The present study aims to investigate and compare the auditory attention performance of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and normally developing children (NDC) using cognitive evoked potentials (ERPs) in passive conditions. ERPs data showed that children with DCD have less ability to detect small physical differences between acoustic stimuli (no MMN response in DCD children) and have a reduced attentional engagement and stimulus evaluation of salient stimuli (a reduction of P3 amplitude in DCD children). The results of our study suggest that children with DCD do not only suffer from a visuospatial attention deficit as previous studies reported but also have auditory attention deficit.

No abstract

The relationship between an athlete’s somatotype three-numeral rating and his or her athletic performance is well known. However, a direct effect of the different dominant somatotype on jumping and sprinting variables has not yet been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dominant somatotype on sport-specific explosive variables. One hundred and twelve physically active young adults (mean ± standard deviation age: 21.82 ± 3.18 years) were somatotype-rated using the Heath–Carter method. Participants were classified as balanced ectomorph, balanced mesomorph, central, mesomorph-endomorph, and mesomorphic ectomorph. Vertical jump and linear sprint tests were performed to measure peak lower body performance and sprint variables (time, speed, and momentum), respectively. The analysis revealed that balanced mesomorph had significantly higher vertical jump (effect size (ES) = 1.10, p = 0.005) and power to body mass (ES = 1.04, p = 0.023) than mesomorph-endomorph. In addition, balanced mesomorph showed significantly superior performance in 30-m sprint time and velocity than central and mesomorph-endomorph (ES range = 0.93–1, p < 0.05). Finally, balanced ectomorph (ES = 1.12, p = 0.009) and mesomorphic ectomorph (ES = 1.10, p = 0.017) were lower in sprint momentum compared to balanced mesomorphs. In conclusion, this study has shown the importance of the interaction between subtypes and athletic performance. The knowledge gained may be important in identifying those who tend to perform well in sports with explosive power and in prescribing training programs.

Scores on the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) in a Czech sample recruited from mainstream urban elementary schools were compared with the U.S. normative sample. 315 children participated (152 boys, M age = 7.1 yr., SD = 0.3; 163 girls, M age = 7.0 yr., SD = 0.3). Differences in raw score means and percentiles were evaluated, showing differences between the Czech and the U.S. normative samples. Standardized U.S. norms for the TGMD-2 should not be generalized to the Czech population without further study.

Scores on the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) in a Czech sample recruited from mainstream urban elementary schools were compared with the U.S. normative sample. 315 children participated (152 boys, M age = 7.1 yr., SD = 0.3; 163 girls, M age = 7.0 yr., SD = 0.3). Differences in raw score means and percentiles were evaluated, showing differences between the Czech and the U.S. normative samples. Standardized U.S. norms for the TGMD-2 should not be generalized to the Czech population without further study.