-tip, the
coordinates of the sampled points, and information on pen-up and pen-down states [8, 10,
and 14]. On the other hand offline handwriting recognition utilizes the handwriting image
after completion of the handwriting process [15, 12]. This type of handwriting recognition
utilizes a scanner as an input to get the handwriting image. As a result it lacks the temporal
input sequence information provided directly by the user. On-line data, in general, is more
compact compared to off-line data because of the different dimensionalities in
representation. The difference in the data size results in substantial difference in the
processing time [12].

Another taxonomy in handwriting recognition is the classes of writer-independent and
writer-dependent systems. Writer-independence means that the system can handle the
idiosyncrasies of multiple individual writing styles, and a writer-dependent system is
trained and optimized to recognize an individual’s writing [8].

Handwriting recognitions systems are language specific. Both online and offline
handwriting recognition system accuracy rates have been progressively improving for
Latin based and other scripts. However, when it comes to the case of Ethiopic scripts very
few researches have been conducted in this field. We will address these few researches that
have shed some light for our work especially (‘Online Handwriting Recognition for
Ethiopic Characters by Abenet Shimeles [14]).

This thesis will explore various approaches and technologies, to design and develop an
online writer independent handwriting recognition system for Ethiopic characters.

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Human Movement Science, 28 (5), p.643-654, Oct 2009
Differential levels of speech and manual dysfluency in adults who stutter during simultaneous drawing and speaking tasks
Tim Saltuklaroglu(a), Hans-Leo Teulings(b) and Mary Robbins(a)
(a)Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Tennessee, 553 South Stadium Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
(b)NeuroScript LLC, 1225 E Broadway Road, Suite 100, Tempe, AZ 85282, USA

We examined the disruptive effects of stuttering on manual performance during simultaneous speaking and drawing tasks. Fifteen stuttering and fifteen non-stuttering participants drew continuous circles with a pen on a digitizer tablet under three conditions: silent (i.e., neither reading nor speaking), reading aloud, and choral reading (i.e., reading aloud in unison with another reader). We counted the frequency of stuttering events in the speaking tasks and measured pen stroke duration and pen stroke dysfluency (normalized jerk) in all three tasks. The control group was stutter-free and did not increase manual dysfluency in any condition. In the silent condition, the stuttering group performed pen movements without evidence of dysfluency, similar to the control group. However, in the reading aloud condition, the stuttering group stuttered on 12% of the syllables and showed increased manual dysfluency. In the choral reading condition stuttering was virtually eliminated (reduced by 97%), but manual dysfluency was reduced by only 47% relative to the reading aloud condition. Trials where more stuttered events were generally positively correlated with higher manual dysfluency. The results are consistent with a model in which episodes of stuttering and motor dysfluency are related to neural interconnectivity between manual and speech processes.
Keywords: Speech; Stuttering; Drawing; Fluency; Normalized jerk; Stroke duration; Motor processes; Linguistics, language and speech
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 865 974 0355.
Human Movement Science
Volume 28, Issue 5 (Disruptions of Handwriting, 13th Conference of the International Graphonomics Society), October 2009, Pages 643-654

ABSTRACT & FIGURES: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...3b115e75e99e55

...reported, as they were not considered relevant in this study. MovAlyzeR 3.0 (NeuroScript, 2004) was used to run the experimental...the continuous circles on the digitizer were analyzed using MovAlyzeR 3.0 software. The recordings were low-pass filtered at...

Earlier version was published in:
Saltuklaroglu, Teulings, H.L. (2007).
Quantitative evidence of differential levels of bi-modal stuttering in simultaneous drawing and speaking tasks.
In Phillips, J.G., Rogers, D., Ogeil, R.P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th Conference of the International Graphonomics Society (IGS2007). 11-14 Nov 2007, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. ISBN 978-0-7326-4003-3. pp. 6-9.

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Journal of Psychiatric Research, 42 (14), p.1203-1212, Oct 2008
Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment deteriorate fine movement control
Yan, J.H. / Rountree, S. / Massman, P. / Doody, R.S. / Li, H.
Sensory-motor dysfunctions are often associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study suggests that deterioration in fine motor control and coordination characterizes sensory-motor deficiencies of AD and MCI. Nine patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable AD, 9 amnestic MCI subjects and 10 cognitively normal controls performed four types of handwriting movement on a digitizer. Movement time and smoothness were analyzed between the groups and across the movement patterns. Kinematic profiles were also compared among the groups. AD and MCI patients demonstrated slower, less smooth, less coordinated, and less consistent handwriting movements than their healthy counterparts. The theoretical relevance and practical implications of fine motor tasks, such as these movements involved in handwriting, are discussed relative to the deteriorated sensory-motor system of AD and MCI patients.
ABSTRACT & FIGURES http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...804e7ebe49dba2

...for displaying and recording the handwriting movements. A MovAlyzeR v3.4 computer program was used for data collection, reduction...of elderly were very small (Yan et al., 1998, 2000 Also see MovAlyzeR v3.4 computer program at "www.NeuroScriptSoftware.com"). 2...

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Preparation Modulation in Timing of Speech-Movement Sequences
Lawler, Elisabeth N. , Jul 2005
Zenzi Griffin, Advisor School of Psychology Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Paul Corballis School of Psychology Georgia Institute of Technology Dr.
FULL TEXT: http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/availab...00508_mast.pdf

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The effect of stuttering and fluency enhancing conditions on a manual movement task
Robbins, Mary Rhodes. , Jan 2005
Thesis advisor: Tim Saltuklaroglu. Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2005. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. The present study investigated ...
FULL TEXT via NDLTD (University of Tennessee): http://etd.utk.edu/2005/RobbinsMary.pdf

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Aging reduces learning benefits as result of bilateral transfer.
Pan, Z., & Van Gemmert, A. W. A. (2011). Aging reduces learning benefits as result of bilateral transfer. The 8th Progress in Motor Control (PMC VIII) biennial meeting of the International Society of Motor Control: Recent Advances in Neural, Computational and Dynamical Approaches (Poster Abstracts) (pp. 24). University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

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ABSTRACT and POSTER: http://www.abstractstosubmit.com/wpt...sq9o5h7mog7am0

Number: RR-PO-209-16-Tue Tuesday 21 June 2011 12:00
Physiotherapy Volume 97 Supplement S1 RAI: Exhibit Halls 2 & 3

IPSILATERAL MOTOR DYSFUNCTION AFTER STROKE ASSESSED BY SPEED-ACCURACY TRADE-OFF PARADIGM
Bon M.C.1, Lima C.A.2, Freitas S.M.S.F.3, Alouche S.3
1 Methodist University of Sao Paulo, Physical Therapy, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil,
2 University City of Sao Paulo, Physical Therapy, São Paulo, Brazil,
3 University City of Sao Paulo, Masters in Physical Therapy Program, São Paulo, Brazil

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of accuracy constraints, at maximal movement speed, and side of brain lesion on ipsilesional arm movements of patients with stroke using a digitizing tablet-based instrument.
Relevance: Many experimental studies have suggested that ipsilateral motor deficits after unilateral stroke can affect the functional performance of daily activities and vary with the side of lesion. These systematic impairments in motor dexterity and targeted aiming movements should also be revealed by quantitative clinical assessments. The digitizing tablet-based instrument using the speed-accuracy trade-off paradigm could be one tool for clinical assessment of these impairments and will be used for this investigation.
Participants: Eighteen right-handed patients with hemiparesis after stroke and nine right-handed healthy control subjects were examined after obtaining approval from the Ethics Committee and informed consent from each participant. Eight patients had left-hemisphere damage, and 10 had right-hemisphere damage after a first unilateral stroke occurred more than 6 months prior the study. Subjects with other neurological diseases, movement restrictions or pain were excluded from the study.
Methods: Participants sat at a table in front of a digitizing tablet (Wacom®) and performed aiming movements to a target using a pen over the sensitive surface of the tablet. The starting point and targets were displayed on a monitor screen, placed in front of the tablet, and the pen movements were recorded by the software MovAlyzeR 4.95®. Two experimental conditions were designed. In the first condition, movements were performed towards a target that had one of the three sizes (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 cm). In the second condition, the targets were placed on three different distances (19, 24, and 29 cm) from the starting point. Five trials in each target condition were done. Patients performed the tasks using their ipsilateral arm and the control group performed with right (left) arm and then left (right) arm.
Analysis: The movement time, velocity, time to peak velocity, linearity error and movement amplitude were analyzed using analyses of variance with groups (left and right stroke, and control with left and right arms) as between-subjects factor and conditions (target size or distance) as within-subjects factor. Post-hoc Tukey Test was used when appropriate. The significance level was set at p<0.05.
Results: The movements of patients were slower, more curved and less accurate than those from control subjects regardless of the task condition. Patients with left and right hemisphere damage showed different motor impairments. Patients with right damage showed larger movement amplitudes, while patients with left damage showed higher time to peak velocity. These results are compatible with those reported in the literature.
Conclusions: Patients with stroke have ipsilesional deficits which vary with the side of the brain lesion. The digitizing tablet-based instrument seems to be efficient in assess such deficits using the speed-accuracy trade-off paradigm.
Implications: The instrument used showed to be useful for clinical assessment and follow up after a stroke and its usage as a tool for rehabilitation should be investigated.

Key-words: 1. Stroke 2. Arm Movements 3. Speed-accuracy trade-off
Funding acknowledgements: PIBIC/CNPq/UNICID.
Ethics approval: Approval from the Ethics Committee of the University City of Sao Paulo.

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De Oliveira Miguel, Helga Filipa, "Online control of handwriting in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder" (2011).
Graduate Theses and Dissertations.Paper 10220.

http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewco...48&context=etd
Iowa State University, Part of the Kinesiology Commons

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at Digital Repository @ Iowa State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Iowa State University. For more information, please contact hinefuku@iastate.edu.

Online control of handwriting in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder
Helga Miguel

A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE

Major: Kinesiology
Program of Study Committee:
Ann Smiley-Oyen, Major Professor
James Bloedel
Panteleimon Ekkekakis
Spyridoula Vazou
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa

Background: Previous research indicates that children with Developmental Coordination
Disorder (DCD) present difficulties in forward modeling and online control. Most of these
studies emphasize speeded discrete movements, but controlling movements online is imperative
for movement sequences of longer duration such as control necessary in handwriting.
Aim: To examine online planning in children with DCD during a handwriting task. It was
hypothesized that children with DCD would present more difficulty adjusting to a change in an
ongoing handwriting task, as evidenced by decreased fluency, longer duration of strokes, and
greater percentage of time before peak velocity in the stroke immediately after a perturbation.
Additionally, it was hypothesized that children with DCD would exhibit greater difficulty when
more complex control is required, as shown by decreased fluency, longer stroke duration, and
greater percentage of time after peak velocity when performing simple and complex sequences
of loops and peaks.
Method: Eleven children with DCD (10 ±1.34 years) and 11 typically developing children (10
±1.34 years) performed continuous (loops) and discontinuous (peaks) movement sequences in
which complexity was varied (a series of shapes of the same height or of a combination of
heights). On some trials children had to increase the size of the loops on cue. Kinematic analysis
of movement sequences was performed using NeuroScript and a digitizing tablet.
Results: Children with DCD were more dysfluent and spent more time to peak velocity than the
TD but adjusting to the tone by changing their plan online was not different. Discontinuous tasks
(peaks) required a greater control from DCD and the TD group, with the simple sequence being
the only that captured differences in strategies used to control the movement. Children with DCD
spent equal time in the upstroke and downstroke, compared with TD who spent more time in the
downstroke. Additionally, children with DCD spent a greater percent of time into peak velocity
in contrast with the TD group, who spent a greater percentage after peak velocity.
Conclusion: Children with DCD present different strategies to control their movements that may
interfere with their ability to plan online. Further research is needed that include tasks with
greater level of complexity.