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Developmental changes in motor cortex activity as infants develop functional motor skills

Ryota Nishiyori1,2, Silvia Bisconti2, Sean K Meehan1

  • 1School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Developmental Psychobiology
|April 21, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Infant motor skill development involves changes in brain activity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) revealed shifts from diffuse to focused primary motor cortex (M1) activity as infants gain experience.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Infant motor skill acquisition is well-documented behaviorally.
  • The underlying neural mechanisms of functional motor control development remain unclear.
  • Developmental systems framework posits experience shapes neural patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural basis of emerging functional motor control in infants.
  • To examine changes in primary motor cortex (M1) hemodynamic activity during skill acquisition.
  • To test the hypothesis of a shift from diffuse to focal M1 activity with increased goal-directed experience.

Main Methods:

  • Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measured M1 hemodynamic activity.
  • 22 infants (6 and 12 months old) participated.
  • Participants performed reaching and elicited stepping tasks.

Main Results:

  • Reaching: Younger infants showed diffuse M1 activity, which became focused by 12 months.
  • Stepping: Younger infants had minimal M1 activity; by 12 months, activity became diffuse.
  • Experience-dependent changes in M1 activity patterns were observed.

Conclusions:

  • Infant motor skill acquisition is associated with emerging and refining M1 activity.
  • Neural activity patterns shift from diffuse to focal with goal-directed experience.
  • This study provides initial documentation of cortical activity during early functional skill development.

Keywords:
developmental systemsfNIRSmotor cortexmotor development

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