Anatomical Kinesiology: Today we began discussing the muscular system and how skeletal muscles produce voluntary movement. Skeletal muscle and the tendons associated with it (musculotendinous unit) can be represented by Hill's muscle model. The contractile component (CC) contains the contractile proteins found in the myofibril, actin and myosin. These proteins produce active tension. The parallel elastic component (PEC) runs parallel to the contractile component and is compromised of the connective tissues surrounding the muscle (epimysium, perimysium, and endomysium). The series elastic component (SEC) is represented by the tendons and all other connective tissue in series with the contractile component. The PEC and SEC, because of their elastic properties, produce passive tension. This will be discussed in further detail on Friday.
Motor Development: Today we discussed the three major theoretical perspectives of Motor Development. The earliest perspective, the maturational perspective, argues that development is driven by genetics and an internal biological clock. It does not consider the role of the environment and considers the nervous system to be the only system responsible for development. The second theory is the information processing theory. This theory considers the brain as functioning much like a computer. The third and most recent perspective is the ecological perspective. This includes both the dynamical systems and perception-action theories. The ecological perspective considers all internal systems (skeletal, muscular, nervous, etc.), and the interaction of these systems with the environment and task as shaping development and movement. Friday's class will focus on exploring these perspectives further.
