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Exploring the Action-Perception Loop in Children Born Very Preterm: Associations Between Biological Motion
Martin Johansson1,2, Cecilia Montgomery3,4,5, Ylva Fredriksson Kaul3,6,5
1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden. martin.p.johansson@uu.se.
Insights
Children born very preterm (VPT) show deficits in biological motion (BM) perception and motor skills, impacting social functioning. These impairments are linked to internalizing and social difficulties, offering insights into neurodevelopmental conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Children born very preterm (VPT) face higher risks for neurodevelopmental issues affecting social, motor, and perceptual skills, overlapping with autism spectrum disorder profiles.
- Biological motion (BM) perception, crucial for interpreting social cues from movement, may link early motor/perceptual development to later social-emotional outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between biological motion (BM) perception, motor coordination, and behavioral outcomes in very preterm (VPT) children.
- To explore how deficits in BM perception and motor skills in VPT children relate to social functioning and internalizing symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Examined 64 VPT and 31 full-term (FT) children (mean age 12 years) using eye-tracking for BM perception (detecting point-light walkers).
- Assessed motor coordination with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd Edition and behavioral outcomes with the Child Behavior Checklist.
Main Results:
- VPT children exhibited poorer BM perception, motor coordination, and more internalizing/social difficulties compared to FT peers.
- In VPT children, impaired motor skills correlated with reduced social competence and increased internalizing symptoms; lower BM perception was linked to internalizing symptoms.
- Combined deficits in BM perception and motor skills were associated with heightened anxiety and social withdrawal in VPT children.
Conclusions:
- Findings underscore the interaction between perceptual-motor functions and socio-emotional development in VPT children.
- These associations suggest developmental pathways increasing vulnerability to social-emotional challenges, relevant to autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
Purpose:
Children born very preterm (VPT < 32 weeks' gestation) are at elevated risk for neurodevelopmental difficulties, including social functioning, motor coordination, and perceptual processing, domains that also show overlap with autism-related profiles. Biological motion (BM) perception, which supports the extraction of social information from movement, may represent one important pathway through which early motor and perceptual functioning relate to later socio-emotional development.
Methods:
We examined BM perception, motor coordination, and behavioral outcome in 64 VPT and 31 full-term (FT) (mean age = 12 years). BM perception was measured via eye-tracking, recording time to detect point-light walkers under low- and high-noise conditions. Motor skills were evaluated with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd Edition, and behavioral outcome with the Child Behavior Checklist.
Results:
Children born VPT showed lower BM perception, poorer motor coordination, and more internalizing and social difficulties than FT peers. In the VPT group, poorer motor coordination was linked to reduced social competence and more internalizing symptoms, while lower BM perception was associated specifically with internalizing symptoms. Combined deficits were tied to the highest levels of anxiety and social withdrawal. BM perception was selectively related to gross motor skills, consistent with shared action-perception systems. No such associations appeared in the FT group.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight the interplay between perceptual and motor functioning and socio-emotional outcomes in children born VPT children. The observed associations point to potential developmental mechanisms that may increase vulnerability to social and emotional difficulties, offering insights relevant to autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.
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