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Published on: January 11, 2016
The cortical evoked potentials in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
L Boćkowski1, W Sobaniec, W Kułak
1Department of Pediatric Neurology and Rehabilitation, Medical University of Białystok, Poland. bockow@kki.pl
Insights
Electrophysiologic testing in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) revealed prolonged central conduction time in somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), suggesting afferent pathway involvement. Further research is needed to understand neurological deficits in clumsy children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Clinical Electrophysiology
Background:
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects motor and cognitive skills.
- The underlying neurological mechanisms of DCD are not fully understood.
- Electrophysiological assessments can evaluate neural pathway integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the integrity of afferent pathways in children with DCD using evoked potentials.
- To identify potential neurological lesions contributing to DCD symptoms.
- To explore the relationship between electrophysiological findings and DCD characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP), pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials (VEP), and cognitive event-related potentials (CERP) were recorded.
- Electroencephalography (EEG), CT scans, and neuropsychological assessments were also conducted.
- The study involved two pediatric patients diagnosed with DCD.
Main Results:
- Patients exhibited prolonged N20 and P25 latencies and increased central conduction time in SEPs.
- Normal findings were observed for N9, N11, and N13 latencies.
- VEP, CERP, EEG, and neuroimaging results were within normal limits.
Conclusions:
- Disturbances in afferent pathway integrity may be a contributing factor to DCD.
- Electrophysiological findings suggest potential subclinical neurological deficits in children with DCD.
- Further research is necessary to elucidate the specific neurological sources of developmental dyspraxia.
Purpose:
Evoked potentials were recorded in patients with DCD to evaluate the integrity the afferent pathways and to rule out the presence of any neurological lesions.
Material And Methods:
Two boys: 5 and 16 years old with recognized DCD were examined. Battery of tests: short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP), pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials (VEP), cognitive event-related potentials (CERP) and EEG were recorded. CT and neuropsychological assessment were also performed.
Results:
N20 and P25 latencies and also central conduction time of SEPs in both patients were longer. N9, N11, N13 latencies were normal. VEP, CERP, EEG and neuroimaging scans were normal.
Conclusions:
Relationship among perceptual--motor skills, cognitive impairment and electrophysiologic findings in children with developmental dyspraxia are discussed. The disturbances of the integrity of the afferent pathways could to be one of many causal factors. Further researches are required to determine the specific source of the neurological deficit of clumsy children.
