title: Ability to discriminate movements at multiple joints around the body: global or site-specific.
abstract: This study tested whether proprioceptive discrimination of movement is a global, general ability, or an attribute that is specific to the joint tested. 40 right-handed, healthy, young adults (19 men, 21 women; M age = 20.4 yr., SD = 1.7) volunteered. A battery of versions of the Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus (AMEDA) were employed to generate the stimuli for movements of different extents at the ankle, knee, spine, shoulder, and finger; discrimination accuracy scores were derived from participants' responses. No significant correlations were found between the discrimination scores from the five sites (all rs < or = .21, all ps > or = .20). This finding extends a previous report of non-significantly correlated proprioception test scores at two lower limb sites, and the findings taken together suggest that rather than proprioception being a global, general ability, sensitivity to the proprioception that underlies movement control is site-specific.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai University of Sport, Yangpu District, Shanghai, China. jia.han@canberra.edu.au
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Waddington
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult