SENSORIMOTOR SKILL COMMUNICATION

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Understanding Sensorimotor Skill Communication

To accomplish a physical task such as walking, swimming or handwriting, the human sensorimotor system collects the information about our bodies and the physical environment through our senses such as vision, audition, cutaneous, proprioception and generates a perceptual or cognitive state that produces an appropriate motor response (movement or force). This process is known as sensorimotor (perceptual-motor or a psycho-motor) skill. The sensorimotor skill can be considered as a mapping of stimuli to responses. Sensorimotor skill communication involves modeling, simulating, and evaluating the skill.

The sensorimotor skills can be dichotomized into gross and fine components. The gross sensorimotor skills determine the generic aspects of the sensorimotor skill by representing the general movements required for performing the task and they do not differ between individuals. In contrast, fine sensorimotor skills are strictly individualized and manifest the level of proficiency in performing the task, defining the specific skill of an expert. For example, for the periodontal probing task the gross sensorimotor skills include the postural control for hand positioning, while the fine sensorimotor skills can involve pocket probing, calculus detection, and removal. Studying the sensorimotor skill will lead to the development of a sensorimotor skill communication system, which will help to learn a specific style of human sensorimotor skill and teach the skill to distant learners. The sensorimotor skill communication system, incorporating three modules for modeling, simulation, and evaluation, can be implemented in a variety of applications such as Tele-consultation, Tele-diagnosis, Tele-treatment, Tele-monitoring, and Tele-support. For this project we are interested in medical applications of sensorimotor skill communication, with the focus on dental skills, which are very complex skills incorporating fine and gross skills that are challenging to communicate to learners.

Publications

  • Vahan Babushkin, Muhammad Hassan Jamil, Wanjoo Park, and Mohamad Eid, “Sensorimotor skill Communication: A Literature Review”, IEEE Access, April 2021