Related Experiment Videos
Interhemispheric relationships in 4- to 14-year-old children pointing to lateral targets
1Neurobiologie Intégrative et Adaptative, UMR 6149 CNRS/Université de Provence, Marseille, France.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Movement control development is not always linear during childhood.
- Hemispheric relationships are crucial for visuo-manual coordination.
- Understanding hemispheric development informs theories of motor learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of hemispheric relationships in children.
- To examine how interhemispheric transfer evolves with age.
- To correlate changes in hemispheric communication with visuo-motor coordination development.
Main Methods:
- Tested right-handed children aged 4–14 years.
- Assessed pointing movements with both hands towards visual targets in different hemifields.
- Analyzed reaction time and interhemispheric transfer efficiency (crossed vs. uncrossed movements).
Main Results:
- Left hand showed a reaction time advantage, primarily for contralateral movements.
- Significant interhemispheric transfer differences were observed across all ages.
- Transfer asymmetry decreased with age, shifting towards adult-like symmetry by 10–14 years.
Conclusions:
- Hemispheric specificity and interhemispheric communication develop gradually throughout childhood.
- Asynchronous development of visuo-motor processes may underlie observed changes in movement control.
- These findings highlight a prolonged maturation period for brain lateralization and coordination.
Abstract:
Some developmental changes in movement control are not monotonic during childhood, which leads us to question how hemispheric relationships develop since they are closely involved with visuo-manual coordination. We tested right-handed children between 4 and 14 years of age performing pointing movements with the right and left hand towards visual targets located in the right and left hemifield. The analysis of movement parameters showed a left hand advantage in reaction time, but this is mainly due to the contralateral movements relative to the semifield of target presentation, suggesting that hemispheric asymmetry is not achieved even in older children. Interhemispheric transfer was evaluated through the difference between crossed (opposite hand and hemifield side) and uncrossed (same hand and hemifield side) movements. The difference was significant at all ages, and decreased with age between 4-6 and 7-9 years. It moved from early asymmetry in favor of the left-to-right interhemispheric transfer to adult-like symmetry at 10-14 years. The long development of hemispheric specificity and interhemispheric communication suggested by our results might be associated to asynchronous development of various processes involved in visuo-motor coordination, leading to qualitative changes in visually directed movement during childhood described in the literature.