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Published on: June 1, 2015
Spontaneous kicking in full-term and preterm infants with and without white matter disorder
Linda Fetters1, Inbal Sapir, Yu-ping Chen
1Division of Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1540 E. Alcazar St., CHP 155, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. fetters@usc.edu
Insights
Premature infants with white matter damage exhibit less mature leg movement coordination compared to full-term infants. This early brain injury can impact sensorimotor development and lead to future motor dysfunction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Motor Control
Background:
- Early white matter damage in premature infants can lead to long-term developmental consequences.
- Sensorimotor coordination, particularly leg movements, is crucial for infant development.
- Spontaneous infant kicking serves as a valuable indicator of neurological function and sensorimotor integration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of perinatal white matter damage on the intra-limb coordination patterns of spontaneous leg movements in 5-month-old infants.
- To compare sensorimotor coordination in premature infants with white matter damage (PTWMD) to premature infants without white matter damage (PT) and full-term infants (FT).
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of intra-limb coordination patterns during spontaneous kicking.
- Assessment of 5-month-old infants across three groups: PTWMD, PT, and FT.
- Utilizing spontaneous kicking as a non-invasive window into sensorimotor development.
Main Results:
- The PT group displayed more advanced kicking patterns than both PTWMD and FT groups.
- The PTWMD group showed less mature movement patterns compared to the FT group on specific measures.
- Infants with PTWMD may face challenges in transitioning to more complex leg movements requiring joint decoupling.
Conclusions:
- Early white matter damage in premature infants is associated with altered sensorimotor coordination, specifically in leg movement patterns.
- The findings suggest that white matter damage can initiate a developmental trajectory leading to motor dysfunction.
- Further research is needed to understand the transition from spontaneous movements to more complex motor skills in infants with white matter damage.
Abstract:
Early damage to white matter of the brain may have developmental consequences for prematurely born infants including the coordination of leg movements. Our perspective is that white matter damage initiates an ontogenetic course that may lead to movement dysfunction leading to disability. In this study, spontaneous kicking in the human infant is a "window" for evaluating the potential consequences of perinatal brain damage for sensori-motor coordination. We compare the intra-limb coordination patterns of 5-month-old premature infants with white matter damage (PTWMD) to a group of prematurely born infants without WMD (PT) and a group of full-term (FT) infants. The PT group demonstrates advanced kicking patterns in comparison to both the PTWMD and FT groups. The PTWMD group has less mature patterns than the FT group on some, but not all measures. The movement challenge for PTWMD infants may be in the transition from spontaneous kicking to movements with the legs that require decoupling of intralimb joints.
