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The relationship between body sway patterns and motor and attentional functions in early childhood
Soma Tsujishita1, Yasutomo Jono2, Morihiro Tsujishita2
1Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Kobe International University: 9-1-6 Koyocho-naka, Higashinada-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo 658-0032, Japan.
Insights
Body sway patterns in young children were studied. Anterior-posterior sway was linked to poorer timing and attention, suggesting it may indicate attentional function in early childhood.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Understanding early childhood motor and attentional development is crucial.
- Body sway patterns offer a potential, non-invasive measure.
- Previous research has not extensively linked specific sway patterns to cognitive functions in this age group.
Purpose of the Study:
- To classify body sway patterns in early childhood.
- To investigate the relationship between body sway patterns, motor skills, and attentional functions.
- To determine if body sway patterns can serve as indicators of these functions.
Main Methods:
- 24 males and 26 females (mean age ~5.9 years) participated.
- Evaluations included physical fitness tests, body sway measurements, and Interactive Metronome (IM) tasks.
- IM task performance was assessed via "task average" (timing) and "Super Right On" (SRO%, accuracy) scores.
Main Results:
- Body sway patterns showed only a slight association with general motor functions.
- Children with an anterior-posterior sway pattern exhibited worse timing and attentional functions.
- This poorer performance was evidenced by lower task average and SRO% scores on the IM task.
Conclusions:
- Anterior-posterior body sway may be a relevant indicator of attentional function in young children.
- This finding suggests potential for using body sway analysis in assessing developmental status.
- Further research could explore the clinical implications of anterior-posterior sway in pediatric populations.
Abstract:
[Purpose] We focused on the relationship between body sway patterns and motor and attentional functions in early childhood, and classified diagrams of body sway into four patterns. Furthermore, the relationship between physical fitness tests and Interactive Metronome (IM) tasks was used to determine whether the body sway patterns are indicators of motor and attentional functions in early childhood. [Participants and Methods] Participants were 24 male and 26 female children with a mean age of 2,148.1 ± 103.7 days. Participants were evaluated using physical fitness tests, body sway measures, baseline scores on the IM task (the "task average"), and the percentage of perfect hits ("Super Right On") on the IM task (the "Super Right On" score, or SRO%). [Results] The association between the body sway pattern and motor and attentional functions was examined, and results revealed that the body sway pattern was only slightly associated with motor functions. However, participants with an anterior-posterior pattern of body sway had worse timing and attentional functions than participants with other patterns, as indicated by a lower task average and SRO% on the IM task. [Conclusion] These results suggested that anterior-posterior sway may reflect attentional functions when body sway is measured in children such as 6 year-olds.
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