Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026
Event-related Potentials During Target-response Tasks to Study Cognitive Processes of Upper Limb Use in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy
Published on: January 11, 2016
Bimanual coordination during a goal-directed task in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy
Ya-Ching Hung1, Jeanne Charles, Andrew M Gordon
1Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York 10027, USA.
Insights
Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) show impaired bimanual coordination. Faster movement speeds improved their coordination during a drawer-opening task, suggesting speed can aid bimanual function in CP.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Motor Control
Background:
- Impaired hand function is common in hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP).
- Previous research often studied affected and unaffected hands in isolation.
- Bimanual coordination in children with CP remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate bimanual hand coordination in children with hemiplegic CP.
- To examine the effects of speed and hand constraints on bimanual tasks.
- To understand how different hand roles influence task performance.
Main Methods:
- 10 children with hemiplegic CP and 10 typically developing children performed a drawer-opening task.
- Task involved reaching, opening a drawer, and activating a light switch with the contralateral hand.
- Varied conditions included hand roles (drawer opener vs. switch activator) and speed (self-paced vs. fast-as-possible).
Main Results:
- Children with hemiplegic CP were significantly slower and less coordinated.
- Reduced movement overlap and sequential completion were observed in the CP group.
- Task performance in CP was influenced by which hand performed each sub-task.
- Faster speeds enhanced bimanual coordination in children with hemiplegic CP.
Conclusions:
- Movement constraints significantly impact bimanual task performance in hemiplegic CP.
- Increased movement speed may facilitate improved bimanual coordination.
- Findings suggest potential therapeutic targets for enhancing motor control in CP.
Abstract:
Most studies of impaired hand function in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) have focused on either the involved or the non-involved extremity in isolation. Coordination of the involved and non-involved hand during bimanual tasks in these children is not well understood. The present study examined bimanual coordination using a drawer-opening task under speed and hand constraints in 10 children with hemiplegic CP (5 males and 5 females, mean age 13y 5mo, range 8y to 16y) and 10 age-matched right-handed developing typically children (6 males and 4 females, mean age 13y 1mo). Children were asked to reach forward and open a drawer with one hand and then activate a light switch inside the drawer with the contralateral hand. The role of the two hands (open drawer and activate switch) and speed (self-paced vs fast-as-possible) were varied. The children with hemiplegic CP were slower (p<0.001) and less coordinated in this task, with reduced movement overlap of the two hands (p<0.001) and sequential completion of the two movement objectives (p<0.001). Moreover, the hand used for each task subcomponent affected task performance for the children with hemiplegic CP (p<0.05). Interestingly, faster speed facilitated better bimanual coordination for the children with hemiplegic CP (p<0.001). Results highlight the importance of movement constraints on task performance and suggest that movement speed might facilitate better bimanual coordination.
