Motor, visual and egocentric transformations in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

The inability of the DCD group to utilize specific motor imagery instructions and to perform egocentric transformations lends some support to the IMD hypothesis. Future work needs to address the question of whether the IMD itself is subgroup-specific.

Motor imagery ability in children with congenital hemiplegia: Effect of lesion side and functional level

“…combining responses to 45 and 315 ) to allow sufficient responses at each angle for analysis. This is a common technique when analysing such data (Harris, et al, 2000;Roelofs, et al, 2002;Williams, Thomas, Maruff, Butson, & Wilson, 2006). However, this technique could be criticised given our findings that responses to left and right hands differed when presented in CW compared to CCW directions.…”

A comparison of motor imagery performance in children with spastic hemiplegia and developmental coordination disorder

“…Caeyenberghs, van Roon, Swinnen, & Smits-Engelsman, 2009;Deconinck et al, 2009), this is not the case for children with DCD. The speed-accuracy trade-offs observed in the actual movements of children with DCD are not present when they imagine performing those same movements (Maruff et al, 1999;Wilson et al, 2001), and they are less accurate than their peers when performing imagined hand and whole-body rotations (Williams et al, 2006;Williams et al, 2008). This apparent MI deficit indicates that children with DCD have difficulty simulating movements internally which likely hampers their ability to predict the outcome of a selected movement plan, with movement planning and internal modelling ability thereby reduced.…”

“…Such transformations allow individuals to take on the perspective of other people (Zacks, Mires, Tversky, & Hazeltine, 2002), an important component of motor learning through modelling. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the complexity of this task also means we are less likely to find ceiling effects in terms of accuracy, providing more detailed information regarding possible MI deficits (Williams et al, 2006;Williams et al, 2008). We expected the hemiplegia and DCD groups to show similar performance deficits in MI tasks, when compared to a typically developing comparison group.…”

“…DCD is not associated with any known neurological condition and its aetiology currently remains unexplained. However, a series of papers have provided evidence that suggests a deficit in the ability to utilise motor imagery effectively may underlie some of the motor impairment difficulties observed in children with this diagnosis (Deconinck, Spitaels, Fias, & Lenoir, 2009;Maruff, Wilson, Trebilcock, & Currie, 1999;Williams, Thomas, Maruff, Butson, & Wilson, 2006;Williams, Thomas, Maruff, & Wilson, 2008;Wilson et al, 2004;Wilson, Maruff, Ives, & Currie, 2001). Interestingly, a recent line of research has also begun examining whether motor imagery deficits may also be apparent in adolescents with hemiplegia, with these deficits adding to their already obvious motor execution difficulties (Mutsaarts, Steenbergen, & Bekkering, 2007;Steenbergen, van Nimwegen, & Crajé, 2007).…”

“…Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore the MI ability of children with hemiplegia, whilst comparing them to children with DCD and their typically developing peers. Children with DCD provide a good reference point for comparison given their documented deficits in MI ability (Deconinck et al, 2009;Williams et al, 2006;Williams et al, 2008;Wilson et al, 2004;Wilson et al, 2001). They also demonstrate improved motor skills following MI training (Wilson et al, 2002).…”