ABSTRACT
H ow, exactly, do people acquire motor skills? What processes allow the musculoskeletal system to produce intended movements? What variables facilitate or hinder skill acquisition? Questions such as these have led to the evolution of a fi eld of study known as motor learning. Motor learning is the study of the processes involved in acquiring and refi ning motor skills and of variables that promote or inhibit that acquisition. Other questions of interest to motor learning researchers include: How should practice be organized? Where should instruction focus the learner’s attention when practicing a new skill? What type and amount of feedback facilitates skill acquisition? A related fi eld of study, motor control, focuses on the neural, physical, and behavioral aspects that underlie human movement. Examples of questions that a motor control researcher might
ask are: What factors infl uence postural stability? How does sensory information contribute to movement production and the accuracy of those movements? How are muscular actions coordinated to produce skilled movement? Understanding both motor learning and motor control is necessary for developing a complete understanding of motor skill acquisition. Such an understanding provides the human movement practitioner with foundational knowledge that not only explains why a certain behavior manifests but also provides the basis for assessing performance; providing effective instruction; and designing optimal practice, rehabilitation, and training experiences.
