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Interlimb differences in visuomotor and dynamic adaptation during targeted reaching in children
Leia B Bagesteiro1, Karina O Lima2, Jinsung Wang3
1Department of Kinesiology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA.
Human Movement Science
|April 2, 2021
Summary
Children aged 9-11 show a dominant arm advantage in adapting to new dynamic and visuomotor conditions. This suggests early development of internal models for movement control in the dominant limb.
Area of Science:
- Motor Control
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Human Movement Science
Background:
- Limited research exists on movement asymmetries in typically developing children.
- Adult studies show interlimb differences in adapting to novel motor tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate interlimb differences in children (9-11 years) adapting to visuomotor rotation and dynamic load.
- To determine if a dominant arm advantage in motor adaptation is present in this age group.
Main Methods:
- 13 right-handed children performed center-out reaching tasks with dominant and nondominant arms.
- Experiments involved visuomotor rotation (30°) and a dynamic load (1 kg).
- Performance metrics included hand-path deviation, direction error, and final position error.
Main Results:
- No interlimb differences were found during visuomotor adaptation.
- Significant differences emerged during dynamic adaptation, with larger aftereffects in the dominant arm.
- The dominant arm showed greater aftereffects in both visuomotor and dynamic adaptation tasks.
Conclusions:
- A dominant arm advantage in developing internal models for motor adaptation may be present in children aged 9-11.
- Findings suggest early development of specialized motor control strategies in the dominant limb.
