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Development of action and the clinical continuum
1Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, England.
Neural Plasticity
|December 3, 2003
Summary
Understanding action development through perception, movement, and posture changes can unify clinical assessments. This approach aids in early detection and intervention for developmental disorders.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Motor control
- Clinical assessment
Background:
- Action development involves dynamic changes in perception-movement-posture coupling.
- A unified approach is needed for the clinical continuum: early detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a framework for understanding action development.
- To unify theoretical and practical aspects of the clinical continuum in developmental disorders.
Main Methods:
- Analyzing task-specific couplings between perception, movement, and posture.
- Examining posture as a constraint on reaching movements.
- Investigating cortical development's influence on leg movement coordination using infant studies (e.g., white matter lesions).
Main Results:
- Posture significantly constrains the emergence of reaching movements.
- Cortical development impacts leg movement coordination, as evidenced in infants with white matter lesions.
- Combining qualitative and quantitative (kinematic) assessments with neuroimaging can improve early detection.
Conclusions:
- Action development is best understood through changes in perception-movement-posture integration.
- This framework can unify early detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and intervention strategies.
- Enhanced early detection requires integrating serial assessments (qualitative, kinematic) with brain imaging and experimental manipulations during development.