Cognitive Control of Saccadic Eye Movements in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

The ability to use advance information to prepare and execute a movement requires cognitive control of behaviour (e.g., anticipation and inhibition). Our aim was to explore the integrity of saccadic eye movement control in developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and typically developing (TD) children (8–12 years) and assess how these children plan and inhibit saccadic responses, the principal mechanisms within visual attention control. Eye movements and touch responses were measured (separately and concurrently) in Cued and Non-Cued conditions. We found that children with DCD had similar saccade kinematics to the TD group during saccade initiation. Advance information decreased hand movement duration in both groups during Cued trials, but decrements in accuracy were significantly worse in the DCD group. In addition, children with DCD exhibited greater inhibitory errors and inaccurate fixation during the Cued trials. Thus, children with DCD were reasonably proficient in executing saccades during reflexive (Non-Cued) conditions, but showed deficits in more complex control processes involving prediction and inhibition. These findings have implications for our understanding of motor control in children with DCD.     

Generalization of Auditory Sensory and Cognitive Learning in Typically Developing Children

Despite the well-established involvement of both sensory (“bottom-up”) and cognitive (“top-down”) processes in literacy, the extent to which auditory or cognitive (memory or attention) learning transfers to phonological and reading skills remains unclear. Most research has demonstrated learning of the trained task or even learning transfer to a closely related task. However, few studies have reported “far-transfer” to a different domain, such as the improvement of phonological and reading skills following auditory or cognitive training. This study assessed the effectiveness of auditory, memory or attention training on far-transfer measures involving phonological and reading skills in typically developing children. Mid-transfer was also assessed through untrained auditory, attention and memory tasks. Sixty 5- to 8-year-old children with normal hearing were quasi-randomly assigned to one of five training groups: attention group (AG), memory group (MG), auditory sensory group (SG), placebo group (PG; drawing, painting), and a control, untrained group (CG). Compliance, mid-transfer and far-transfer measures were evaluated before and after training. All trained groups received 12 x 45-min training sessions over 12 weeks. The CG did not receive any intervention. All trained groups, especially older children, exhibited significant learning of the trained task. On pre- to post-training measures (test-retest), most groups exhibited improvements on most tasks. There was significant mid-transfer for a visual digit span task, with highest span in the MG, relative to other groups. These results show that both sensory and cognitive (memory or attention) training can lead to learning in the trained task and to mid-transfer learning on a task (visual digit span) within the same domain as the trained tasks. However, learning did not transfer to measures of language (reading and phonological awareness), as the PG and CG improved as much as the other trained groups. Further research is required to investigate the effects of various stimuli and lengths of training on the generalization of sensory and cognitive learning to literacy skills.     

News & Analyses

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine preschoolers' (n = 11) ability to follow instructions in the presence or absence of a real dog while executing a variety of motor skills tasks. These tasks were divided into one of three general classifications: 1) Modeling Tasks: the children were asked to emulate the behavior of a model, 2) Competition Tasks: the children were asked to do the task faster than a competitor, and 3) Tandem Tasks: the children were asked to do the tasks at the same time as a co-performer. Typical and Identified (language impaired) preschool children were randomly assigned to perform five tasks of each general classification alone, with a human, with a real dog, and with a stuffed dog that was similar in size and appearance to the live dog. Two independent raters rated each child's adherence to instructions (interrater reliability = 0.99) on a 7-point scale. A significant interaction between task classification and type of co-performer revealed that in the Modeling Tasks the preschoolers adhered better to the instructions when the real dog was present relative to the other conditions. In the Tandem Tasks the children adhered to instructions best when they performed the task with a human, followed by the stuffed dog (as manipulated by a human), the real dog, and worst when they were asked to perform the tasks alone. The type of co-performer made no significant difference in the Competition Tasks. These results indicate the presence of a real dog tends to be beneficial for promoting preschoolers' compliance with instructions in motor skills tasks that require modeling behavior, but not in those tasks that stress competition or those performed in tandem.     

Response Inhibition Impairment in High Functioning Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Data

Background

Response inhibition, an important domain of executive function (EF), involves the ability to suppress irrelevant or interfering information and impulses. Previous studies have shown impairment of response inhibition in high functioning autism (HFA) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but more recent findings have been inconsistent. To date, almost no studies have been conducted using functional imaging techniques to directly compare inhibitory control between children with HFA and those with ADHD.

Method

Nineteen children with HFA, 16 age- and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched children with ADHD, and 16 typically developing (TD) children were imaged using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) while performing Go/No-go and Stroop tasks.

Results

Compared with the TD group, children in both the HFA and ADHD groups took more time to respond during the No-go blocks, with reaction time longest for HFA and shortest for TD. Children in the HFA and ADHD groups also made a greater number of reaction errors in the No-go blocks than those in the TD group. During the Stroop task, there were no significant differences between these three groups in reaction time and omission errors. Both the HFA and ADHD groups showed a higher level of inactivation in the right prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the No-go blocks, relative to the TD group. However, no significant differences were found between groups in the levels of oxyhemoglobin concentration in the PFC during the Stroop task.

Conclusion

Functional brain imaging using NIRS showed reduced activation in the right PFC in children with HFA or ADHD during an inhibition task, indicating that inhibitory dysfunction is a shared feature of both HFA and ADHD.     

The assessment of preschool children's motor skills after familiarization with motor tests

This research study was conducted to establish the influence of familiarization on the information component of movement in a motor task for the assessment of preschool children's motor skills. The sample included 50 children whose mean age was 5.9 years (71.5 months). The experimental group consisted of 27 children who were 5.9 years (71.5 months) old, and the control group consisted of 23 children who were 5.9 years (71.5 months) old. The examinees performed 2 motor tasks, standing long jump (SJ, explosive strength) and standing on 1 leg on a beam "flamingo test" (FT, balance). The experimental group underwent a period of familiarization with the motor task in 3 sessions with 5 trials every 3 days. The results indicate statistically significant differences in the final testing between both groups of examinees; the experimental group mean was 112.73 cm, and the control group mean was 100.62 in the SJ test (p = 0.00), and the experimental group mean was 27.10 seconds and the control group mean was 15.01 seconds in the FT (for balance) (p = 0.00). The results obtained in this research indicate that children significantly improved the results in the motor test of strength and balance, being influenced by familiarization. It was confirmed that it was necessary for preschool children to be familiar with the test and it is not justified to use testing and assessment protocols and standards for adults. Physical educators and coaches, when testing preschool children, should introduce children to tests to obtain the best result.     

Organisation of the motor cortex differs between people with and without knee osteoarthritis

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to investigate possible differences in the organisation of the motor cortex in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and whether there is an association between cortical organisation and accuracy of a motor task.MethodsfMRI data were collected while 11 participants with moderate/severe right knee OA (6 male, 69 ± 6 (mean ± SD) years) and seven asymptomatic controls (5 male, 64 ± 6 years) performed three visually guided, variable force, force matching motor tasks involving isolated isometric muscle contractions of: 1) quadriceps (knee), 2) tibialis anterior (ankle) and, 3) finger/thumb flexor (hand) muscles. fMRI data were used to map the loci of peak activation in the motor cortex during the three tasks and to assess whether there were differences in the organisation of the motor cortex between the groups for the three motor tasks. Root mean square of the difference between target and generated forces during muscle contraction quantified task accuracy.ResultsA 4.1 mm anterior shift in the representation of the knee (p = 0.03) and swap of the relative position of the knee and ankle representations in the motor cortex (p = 0.003) were found in people with knee OA. Poorer performance of the knee task was associated with more anterior placement of motor cortex loci in people with (p = 0.05) and without (p = 0.02) knee OA.ConclusionsDifferences in the organisation of the motor cortex in knee OA was demonstrated in relation to performance of knee and ankle motor tasks and was related to quality of performance of the knee motor task. These results highlight the possible mechanistic link between cortical changes and modified motor behavior in people with knee OA.     

Unexpected Dual Task Benefits on Cycling in Parkinson Disease and Healthy Adults: A Neuro-Behavioral Model

BackgroundWhen performing two tasks at once, a dual task, performance on one or both tasks typically suffers. People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) usually experience larger dual task decrements on motor tasks than healthy older adults (HOA). Our objective was to investigate the decrements in cycling caused by performing cognitive tasks with a range of difficulty in people with PD and HOAs.MethodsTwenty-eight participants with Parkinson’s disease and 20 healthy older adults completed a baseline cycling task with no secondary tasks and then completed dual task cycling while performing 12 tasks from six cognitive domains representing a wide range of difficulty.ResultsCycling was faster during dual task conditions than at baseline, and was significantly faster for six tasks (all p<.02) across both groups. Cycling speed improved the most during the easiest cognitive tasks, and cognitive performance was largely unaffected. Cycling improvement was predicted by task difficulty (p<.001). People with Parkinson’s disease cycled slower (p<.03) and showed reduced dual task benefits (p<.01) than healthy older adults.ConclusionsUnexpectedly, participants’ motor performance improved during cognitive dual tasks, which cannot be explained in current models of dual task performance. To account for these findings, we propose a model integrating dual task and acute exercise approaches which posits that cognitive arousal during dual tasks increases resources to facilitate motor and cognitive performance, which is subsequently modulated by motor and cognitive task difficulty. This model can explain both the improvement observed on dual tasks in the current study and more typical dual task findings in other studies.     

Development of multisensory reweighting is impaired for quiet stance control in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD)

Background

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a leading movement disorder in children that commonly involves poor postural control. Multisensory integration deficit, especially the inability to adaptively reweight to changing sensory conditions, has been proposed as a possible mechanism but with insufficient characterization. Empirical quantification of reweighting significantly advances our understanding of its developmental onset and improves the characterization of its difference in children with DCD compared to their typically developing (TD) peers.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Twenty children with DCD (6.6 to 11.8 years) were tested with a protocol in which visual scene and touch bar simultaneously oscillateded medio-laterally at different frequencies and various amplitudes. Their data were compared to data on TD children (4.2 to 10.8 years) from a previous study. Gains and phases were calculated for medio-lateral responses of the head and center of mass to both sensory stimuli. Gains and phases were simultaneously fitted by linear functions of age for each amplitude condition, segment, modality and group. Fitted gains and phases at two comparison ages (6.6 and 10.8 years) were tested for reweighting within each group and for group differences. Children with DCD reweight touch and vision at a later age (10.8 years) than their TD peers (4.2 years). Children with DCD demonstrate a weak visual reweighting, no advanced multisensory fusion and phase lags larger than those of TD children in response to both touch and vision.

Conclusions/Significance

Two developmental perspectives, postural body scheme and dorsal stream development, are provided to explain the weak vision reweighting. The lack of multisensory fusion supports the notion that optimal multisensory integration is a slow developmental process and is vulnerable in children with DCD.     

Changes in physical activity and fitness after 3 months of home Wii Fit™ use

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in physical activity and fitness variables in members of 8 volunteer families after 3 months of home use of the Wii Fit? interactive video game. Pre and postintervention measurements were obtained from 21 subjects relative to physical activity (5 days of accelerometry), aerobic fitness (graded treadmill test), muscular fitness (push-ups), flexibility (sit-and-reach test), balance (composite equilibrium score), and body composition (body mass index and % body fat). Use characteristics of the Wii Fit? device were also determined. A series of 2 (age group) × 2 (time) repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted to assess changes over time and between adults and children. Three months of home Wii Fit? use revealed no significant age group × time interactions or main effects of group or time for daily physical activity, muscular fitness, flexibility, balance, or body composition. An age group × time interaction (p = 0.04) was observed in peak VO2 (ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) with children displaying a significant (p = 0.03) increase after 3 months of Wii Fit? use, whereas adults showed no significant (p = 0.50) change. Daily Wii Fit? use per household declined by 82% (p < 0.01) from 21.5 ± 9.0 min·d(-1) during the first 6 weeks to 3.9 ± 4.0 min·d(-1) during the second 6 weeks. Most measures of health-related fitness in this exploratory study remained unchanged after 3 months of home use of the popular Wii Fit? whole-body movement interactive video game. Modest daily Wii Fit? use may have provided insufficient stimulus for fitness changes.     

Syntax at Hand: Common Syntactic Structures for Actions and Language

Evidence that the motor and the linguistic systems share common syntactic representations would open new perspectives on language evolution. Here, crossing disciplinary boundaries, we explore potential parallels between the structure of simple actions and that of sentences. First, examining Typically Developing (TD) children displacing a bottle with or without knowledge of its weight prior to movement onset, we provide kinematic evidence that the sub-phases of this displacing action (reaching + moving the bottle) manifest a structure akin to linguistic embedded dependencies. Then, using the same motor task, we reveal that children suffering from specific language impairment (SLI), whose core deficit affects syntactic embedding and dependencies, manifest specific structural motor anomalies parallel to their linguistic deficits. In contrast to TD children, SLI children performed the displacing-action as if its sub-phases were juxtaposed rather than embedded. The specificity of SLI’s structural motor deficit was confirmed by testing an additional control group: Fragile-X Syndrome patients, whose language capacity, though delayed, comparatively spares embedded dependencies, displayed slower but structurally normal motor performances. By identifying the presence of structural representations and dependency computations in the motor system and by showing their selective deficit in SLI patients, these findings point to a potential motor origin for language syntax.     

Balance assessment during squatting exercise: A comparison between laboratory grade force plate and a commercial,low-cost device

Testing balance through squatting exercise is a central part of many rehabilitation programs and sports and plays also an important role in clinical evaluation of residual motor ability. The assessment of center of pressure (CoP) displacement and its parametrization is commonly used to describe and analyze squat movement and the laboratory-grade force plates (FP) are the gold standard for measuring balance performances from a dynamic view-point. However, the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) has been recently proposed as an inexpensive and easily available device for measuring ground reaction force and CoP displacement in standing balance tasks. Thus, this study aimed to compare the NWBB-CoP data with those obtained from a laboratory FP during a dynamic motor task, such as the squat task. CoP data of forty-eight subjects were acquired simultaneously from a NWBB and a FP and the analyses were performed over the descending squatting phase. Outcomes showed a very high correlation (r) and limited root-mean-square differences between CoP trajectories in anterior-posterior (r > 0.99, 1.63 ± 1.27 mm) and medial-lateral (r > 0.98, 1.01 ± 0.75 mm) direction. Spatial parameters computed from CoP displacement and ground reaction force peak presented fixed biases between NWBB and FP. Errors showed a high consistency (standard deviation < 2.4% of the FP outcomes) and a random spread distribution around the mean difference. Mean velocity is the only parameter which exhibited a tendency towards proportional values. Findings of this study suggested the NWBB as a valid device for the assessment and parametrization of CoP displacement during squatting movement.     

Learning new gait patterns is enhanced by specificity of training rather than progression of task difficulty

The use of motor learning strategies may enhance rehabilitation outcomes of individuals with neurological injuries (e.g., stroke or cerebral palsy). A common strategy to facilitate learning of challenging tasks is to use sequential progression – i.e., initially reduce task difficulty and slowly increase task difficulty until the desired difficulty level is reached. However, the evidence related to the use of such sequential progressions to improve learning is mixed for functional skill learning tasks, especially considering situations where practice duration is limited. Here, we studied the benefits of sequential progression using a functional motor learning task that has been previously used in gait rehabilitation. Three groups of participants (N = 43) learned a novel motor task during treadmill walking using different learning strategies. Participants in the specific group (n = 21) practiced only the criterion task (i.e., matching a target template that was scaled-up by 30%) throughout the training. Participants in the sequential group (n = 11) gradually progressed to the criterion task (from 3% to 30% in increments of 3%), whereas participants in the random group (n = 11) started at 3% and progressed in random increments (involving both increases and decreases in task difficulty) to the criterion task. At the end of training, kinematic tracking performance on the criterion task was evaluated in all participants both with and without visual feedback. Results indicated that the tracking error was significantly lower in the specific group, and no differences were observed between the sequential and the random progression groups. The findings indicate that the amount of practice in the criterion task is more critical than the difficulty and variations of task practice when learning new gait patterns during treadmill walking.     

The Role of Therapy Dogs in Speed and Accuracy to Complete Motor Skills Tasks for Preschool Children

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the presence of a therapy dog would affect the performance of a set of gross motor skills tasks for a mixed group of language-impaired and typical preschool children. The 14 children in the group were between four and six years old (four female and ten male); the two dogs were Miniature Poodles. The design was a two-way mixed model factorial, where a series of 10 gross motor skills tasks (e.g., long jump, high jump—labeled Type of Task) performed by the children served as one variable, and the presence or absence of the therapy dog (labeled Dog Presence) served as the other variable. In the dog-present conditions, the dog either performed the task immediately prior to, or at the same time as, the child. Time to complete each task and the accuracy of task performance as determined by a rating scale were determined from a review of experiment videotapes. The main effect of Dog Presence was significant (F_(1,36) = 7.471, p < 0.05, R² = 0.17). As predicted, the children completed the tasks faster when the dog was present (M = 10.88 s,SD = 9.84) than when the dog was absent (M = 13.86 s,SD = 12.64), but this effect was not present in the ratings data. This indicates that the presence of a therapy dog served as an effective motivator for the children, who performed faster, but without compromising accuracy, in all tasks but one. The interaction between dog presence and type of task was also significant (F_(9,71) = 3.67, p < 0.05, R² = 0.32) in the ratings data, indicating that the presence of the dog increased performance accuracy in some types of tasks, while decreasing it in others. Based on these results and the strong connection between motor skills and language development, the authors recommend a role for therapy dogs in speech and language development programs for preschool children.     

How Do I Fit through That Gap? Navigation through Apertures in Adults with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

During everyday life we move around busy environments and encounter a range of obstacles, such as a narrow aperture forcing us to rotate our shoulders in order to pass through. In typically developing individuals the decision to rotate the shoulders is body scaled and this movement adaptation is temporally and spatially tailored to the size of the aperture. This is done effortlessly although it actually involves many complex skills. For individuals with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) moving in a busy environment and negotiating obstacles presents a real challenge which can negatively impact on safety and participation in motor activities in everyday life. However, we have a limited understanding of the nature of the difficulties encountered. Therefore, this current study considered how adults with DCD make action judgements and movement adaptations while navigating apertures. Fifteen adults with DCD and 15 typically developing (TD) controls passed through a series of aperture sizes which were scaled to body size (0.9-2.1 times shoulder width). Spatial and temporal characteristics of movement were collected over the approach phase and while crossing the aperture. The decision to rotate the shoulders was not scaled in the same way for the two groups, with the adults with DCD showing a greater propensity to turn for larger apertures compared to the TD adults when body size alone was accounted for. However, when accounting for degree of lateral trunk movement and variability on the approach, we no longer saw differences between the two groups. In terms of the movement adaptations, the adults with DCD approached an aperture differently when a shoulder rotation was required and then adapted their movement sooner compared to their typical peers. These results point towards an adaptive strategy in adults with DCD which allows them to account for their movement difficulties and avoid collision.     

Effectiveness of using an unskilled model in action observation combined with motor imagery training for early motor learning in elderly people: a preliminary study

Abstract

Aim of the study: To investigate a more available model for the early phase of motor learning after action observation combined with motor imagery training in elderly people. To address the purpose, we focused on a slow, unskilled model demonstrating an occasional error.

Materials and methods: A total of 36 elderly people participated in the current study and were assigned to either the unskilled or skilled model observation groups (n?=?12, respectively), or the control group (n?=?12). The participants in the observation groups observed the assigned a video clip of an unskilled or skilled model demonstrating a ball rotation task. During the observation, the participants were instructed to imagine themselves as the person in the video clip. The participants in the control group read a scientific paper during the equivalent period of action observation and motor imagery. We measured ball rotation performance (the time required for five rotations, the number of ball drops) in pre- and post-intervention (observation combined with motor imagery training for intervention groups or reading for control group).

Results: Ball rotation performance (ball rotation speed) significantly improved in the unskilled model observation group compared to the other two groups.

Conclusions: Intervention for action observation using unskilled model combined with motor imagery was effective for improving motor performance during the early phase of motor learning.     

矫形鞋垫联合踝关节持续被动运动用于偏瘫型脑瘫患儿步态稳定性控制的临床研究

目的:探讨矫形鞋垫联合踝关节持续被动运动(CPM)用于偏瘫型脑瘫患儿姿势控制的临床价值。方法:选择2016年6月~2017年6月在我院康复科就诊的56例偏瘫型脑瘫患儿,随机均分成两组。对照组患儿每日行物理治疗(PT)训练,每次共30分钟,每日一次,每周五次。治疗组患儿常规物理治疗训练同对照组,并同时运用足部生物力学矫形技术及踝关节CPM治疗,每次15分钟,角度恒定为-45-45度,每天一次。两组治疗疗程为三个月。治疗结束后,比较两组患儿的儿平衡能力总有效率、GMFM(E功能区评分)、肢体运动功能、踝关节张力及踝关节活动范围的改善情况。结果:两组患儿平衡能力总有效率(显效率与有效率之和)分别为92.9%和67.9%,治疗组明显优于对照组(P0.05)。治疗组治疗后GMFM(E功能区评分比较)明显高于对照组(P0.01),患侧肢体运动功能改善、踝关节张力、踝关节活动范围改善情况均明显优于对照组(P0.05)。结论:矫形鞋垫联合踝关节CPM明显有助于偏瘫型脑瘫患儿姿势控制的治疗。     

Motor representation of actions in children with autism

Background

Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are frequently hampered by motor impairment, with difficulties ranging from imitation of actions to recognition of motor intentions. Such a widespread inefficiency of the motor system is likely to interfere on the ontogeny of both motor planning and understanding of the goals of actions, thus delivering its ultimate effects on the emergence of social cognition.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We investigate the organization of action representation in 15 high functioning ASD (mean age: 8.11) and in two control samples of typically developing (TD) children: the first one, from a primary school, was matched for chronological age (CA), the second one, from a kindergarten, comprised children of much younger age (CY). We used nine newly designed behavioural motor tasks, aiming at exploring three domains of motor cognition: 1) imitation of actions, 2) production of pantomimes, and 3) comprehension of pantomimes. The findings reveal that ASD children fare significantly worse than the two control samples in each of the inspected components of the motor representation of actions, be it the imitation of gestures, the self-planning of pantomimes, or the (verbal) comprehension of observed pantomimes. In the latter task, owing to its cognitive complexity, ASD children come close to the younger TD children’s level of performance; yet they fare significantly worse with respect to their age-mate controls. Overall, ASD children reveal a profound damage to the mechanisms that control both production and pre-cognitive “comprehension” of the motor representation of actions.

Conclusions/Significance

Our findings suggest that many of the social cognitive impairments manifested by ASD individuals are likely rooted in their incapacity to assemble and directly grasp the intrinsic goal-related organization of motor behaviour. Such impairment of motor cognition might be partly due to an early damage of the Mirror Neuron Mechanism (MNM).     

本体感觉训练联合肌内效贴对前交叉韧带断裂术后患者肢体肿胀程度、运动平衡功能及生活质量的影响

摘要 目的：观察本体感觉训练联合肌内效贴对前交叉韧带断裂术后患者肢体肿胀程度、运动平衡功能及生活质量的影响。方法：选择2019年1月-2022年1月期间我院接收的120例行前交叉韧带断裂术患者,按照信封抽签法将患者分为对照组（60例,本体感觉训练）和研究组（60例,对照组的基础上接受肌内效贴干预）。对比两组优良率、肢体肿胀程度、运动平衡功能及生活质量。结果：研究组的优良率高于对照组（P<0.05）。两组治疗2周后、治疗4周后肢体肿胀值减小,且研究组低于对照组（P<0.05）。两组治疗4周后Fugl-Meyer运动量表（FMA）、Berg 评分量表（BBS）评分升高,且研究组高于对照组（P<0.05）。两组治疗4周后总体/精神健康、生理/社会功能、活力、躯体疼痛和情感/生理职能评分升高,且研究组高于对照组（P<0.05）。结论：本体感觉训练联合肌内效贴对前交叉韧带断裂术后患者,可有效减轻肢体肿胀程度,改善运动平衡功能及生活质量,效果显著。     

Tracking Plasticity: Effects of Long-Term Rehearsal in Expert Dancers Encoding Music to Movement

Our knowledge of neural plasticity suggests that neural networks show adaptation to environmental and intrinsic change. In particular, studies investigating the neuroplastic changes associated with learning and practicing motor tasks have shown that practicing such tasks results in an increase in neural activation in several specific brain regions. However, studies comparing experts and non-experts suggest that experts employ less neuronal activation than non-experts when performing a familiar motor task. Here, we aimed to determine the long-term changes in neural networks associated with learning a new dance in professional ballet dancers over 34 weeks. Subjects visualized dance movements to music while undergoing fMRI scanning at four time points over 34-weeks. Results demonstrated that initial learning and performance at seven weeks led to increases in activation in cortical regions during visualization compared to the first week. However, at 34 weeks, the cortical networks showed reduced activation compared to week seven. Specifically, motor learning and performance over the 34 weeks showed the typical inverted-U-shaped function of learning. Further, our result demonstrate that learning of a motor sequence of dance movements to music in the real world can be visualized by expert dancers using fMRI and capture highly significant modeled fits of the brain network variance of BOLD signals from early learning to expert level performance.