Motor memory: characteristics and features of development

People use motor skills on a daily basis. Each person has his own style and pace when walking, writing, playing, working.

In psychology, memorization, retention and reproduction of various movements and systems using the musculocutaneous, vestibular and motor analyzers are called motor (motor) memory. This is the highest mental function. It optimizes thinking processes... Even when performing the simplest actions in the brain structures, clear algorithm.

During the day, each person performs a large number of different motor manipulations. When starting any action, be it working on an assembly line, swimming or cycling, an individual must first learn it. At an unconscious level, he fixes in memory the amplitude, direction, speed, duration of movement. Without memorization, it would be necessary to learn them again every time, to master them from scratch.

A sign of good motor memory is physical agility, skill at work... So, playing a musical instrument imprints in memory the pieces that were once learned. A few years later, after a long pause, the musician picks up the instrument and performs a piece of music without mistakes. He himself is sincerely surprised that hands remember the smallest details of this composition.

In psychophysiology, the entire process of memorizing and reproducing movements is described in detail. It is based on the activity of the central nervous system.To perform various actions, the activating reticular system (ARS) is triggered in conjunction with motor analyzers.

If a person wants to master the movement, the signal instantly enters the ARS, which resembles a mesh and encompasses all the brain stem structures. There is processing of information that can be blocked or sent to the cerebral cortex. Suppose, when watching gymnastic exercises, a person wanted to repeat them, but he was too lazy to get up from the chair. Not very strong motivation slows down the signal.

Another situation is also possible. The man put on a tracksuit in advance, prepared to perform and memorize all the exercises. ARS immediately notes the importance of events, sends a signal to the brain.

Then the motor analyzer, located in the frontal part of the brain, turns on. The storage of information occurs with the direct involvement of the hippocampus, which is located in the medial temporal regions. The muscular system and the vestibular apparatus immediately begin to act.

During the exercise, they are partially memorized. With repeated repetition of movements in the future, actions are performed automatically at any speed, since the incoming signal instantly turns on the same parts of the brain.

Motor memory provides a person with a full-fledged existence, promotes the development of coordination of movements, relieves nervous tension and tones up the muscles. Its main functions can be traced in everyday life, education and professional activity.

• A person improves everyday skills throughout his life. Their development begins from infancy. Clear and coordinated actions help the baby to take care of himself, perform hygiene procedures, and use cutlery. The process of mastering movements is constant. Sometimes an adult needs to learn how to use a household appliance: a dishwasher, a coffee maker, etc.

If the new technique resembles the previous one, then the old neural connections work, and the person automatically reproduces the necessary movements. The unfamiliar model corrects the motor memory, brings it in line with the new instruction.

• This type of memory is important for the learning process. Motor and speech analyzers are close by. For good mastery of speech and writing, it is necessary to develop fine motor skills of the hands in children. Motor memory is activated when embroidering, sewing soft toys, making handicrafts from natural materials, pasta appliques, paintings from cereals, etc. The complexes of physical exercises, the rules of team games contribute to the formation of motor memory.

The children's central nervous system is plastic, so it is easier for a child to master movements than an adult.

• It is impossible to master many professions without using motor memory. Some specialties require precise, subtle, and complex actions. Electricians, acrobats, stuntmen, dancers must constantly improve their motor memory, otherwise it is impossible to achieve significant success in professional activity. A person's life depends on the wrong movement of the hands of other specialists. It is scary to imagine a surgeon, sapper, train driver or pilot with poor motor memory.

Developing motor memory is extremely important. Often, motor skills help maintain the health and life of a person who knows how to properly group when falling. In icy conditions, he safely lands, thereby protecting himself from serious injuries.

Psychologists cite as an example the cases of survival of motorists who got into an extreme situation on the road. There is no time to think about an action plan. The driver automatically turns the steering wheel in the right direction at the sight of a car rushing in the opposite lane.

It is necessary to pay attention to motor memory from an early age. It is extremely important for a child to develop correct motor skills. There are many games to develop it. Preschoolers are encouraged to repeat simple movements for adults. You can blindfold your baby and walk him along a simple route, and then offer to go the same way without a bandage. It is very good to introduce children to games with specific rules: “Find yourself a mate”, “Stream”, “At a bear in the forest”.

As a gymnastics for hands, it is good to use knitting, embroidery, drawing, modeling, wood carving. You can play with family members in demonstration and replay of movements. First, one demonstrates some actions, and the partner reproduces them exactly. Then he adds new movements to the depicted, which, in conjunction with the initial actions, should be shown by the first player, adding another movement. Plays lost with correct playback and forgotten the sequence of actions.

To fix some specific movements in the memory, you need to repeatedly perform the same action. It is advisable to repeat it at least 100 times. Its correct implementation is brought to automatism. The same applies to reversal missions.

• Exercise "mushroom - glade" is performed with the hands and fingers. Don't move your shoulders. Only the forearms are involved. One hand, which symbolizes a mushroom, is clenched into a fist and put forward. It points up. An open palm of the other hand means a clearing that should be placed directly under the fungus. Then quickly, a straight palm is transferred to a position above a clenched fist. As one symbol changes to another, the tempo gradually accelerates.

• In the following exercise, you are asked to imagine two huge wheels. You need to stretch out your arms and start rotating the imaginary wheels in different directions. With one hand, the presented hoop is moved towards oneself, with the other hand - in the direction away from oneself. Then the person performs turns in the opposite direction.