Aberrant synchrony in the somatosensory cortices predicts motor performance errors in children with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) results from a perinatal brain injury that often results in sensory impairments and greater errors in motor performance. Although these impairments have been well catalogued, the relationship between sensory processing networks and errors in motor performance has not been well explored. Children with CP and typically developing age-matched controls participated in this investigation. We used high-density magnetoencephalography to measure event-related oscillatory changes in the somatosensory cortices following tactile stimulation to the bottom of the foot. In addition, we quantified the amount of variability or errors in the isometric ankle joint torques as these children attempted to match a target. Our results showed that neural populations in the somatosensory cortices of children with CP were desynchronized by the tactile stimulus, whereas those of typically developing children were clearly synchronized. Such desynchronization suggests that children with CP were unable to fully integrate the external stimulus into ongoing sensorimotor computations. Our results also indicated that children with CP had a greater amount of errors in their motor output when they attempted to match the target force, and this amount of error was negatively correlated with the degree of synchronization present in the somatosensory cortices. These results are the first to show that the motor performance errors of children with CP are linked with neural synchronization within the somatosensory cortices.

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The Relationships between Sibling Characteristics and Motor Performance in 3- to 5-Year-Old Typically Developing Children

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph19010356 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 356

Author(s):

Dagmar F. A. A. Derikx ◽

Erica Kamphorst ◽

Gerda van der Veer ◽

Marina M. Schoemaker ◽

Esther Hartman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Problems ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Maternal Education ◽

Age Difference ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Safe Environment ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Movement Assessment ◽

Order Position ◽

The Relationship

Siblings have been hypothesized to positively impact the motor performance of children by acting as examples and by providing a safe environment, but they may also negatively impact motor performance because they could compete for the parent’s time and care. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between several sibling characteristics and motor performance in 3- to 5-year-old children. The sample consisted of 205 3- to 5-year-old children (mean age 50.9 ± 10.0 months, 52.2% boys). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 was used to measure motor performance. The sibling variable was operationalized as the number of siblings present, the age difference between a child and its siblings, and the birth order position of a child. The confounding variables that were taken into account were the age, sex, and behavioral problems of the child and maternal education level. None of the investigated sibling variables were related to the total motor performance of a child after controlling for possible confounding variables. The absence of any associations between the sibling variables and motor performance might be explained by the characteristics of the study sample, the possibility that there is no linear relationship, or the presence of still unknown moderating or mediating factors.

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The Relationship between Social Environmental Factors and Motor Performance in 3- to 12-Year-Old Typically Developing Children: A Systematic Review

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18147516 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (14) ◽

pp. 7516

Author(s):

Dagmar F.A. A. Derikx ◽

Suzanne Houwen ◽

Vivian Meijers ◽

Marina M. Schoemaker ◽

Esther Hartman

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Home Environment ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Factors Associated ◽

The Social ◽

Social Environmental ◽

Social Environmental Factors ◽

The Relationship

Motor performance during childhood is important for prosperity in life, and the social environment may contain potentially important and modifiable factors associated with motor performance. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to identify social environmental factors associated with motor performance in 3- to 12-year-old typically developing children. Four electronic databases were searched, which resulted in 31 included studies. The methodological quality was determined using the Quality of Prognosis Studies in Systematic Reviews tool. Most studies were conducted in 3–6-year-old children. In the home environment, parental beliefs in the importance of physical activity and parental behaviors matching these beliefs were related to better motor performance of children, although these relationships were often sex-dependent. The school and sports environments were investigated much less, but some preliminary evidence was found that being better liked by peers, attending a classroom with a smaller age range, having more interaction with the teacher and classmates, and having a higher educated teacher was related to better motor performance. Further research is required to further unravel the relationship between the social environment and motor skills, with a specific focus on 6–12-year-old children and environments outside of the home environment.

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Performance Variability During Motor Learning of a New Balance Task in a Non-immersive Virtual Environment in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy and Typically Developing Peers

Frontiers in Neurology ◽

10.3389/fneur.2021.623200 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Minxin Cheng ◽

Michael Anderson ◽

Danielle E. Levac

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Motor Learning ◽

Skill Acquisition ◽

Motor Skill ◽

Small Sample ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Older Children ◽

Performance Variability ◽

Z Scores ◽

The Relationship

Background: Motor impairments contribute to performance variability in children with cerebral palsy (CP) during motor skill learning. Non-immersive virtual environments (VEs) are popular interventions to promote motor learning in children with hemiplegic CP. Greater understanding of performance variability as compared to typically developing (TD) peers during motor learning in VEs may inform clinical decisions about practice dose and challenge progression.Purpose: (1) To quantify within-child (i.e., across different timepoints) and between-child (i.e., between children at the same timepoint) variability in motor skill acquisition, retention and transfer in a non-immersive VE in children with CP as compared to TD children; and (2) To explore the relationship between the amount of within-child variability during skill acquisition and learning outcomes.Methods: Secondary data analysis of 2 studies in which 13 children with hemiplegic CP and 67 TD children aged 7–14 years undertook repeated trials of a novel standing postural control task in acquisition, retention and transfer sessions. Changes in performance across trials and sessions in children with CP as compared to TD children and between younger (7–10 years) and older (11–14 years) children were assessed using mixed effects models. Raw scores were converted to z-scores to meet model distributional assumptions. Performance variability was quantified as the standard deviation of z-scores.Results: TD children outperformed children with CP and older children outperformed younger children at each session. Older children with CP had the least between-child variability in acquisition and the most in retention, while older TD children demonstrated the opposite pattern. Younger children with CP had consistently high between-child variability, with no difference between sessions. Within-child variability was highest in younger children, regardless of group. Within-child variability was more pronounced in TD children as compared to children with CP. The relationship between the amount of within-child variability in performance and performance outcome at acquisition, retention and transfer sessions was task-specific, with a positive correlation for 1 study and a negative correlation in the other.Conclusions: Findings, though preliminary and limited by small sample size, can inform subsequent research to explore VE-specific causes of performance variability, including differing movement execution requirements and individual characteristics such as motivation, attention and visuospatial abilities.

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Analysis of motor performance in individuals with cerebral palsy using a non-immersive virtual reality task – a pilot study

Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment ◽

10.2147/ndt.s184510 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol Volume 15 ◽

pp. 417-428 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fabiana Martins ◽

Thaís Massetti ◽

Tania Crocetta ◽

Priscila Bianchi Lopes ◽

Amanda da Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Immersive Virtual Reality

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The Relationship between Aquatic Independence and Gross Motor Function in Children with Neuro-Motor Impairments

Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly ◽

10.1123/apaq.23.4.339 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 339-355 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Miriam Getz ◽

Yeshayahu Hutzler ◽

Adri Vermeer

Keyword(s):

Motor Function ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Motor Impairments ◽

Gross Motor ◽

Gross Motor Function ◽

Gross Motor Function Measure ◽

Scale Scores ◽

The Relationship ◽

Pearson Correlations ◽

Function Measure

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motor performance in the aquatic setting as measured by the Aquatic Independence Measure (AIM) to motor performance on land as measured by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). Fourty- nine children with neuro-motor impairments ages 3 to 7 participated in the study. Pearson correlations were applied to determine the relationships between the AIM and the GMFM, PEDI, and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Significant correlations were found between the total AIM and GMFM scores (r = 69, p < .01) and PEDI self-care sub-scale (r = .79, p < .01) as well as the PEDI mobility sub-scale scores (r = .35, p < .05). The water adjustment sub-scale as measured by the AIM showed the strongest relationship to motor performance on land as measured by the GMFM and PEDI in our sample of 49 children.

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Three-dimensional upper limb movement characteristics in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy and typically developing children

Research in Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1016/j.ridd.2011.07.038 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (6) ◽

pp. 2283-2294 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Ellen Jaspers ◽

Kaat Desloovere ◽

Herman Bruyninckx ◽

Katrijn Klingels ◽

Guy Molenaers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Upper Limb ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Limb Movement ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy ◽

Movement Characteristics

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Abstract TP406: Ipsilesional Myelination is Impaired in Children With Perinatal Arterial Stroke

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.48.suppl_1.tp406 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Sabrina Yu ◽

Helen Carlson ◽

Adam Kirton

Keyword(s):

Brain Injury ◽

Neurological Disorders ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Population Based ◽

T Test ◽

Biological Processes ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Perinatal Brain Injury ◽

Perinatal Stroke

Introduction: Stroke is a leading cause of perinatal brain injury and cerebral palsy. Current therapeutic efforts focus on optimizing developmental curves but the biological processes dictating these outcomes are poorly understood. Alterations in myelination are recognized as a major determinant of outcome in preterm brain injury but are unexplored in perinatal stroke (PS). Hypothesis: Ipsilesional delays in myelination occur in children with PS and are associated with poor developmental outcome. Methods: Participants were identified through the Alberta Perinatal Stroke Project, a population-based research cohort. Inclusion criteria were: 1) MRI-confirmed, unilateral arterial PS, 2) T1-weighted MRI >6mo, 3) absence of other neurological disorders, 4) neurological outcome (Pediatric Stroke Outcome Measure, PSOM), and 5) motor assessments (Assisting Hand Assessment, AHA; Melbourne Assessment). FreeSurfer software measured hemispheric asymmetry in myelination intensity. A second method using ImageJ validated the detection of myelination asymmetry. Overall PSOM scores were classified as poor (>1) or not. Repeated measures ANOVA compared perilesional, ipsilesional remote, and contralesional homologous regions. Myelination ratios for stroke cases were compared to typically developing controls (t-test), PSOM scores (t-test), and motor assessments (Pearson’s correlation). Results: Nineteen arterial stroke cases (mean age: 13.73±4.0yo) and 27 controls (mean age: 12.52±3.7yo) were studied. Stroke cases showed a greater degree of asymmetry with lower myelination in the lesioned hemisphere, compared to controls (p<0.001). Myelination in perilesional regions was decreased compared to ipsilesional remote (p<0.001) and contralesional homologous areas (p<0.001). Ipsilesional remote regions were decreased compared to homologous regions on the contralesional hemisphere (p=0.009). Contralesional myelination was also less than controls (p<0.001). Myelination ratios were not associated with PSOM, AHA, or Melbourne scores (p=0.144, 0.218, 0.366 respectively). Conclusion: Myelination of uninjured brain in the lesioned hemisphere is altered in children with PS. Further study is required to determine clinical significance.

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