Children's component selection with varying degrees of training

With the component selection measure developed by Hale and Morgan (1973), children's use of selective attention was assessed at six levels of learning, ranging from undertraining to overtraining, and this function was examined at each of ages 4, 8, and 12. It was found that, as the children learned the task, they maintained a relatively wide focus of attention, acquiring information about both features of the stimuli, color and shape. Thus, contrary to the model under investigation, the children did not exercise a high degree of selectivity as they approached mastery of the task; nor did overtraining produce the expected “broadening” of attention, as the children acquired little stimulus information beyond the point at which criterion had been reached. The data were interpreted to be more consistent with a model that assumes the bulk of stimulus learning to occur prior to task mastery.     

Fundamental motor skill,physical activity,and sedentary behavior in socioeconomically disadvantaged kindergarteners

Guided by Stodden et al’s conceptual model, the main purpose of the study was to examine the relation between fundamental motor skills (FMS; locomotor and objective control skills), different intensity levels of physical activity (light PA [LPA], moderate-to-vigorous PA [MVPA], and vigorous PA[VPA]), and sedentary behavior (SB) in socioeconomically disadvantaged kindergarteners. A prospective design was used in this study and the data were collected across the 2013–2014 academic school year. Participants were 256 (129 boys; 127 girls; M_age = 5.37, SD = 0.48) kindergarteners recruited from three public schools in the southern United States. Results found that FMS were significantly related to LPA, MVPA, VPA, and SB. Regression analyses indicate that locomotor skills explained significant variance for LPA (6.4%; p < .01), MVPA (7.9%; p < .001), and VPA (5.3%; p < .01) after controlling for weight status. Mediational analysis supports the significant indirect effect of MVPA on the relation between FMS and SB (95% CI: [?0.019, ?0.006]). Adequate FMS development during early childhood may result in participating in more varied physical activities, thus leading to lower risk of obesity-related behaviors.     

Construct validity of the pictorial scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence

ObjectivesThe Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence (PMSC) assesses young children's perceptions of movement skill competence: 12 perceived Fundamental Movement skills (FMS; based on the Test of Gross Motor Development 2nd edition TGMD-2) and six Active Play activities (e.g. cycling). The main study purpose was to assess whether children's movement perception scores fit within the imposed constructs of Active Play and FMS by testing the latent structure and construct validity of the PMSC.DesignConstruct validation study.MethodsParticipants were part of the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT). The latent structure of the PMSC responses was tested through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (BSEM). Internal consistency was conducted using polychoric correlation-based alphas.ResultsThe 303 children (boys 53.1%, n = 161) were aged 4–5 years (M = 4.7, SD = 0.46). The final model had an 18 item 3-factor solution with good fit indices (using CFA and BSEM). Factors were: Active Play (Bike, Board Paddle, Climb, Skate/Blade, Scooter, and Swim), Object Control – Hand Skills (Bounce, Catch, Hit, Throw), and FMS skills with a leg action (Gallop, Hop, Jump, Leap, Run, Step Slide, Kick, Roll). Alpha reliability values were: Active Play (0.78), Object Control-Hand Skills (0.76) and FMS-Dynamic Leg (0.84).ConclusionYoung children can distinguish between movement perceptions. The factors reflect the hypothesized structure in terms of FMS being distinguished from Active Play. Further research should investigate how and if these constructs change in children over time.     

Evidence of muscular adaptations within four weeks of barbell training in women

We investigated the time course of neuromuscular and hypertrophic adaptations associated with only four weeks of barbell squat and deadlift training. Forty-seven previously untrained women (mean ± SD, age = 21 ± 3 years) were randomly assigned to low volume training (n = 15), moderate volume training (n = 16), and control (n = 16) groups. The low and moderate volume training groups performed two and four sets, respectively, of five repetitions per exercise, twice a week. Testing was performed weekly, and included dual X-ray absorptiometry and vastus lateralis and rectus femoris B-mode ultrasonography. Bipolar surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were detected from the vastus lateralis and biceps femoris during isometric maximal voluntary contractions of the leg extensors. Significant increases in lean mass for the combined gynoid and leg regions for the low (+0.68 kg) and moderate volume (+0.47 kg) groups were demonstrated within three weeks. Small-to-moderate effect sizes were shown for leg lean mass, vastus lateralis thickness and pennation angle, and peak torque, but EMG amplitude was unaffected. These findings demonstrated rapid muscular adaptations in response to only eight sessions of back squat and deadlift training in women despite the absence of changes in agonist–antagonist EMG amplitude.     

Adaptation of lower limb movement patterns when maintaining performance in the presence of muscle fatigue

Adaptations in lower limb movement patterns were examined when performance was maintained during a fatiguing repetitive loading task. Forty recreationally active male and female participants performed single-leg hopping to volitional exhaustion at 2.2 Hz to a submaximal height. Spatio-temporal characteristics, mechanical characteristics and variability of the knee-ankle and hip-knee joint couplings were determined at 20% increments during the duration of the hopping task. Variability of the knee-ankle and hip-knee couplings in the flexion/extension axis significantly increased during the loading and propulsion phases during the hopping task (p < 0.05). Performance (vertical stiffness, hopping frequency and height) did not change significantly during the task (p > 0.05), however foot contact time increased progressively during this task (p < 0.05) and maximum hop height significantly decreased after the task (p < 0.05). The observed increase in variability between adjoining lower limb segments demonstrated the ability of the neuromotor system to adapt and maintain performance even with the onset of fatigue. This finding highlights that during the performance of a rapid and repetitive loading activity, performance can be preserved when there is variability in the neuromotor system.     

Visual perceptual and handwriting skills in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

ObjectiveChildren with Developmental Coordination Disorder demonstrate a lack of automaticity in handwriting as measured by pauses during writing. Deficits in visual perception have been proposed in the literature as underlying mechanisms of handwriting difficulties in children with DCD. The aim of this study was to examine whether correlations exist between measures of visual perception and visual motor integration with measures of the handwriting product and process in children with DCD.MethodThe performance of twenty-eight 8–14 year-old children who met the DSM-5 criteria for DCD was compared with 28 typically developing (TD) age and gender-matched controls. The children completed the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS). Group comparisons were made, correlations were conducted between the visual perceptual measures and handwriting measures and the sensitivity and specificity examined.ResultsThe DCD group performed below the TD group on the VMI and TVPS. There were no significant correlations between the VMI or TVPS and any of the handwriting measures in the DCD group. In addition, both tests demonstrated low sensitivity.ConclusionClinicians should execute caution in using visual perceptual measures to inform them about handwriting skill in children with DCD.     

Training compliance control yields improved drawing in 5–11 year old children with motor difficulties

There are a large number of children with motor difficulties including those that have difficulty producing movements qualitatively well enough to improve in perceptuo-motor learning without intervention. We have developed a training method that supports active movement generation to allow improvement in a 3D tracing task requiring good compliance control. Previously, we tested a limited age range of children and found that training improved performance on the 3D tracing task and that the training transferred to a 2D drawing test. In the present study, school children (5–11 years old) with motor difficulties were trained in the 3D tracing task and transfer to a 2D drawing task was tested. We used a cross-over design where half of the children received training on the 3D tracing task during the first training period and the other half of the children received training during the second training period. Given previous results, we predicted that younger children would initially show reduced performance relative to the older children, and that performance at all ages would improve with training. We also predicted that training would transfer to the 2D drawing task. However, the pre-training performance of both younger and older children was equally poor. Nevertheless, post-training performance on the 3D task was dramatically improved for both age groups and the training transferred to the 2D drawing task. Overall, this work contributes to a growing body of literature that demonstrates relatively preserved motor learning in children with motor difficulties and further demonstrates the importance of games in therapeutic interventions.     

Motor,affective and cognitive empathy in adolescence: Interrelations between facial electromyography and self-reported trait and state measures

This study examined interrelations of trait and state empathy in an adolescent sample. Self-reported affective trait empathy and cognitive trait empathy were assessed during a home visit. During a test session at the university, motor empathy (facial electromyography), and self-reported affective and cognitive state empathy were assessed in response to empathy-inducing film clips portraying happiness and sadness. Adolescents who responded with stronger motor empathy consistently reported higher affective state empathy. Adolescents' motor empathy was also positively related to cognitive state empathy, either directly or indirectly via affective state empathy. Whereas trait empathy was consistently, but modestly, related to state empathy with sadness, for state empathy with happiness few trait–state associations were found. Together, the findings provide support for the notion that empathy is a multi-faceted phenomenon. Motor, affective and cognitive empathy seem to be related processes, each playing a different role in the ability to understand and share others' feelings.     

Current knowledge on motor disorders in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Motor symptomatology in autism is currently poorly understood, and still not included in the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic criteria, although some studies suggest the presence of motor disturbances in this syndrome. We provide here a literature review on early motor symptoms in autism, focusing on studies on psychomotor issues (tone, postural control, manual dexterity, handedness, praxis). The approach adopted in research to study altered motor behaviors is generally global and there is no detailed semiology of the motor or neuromotor disorders observed in people with ASD. This global approach does not enable understanding of the neuro-developmental mechanisms involved in ASD. Identification of clinical neuro-psychomotor profiles in reference to a standard would help to better understand the origin and the nature of the disorders encountered in ASD, and would thus give new directions for treatment.