Interlimb differences in visuomotor and dynamic adaptation during targeted reaching in children. Hum Mov Sci 2021 Jun;77:102788
Date
04/03/2021Pubmed ID
33798930DOI
10.1016/j.humov.2021.102788Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85103415140 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 3 CitationsAbstract
While a number of studies have focused on movement (a)symmetries between the arms in adults, less is known about movement asymmetries in typically developing children. The goal of this study was to examine interlimb differences in children when adapting to novel visuomotor and dynamic conditions while performing a center-out reaching task. We tested 13 right-handed children aged 9-11 years old. Prior to movement, one of eight targets arranged radially around the start position was randomly displayed. Movements were made either with the right (dominant) arm or the left (nondominant) arm. The children participated in two experiments separated by at least one week. In one experiment, subjects were exposed to a rotated visual display (30° about the start circle); and in the other, a 1 kg mass (attached eccentrically to the forearm axis). Each experiment consisted of three blocks: pre-exposure, exposure and post-exposure. Three measures of task performance were calculated from hand trajectory data: hand-path deviation from the straight target line, direction error at peak velocity and final position error. Results showed that during visuomotor adaptation, no interlimb differences were observed for any of the three measures. During dynamic adaptation, however, a significant difference between the arms was observed at the first cycle during dynamic adaptation. With regard to the aftereffects observed during the post-exposure block, direction error data indicate considerably large aftereffects for both arms during visuomotor adaptation; and there was a significant difference between the arms, resulting in substantially larger aftereffects for the right arm. Similarly, dynamic adaptation results also showed a significant difference between the arms; and post hoc analyses indicated that aftereffects were present only for the right arm. Collectively, these findings indicate that the dominant arm advantage for developing an internal model associated with a novel visuomotor or dynamic transform, as previously shown in young adults, may already be apparent at 9 to 11-year old children.
Author List
Bagesteiro LB, Lima KO, Wang JAuthor
Jinsung Wang PhD Assistant Professor in the Human Movement Sciences department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Adaptation, PhysiologicalArm
Child
Female
Forearm
Functional Laterality
Hand
Humans
Male
Motivation
Motor Skills
Movement
Psychomotor Performance
Task Performance and Analysis
