Energy expenditure and motor performance relationships in humans learning a motor task.

The ability of human subjects to learn minimum energy-demanding variants of biological motion was examined in three adult males trained to walk on hands and feet (creep) on a motor-driven treadmill at constant speed (0.64 m/s) for 16 3-min trials. Two subjects systematically decreased oxygen consumption and heart rate over trials. Following this acquisition phase, subjects completed walking and creeping trials at positive and negative treadmill grades and selected a freely chosen creeping grade that felt "most comfortable." One subject selected a grade that was more efficient than those imposed. Oxygen-consumption curves for walking and creeping converged with increasing positive grade, indicating that increased grade influences the metabolic energy viability of the task (creeping or walking). The acquisition data provide empirical support for the "principle of least effort" and lend support to the concept of a "comfort mode" in the execution of motor tasks.

[1]  T. McCulloch.  Performance preferentials of the white rat in force-resisting and spatial dimensions. , 1934 .

[2]  J. Cutting,et al.  Recognizing friends by their walk: Gait perception without familiarity cues , 1977 .

[3]  P. N. Kugler,et al.  1 On the Concept of Coordinative Structures as Dissipative Structures: I. Theoretical Lines of Convergence* , 1980 .

[4]  Sparrow Wa.  The efficiency of skilled performance. , 1983 .

[5]  J. Brener,et al.  Energy expenditure during response-dependent and response-independent food delivery in rats. , 1983, Psychophysiology.

[6]  W H Warren,et al.  Perceiving affordances: visual guidance of stair climbing. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[7]  K. Newell.  Coordination, Control and Skill , 1985 .

[8]  Behavioural Efficiency: A Biological Link Between Informational and Energetic Processes , 1986 .

[9]  Karl M. Newell,et al.  Constraints on the Development of Coordination , 1986 .

[10]  J. Brener.  Behavioural energetics: some effects of uncertainty on the mobilization and distribution of energy. , 1987, Psychophysiology.

[11]  W A Sparrow,et al.  Mechanical efficiency and metabolic cost as measures of learning a novel gross motor task. , 1987, Journal of motor behavior.

[12]  T. Stoffregen,et al.  Affordances as constraints on the control of stance , 1988 .

[13]  J. Brener,et al.  Changes in energy expenditure and work during response acquisition in rats. , 1989, Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes.

[14]  W A Sparrow,et al.  Creeping patterns of human adults and infants. , 1989, American journal of physical anthropology.

[15]  R. Wirta,et al.  Effect of velocity and SF/SL ratio on external work and gait movement waveforms. , 1990, Journal of rehabilitation research and development.