| dc.description.abstract | Research indicates that drummers display refined distal muscle activity and less tapping speed asymmetry in bimanual and unimanual coordination. The present study investigates the effects of drum skill on proximal-distal motor control. A group of drummers was compared with a group of non-drummers (N=12) with mean maximum tapping frequency as the independent variable. In order to assess motor control, three different conditions were developed on the basis of proximal-distal motor control literature: Free, Distal and Proximal. The Free condition included no constraints. The Distal condition included constraints of shoulder, elbow and underarm. The Proximal condition included constraints of elbow, underarm and wrist. All conditions were performed bimanually, unimanual left and unimanual right. Drummers achieved significantly higher mean tapping frequencies in the Free bimanual, Distal bimanual and Distal unimanual left conditions. The results are discussed in relation to proximal-distal motor control, bimanual coordination, lateralization and degrees of freedom. The present study offers advances in the field of skill specific proximal-distal motor control. | nb_NO |
