Head of the Laboratory
Prof. Ivan Šerbetar, PhD
Associates at the Faculty of Teacher Education
- Assoc. Prof. Mateja Kunješić-Sušilović, PhD – Department of Kinesiology Education
- Senior Lecturer Igor Bokor – Department of Kinesiology Education
Purpose and Objectives of the Laboratory
Purpose:
Motor learning is the process of acquiring, refining and stabilising movements through practice and repetition. It underlies numerous everyday activities in children, such as catching, drawing, writing and performing rhythmic patterns. Although existing research shows that the accuracy of motor timing and sequence learning changes with age, many of the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. These include, for example, the factors contributing to improvements in performance with age, the ways in which task conditions (tempo, modality and cognitive load) shape the temporal organisation of movement, and the effects of sleep and periods without practice on the consolidation of motor memory in children compared with adults.
The Laboratory seeks to address these gaps through an integrated approach combining developmental, behavioural and neurophysiological (EEG) perspectives—an area that has rarely been investigated within a single research framework.
Main Objective:
To investigate the developmental mechanisms of motor control, sequential motor learning and motor memory consolidation in early childhood, the preschool period and early school age, with a focus on the temporal organisation of repetitive movements, implicit sequence learning and the role of sleep.
Specific Objectives:
- Development of motor timing and variability – to examine age-related changes in the accuracy, stability and variability of repetitive movements using the Wing–Kristofferson model
- Effects of task conditions on temporal control – tempo, synchronisation versus continuation, sensory modality and cognitive load
- Development of implicit sequence learning – using SRTT/ASRT paradigms
- Motor memory consolidation – offline changes following rest and sleep, and developmental differences between children and adults
- EEG correlates of timing and sequence learning in adults
- Integration of developmental behavioural and neurophysiological findings
- Associations between motor timing and learning and age, attention, executive functions, sleep and motor competence
Expected Contribution of the Research
- Scientific contribution: systematic and comprehensive data on the development of motor timing, sequence learning and motor memory consolidation in children and adults; an integrated approach combining behavioural and EEG findings to enable more precise models of motor control and learning in a developmental context.
- Practical contribution: identification of indicators of typical and atypical motor development and the development of methodologically grounded recommendations for early childhood education and care, education, and developmental assessment of children.
- Long-term contribution: establishing the foundations for a sustainable research platform, future longitudinal and experimental studies, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration across kinesiology, psychology, educational rehabilitation and neuroscience, and connecting research with international scientific trends.
