Quantifying age-related differences in selective voluntary motor control in children and adolescents with three assessments

Background Computer game–based interventions are emerging in pediatric neurorehabilitation, as they can provide two key elements for motor learning—motivating environments that enable long-term compliance, which is particularly relevant for children, and augmented feedback for improving movement performance. Objective The overall aim of this study is to develop an interactive computer play for children with upper motor neuron lesions to train selective voluntary motor control and give particular attention to motivation and feedback. We also aim to determine features that make games engaging, investigate which sensory feedback modality is noticed the fastest during play, develop an interactive game, and evaluate its feasibility. Methods We identified engaging game features by interviewing 19 children and adolescents undergoing rehabilitation. By using a test version of the game, we determined the response times of 10 patients who had to react to visual, auditory, or combined feedback signals. On the basis of the results of these two subprojects, we developed and designed a game environment. Feasibility was studied in terms of the practicability and acceptability of the intervention among 5 children with upper motor neuron lesions. Results The game features deemed the most important by pediatric patients were strategic gameplay (13/29, 45% of answers) and choice (6/29, 21%). While playing the game, an acoustic alarm signal (reaction time: median 2.8 seconds) was detected significantly faster (P=.01) than conditions with other feedback modalities (avatar velocity reduction: median 7.8 seconds; color desaturation: median 5.7 seconds). Most children enjoyed playing the game, despite some technical issues. Conclusions The careful identification of game features that increase motivation and feedback modalities that inform children quickly led to the development of an interactive computer play for training selective voluntary motor control in children and adolescents with upper motor neuron lesions.

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An Interactive Computer Game for Improving Selective Voluntary Motor Control in Children With Upper Motor Neuron Lesions: Development and Preliminary Feasibility Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26028 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Annina Fahr ◽

Andrina Kläy ◽

Jeffrey W Keller ◽

Hubertus J A van Hedel

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Motor Neuron ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Response Times ◽

Computer Game ◽

Voluntary Motor ◽

Game Features ◽

Test Version ◽

Feedback Modalities ◽

Game Environment

BACKGROUND Computer game–based interventions are emerging in pediatric neurorehabilitation, as they can provide two key elements for motor learning—motivating environments that enable long-term compliance, which is particularly relevant for children, and augmented feedback for improving movement performance. OBJECTIVE The overall aim of this study is to develop an interactive computer play for children with upper motor neuron lesions to train selective voluntary motor control and give particular attention to motivation and feedback. We also aim to determine features that make games engaging, investigate which sensory feedback modality is noticed the fastest during play, develop an interactive game, and evaluate its feasibility. METHODS We identified engaging game features by interviewing 19 children and adolescents undergoing rehabilitation. By using a test version of the game, we determined the response times of 10 patients who had to react to visual, auditory, or combined feedback signals. On the basis of the results of these two subprojects, we developed and designed a game environment. Feasibility was studied in terms of the practicability and acceptability of the intervention among 5 children with upper motor neuron lesions. RESULTS The game features deemed the most important by pediatric patients were strategic gameplay (13/29, 45% of answers) and choice (6/29, 21%). While playing the game, an acoustic alarm signal (reaction time: median 2.8 seconds) was detected significantly faster (<i>P</i>=.01) than conditions with other feedback modalities (avatar velocity reduction: median 7.8 seconds; color desaturation: median 5.7 seconds). Most children enjoyed playing the game, despite some technical issues. CONCLUSIONS The careful identification of game features that increase motivation and feedback modalities that inform children quickly led to the development of an interactive computer play for training selective voluntary motor control in children and adolescents with upper motor neuron lesions. CLINICALTRIAL

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Supplemental Material for Age-Related Deficits in Low-Level Inhibitory Motor Control

Psychology and Aging ◽

10.1037/a0023832.supp ◽

2011 ◽

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Low Level ◽

Age Related ◽

Inhibitory Motor Control

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Age related, structured educational programmes for the management of atopic dermatitis in children and adolescents: multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.13405.470848 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Gil Yosipovitch

Keyword(s):

Atopic Dermatitis ◽

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Age Related ◽

Educational Programmes ◽

Randomised Controlled

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Development of central auditory processes in Polish children and adolescents at the age from 7 to 16 years

Current Psychology ◽

10.1007/s12144-021-01540-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Monika Lewandowska ◽

Rafał Milner ◽

Małgorzata Ganc ◽

Elżbieta Włodarczyk ◽

Joanna Dołżycka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

School Students ◽

Frequency Pattern ◽

Speech In Noise ◽

Age Related ◽

Right Ear Advantage ◽

The Right ◽

Almost All ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

Auditory Processes

AbstractThere are discrepancies in the literature regarding the course of central auditory processes (CAP) maturation in typically developing children and adolescents. The purpose of the study was to provide an overview of age – related improvement in CAP in Polish primary and secondary school students aged 7–16 years. 180 children/adolescents, subdivided into 9 age categories, and 20 adults (aged 18–24 years) performed the Dichotic Digit Test (DDT), Duration Pattern Test (DPT), Frequency Pattern Test (FPT), Gap Detection Test (GDT) and adaptive Speech-in-Noise (aSpN). The 12-year-olds was retested after w week. We found the age effects only for the DDT, DPT and FPT. In the right ear DDT the 7-year-olds performed more poorly than all groups ≥12. In the left ear DDT both 7- and 8-year-olds achieved less correct responses compared with the 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds and with the adults. The right ear advantage was greater in the 7-year-olds than in the 15-year-olds and adult group. At the age of 7 there was lower DPT and FPT scores than in all participants ≥13 whereas the 8-year-olds obtained less correct responses in the FPT than all age categories ≥12. Almost all groups (except for the 7-year-olds) performed better in the DPT than FPT. The test-retest reliability for all tests was satisfactory. The study demonstrated that different CAP have their own patterns of improvement with age and some of them are specific for the Polish population. The psychoacoustic battery may be useful in screening for CAP disorders in Poland.

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Fear conditioning and stimulus generalization in association with age in children and adolescents

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

10.1007/s00787-021-01797-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Julia Reinhard ◽

Anna Slyschak ◽

Miriam A. Schiele ◽

Marta Andreatta ◽

Katharina Kneer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Fear Conditioning ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Conditioned Fear ◽

Fear Learning ◽

Stimulus Generalization ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Age Related ◽

Current Task

AbstractThe aim of the study was to investigate age-related differences in fear learning and generalization in healthy children and adolescents (n = 133), aged 8–17 years, using an aversive discriminative fear conditioning and generalization paradigm adapted from Lau et al. (2008). In the current task, participants underwent 24 trials of discriminative conditioning of two female faces with neutral facial expressions, with (CS+) or without (CS−) a 95-dB loud female scream, presented simultaneously with a fearful facial expression (US). The discriminative conditioning was followed by 72 generalization trials (12 CS+, 12 GS1, 12 GS2, 12 GS3, 12 GS4, and 12 CS−): four generalization stimuli depicting gradual morphs from CS+ to CS− in 20%-steps were created for the generalization phases. We hypothesized that generalization in children and adolescents is negatively correlated with age. The subjective ratings of valence, arousal, and US expectancy (the probability of an aversive noise following each stimulus), as well as skin conductance responses (SCRs) were measured. Repeated-measures ANOVAs on ratings and SCR amplitudes were calculated with the within-subject factors stimulus type (CS+, CS−, GS1-4) and phase (Pre-Acquisition, Acquisition 1, Acquisition 2, Generalization 1, Generalization 2). To analyze the modulatory role of age, we additionally calculated ANCOVAs considering age as covariate. Results indicated that (1) subjective and physiological responses were generally lower with increasing age irrespective to the stimulus quality, and (2) stimulus discrimination improved with increasing age paralleled by reduced overgeneralization in older individuals. Longitudinal follow-up studies are required to analyze fear generalization with regard to brain maturational aspects and clarify whether overgeneralization of conditioned fear promotes the development of anxiety disorders or vice versa.

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Case Reports: The Influence of Selective Voluntary Motor Control on Gait After Hamstring Lengthening Surgery

Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ◽

10.1007/s11999-011-2028-2 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 470 (5) ◽

pp. 1320-1326 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Evan J. Goldberg ◽

Eileen G. Fowler ◽

William L. Oppenheim

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Case Reports ◽

Voluntary Motor

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Determining the relationship between the impairment of selective voluntary motor control and gait deviations in children with cerebral palsy using simple video-based analyses

Gait & Posture ◽

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2021.08.019 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 90 ◽

pp. 295-300

Author(s):

Cansu Sardoğan ◽

Rasmi Muammer ◽

Nazif Ekin Akalan ◽

Rukiye Sert ◽

Fuat Bilgili

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Motor Control ◽

Voluntary Motor ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽

The Relationship

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Depressive Illnesses in Children and Adolescents: A Review of Current Concepts

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/070674378503000208 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 119-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

B.J. Mcconville ◽

R.T. Bruce

Keyword(s):

Children And Adolescents ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Considerable Progress ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Age Related ◽

Developmental Age ◽

The Subject ◽

Made In

Considerable progress has been made in our understanding of depressive illnesses in childhood and adolescence, especially over the last several years. A number of major books on the subject have now appeared, along with a large number of individual papers. This paper attempts to summarize current knowledge, and indicates developmental, age-related and other issues which still require further study.

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