Left-right differences on timed motor examination in children

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Motor Control

Background:

• Age-related changes in motor task speed differences may indicate neurological maturation.
• Cortical maturation and corpus callosum myelination are linked to improved bilateral motor skills.
• Assessing left-right speed differences provides insights into developmental trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age and gender effects on the differences in speed between left- and right-sided motor tasks in children.
• To examine how bilateral motor skill equalization progresses with age in typically developing children.
• To identify potential gender-specific patterns in the development of motor speed symmetry.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Revised Physical and Neurological Assessment for Subtle Signs (PANESS) on 130 typically developing, right-handed children (ages 7-14).
• Assessed timed motor tasks including toe tapping, toe-heel alternations, hand pats, hand pronation-supination, finger tapping, and finger-to-thumb apposition.
• Calculated six difference scores between left- and right-sided performance speeds for each participant.

Main Results:

• Left-right speed differences significantly decreased with age across multiple tasks (toe tapping, heel-toe alternations, hand pronation-supination, finger repetition, finger sequencing).
• Boys exhibited a greater left-right difference than girls in heel-toe sequences.
• A significant age-gender interaction was observed for hand pronation-supination, with equalization occurring earlier in girls than boys.

Conclusions:

• Bilateral motor task speed equalizes with age during childhood development.
• Motor skill development and speed symmetry may progress at different rates between genders.
• The findings support the role of neurological maturation in refining bilateral motor coordination.