Cortical functioning in children with developmental coordination disorder: a motor overflow study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Motor Control

Background:

• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is characterized by motor impairments.
• Understanding the neural underpinnings of DCD is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Motor overflow, or unwanted movements in non-target limbs, is a common DCD symptom.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate brain activation patterns in children with DCD during motor tasks.
• To identify neural correlates of poor movement execution and motor overflow in DCD.
• To compare brain activity between children with DCD and typically developing controls.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan 13 boys with DCD and 13 controls.
• Participants performed finger sequencing and hand clenching tasks with their dominant hand.
• Motor overflow in the non-dominant hand was measured using a motion sensor.

Main Results:

• Children with DCD exhibited increased motor overflow during both tasks.
• No overall activation deficits were found in the DCD group.
• Decreased activation was observed in the left superior and inferior frontal gyri in children with DCD.
• Increased activation in the right postcentral gyrus was noted in the DCD group.

Conclusions:

• DCD is associated with specific patterns of altered brain activation, not global deficits.
• Reduced activation in frontal areas may relate to executive and imitation deficits in DCD.
• Increased activation in the postcentral gyrus suggests a compensatory reliance on somatosensory feedback in DCD.