Sensorimotor function, motivation, and attentional processes are fundamental aspects of behavioral organization during skilled tasks. NASA’s planned expedition to Mars will expose astronauts to space ...radiation (SR) that has the potential to impair performance in mission critical tasks. Impairments in task accuracy and movement kinematics have been previously reported during string-pulling behavior ~7 months after SR exposure. If similar SR-induced sensorimotor deficits emerge at earlier times, then astronauts may have compromised in-flight performance disruptions while performing skilled tasks in critical situations, such as when manipulating controls or performing seat egress. Due to the possibility that such performance losses may compromise mission success, it is critical to determine if sensorimotor, motivation, or attentional deficits occur acutely after SR exposure at a time point that corresponds to in-flight performance. Male Wistar rats were thus exposed to either 10 cGy simplified galactic cosmic radiation (GCRsim), 10 cGy 4Helium (4He), or no radiation at all (Sham), and string-pulling behavior was assessed approximately 72 h later. Following exposure to SR, rats (4He) took more time to approach the string to initiate string-pulling behavior and to pull in the string to reach the Cheerio (4He and GCRsim) relative to Sham rats. 4He-exposed rats also exhibited a greater number of misses and less contacts relative to both Sham and GCRsim-exposed rats. Further, rats exposed to 4He demonstrated less concentrated reach endpoints with both the left and right hands compared to GCR-exposed rats. This work suggests that sensorimotor function and motivation and/or attentional processes were impaired 72 h after 4He-radiation exposure.
•This is the first study to report sensorimotor deficits 72 h following SR exposure.•4He rats exhibited greater impairments influencing approach time, movement accuracy, and kinematics at an acute time point.•This work may suggest that there are ion-specific, temporal gradients for the effects of SR on sensorimotor function.
The present study explored direct and interactive effects between behavioral self-regulation (SR) and two measures of executive function (EF, inhibitory control and working memory), with a fine motor ...measure tapping visuomotor skills (VMS) in a sample of 127 prekindergarten and kindergarten children. It also examined the relative contribution of behavioral SR, EF, and VMS skills for concurrent academic achievement. Results indicated that a measure of working memory (WJ-Working Memory) and a measure of behavioral SR (Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task; HTKS) were directly related to VMS. Differential relations were also examined for prekindergarten and kindergarten children. Results revealed a significant interaction between age and inhibitory control (Day–Night), and an interaction at a trend level between age and working memory suggesting both tasks are more related to VMS skills for younger children. Results also indicated that behavioral SR, EF, and VMS skills were differentially related to the three achievement outcomes. Both behavioral SR and VMS were significantly related to math, behavioral SR, EF, and VMS were significantly related to emergent literacy, and behavioral SR and EF were related to vocabulary scores. Results point to significant relations between behavioral SR and EF with VMS, and how each is related to early academic achievement in preschool and kindergarten.
This study investigated the impact of hands-on participant team teaching (HPTT) on children’s basic handwriting skills. Pre-test and post-test were conducted to measure changes in accuracy, correct ...strokes, consistency, control, grip, independence, and neatness. Initial observations revealed a teaching approach that heavily relied on parental assistance, which raised concerns about the student’s proficiency in basic handwriting skills. This monadic experimental study used seven early childhood pupils at a San Jose City, Philippines public school. Three researchers immersed themselves in teaching the selected students using HPTT, after a pre-test followed by a series of interventions then ended with a post-test. Experts validated rubrics used for scoring the pre-test and post-test. Qualitative data were gathered using semi-structured interviews. The pre-test results indicated a substantial deficit in basic handwriting skills. However, following the implementation of HPTT, the mean post-test score substantially increased, underscoring the effectiveness of the team-teaching intervention. Another critical finding is that guidance and personalized support play a pivotal role. Students who receive consistent help, especially in managing strokes and grips, consistently improve their handwriting abilities. This study highlights the impact of structured interventions and personalized assistance in honing handwriting skills. This highlights the potential of HPTT as an effective teaching method for enhancing children’s basic handwriting skills. The study underscores the importance of innovative and interactive teaching strategies and calls for further research to explore these findings’ long-term effects and generalizability to diverse student populations and settings.
Fine motor skills have long been recognized as an important foundation for development in other domains. However, more precise insights into the role of fine motor skills, and their relationships to ...other skills in mediating early educational achievements, are needed to support the development of optimal educational interventions. We explored concurrent relationships between two components of fine motor skills, Fine Motor Precision and Fine Motor Integration, and early reading and maths development in two studies with primary school children of low-to-mid socio-economic status in the UK. Two key findings were revealed. First, despite being in the first 2 years of primary school education, significantly better performance was found in reading compared to maths across both studies. This may reflect the protective effects of recent national-level interventions to promote early literacy skills in young children in the UK that have not been similarly promoted for maths. Second, fine motor skills were a better predictor of early maths ability than they were of early reading ability. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that fine motor skills did not significantly predict reading ability when verbal short-term memory was taken into account. In contrast, Fine Motor Integration remained a significant predictor of maths ability, even after the influence of non-verbal IQ had been accounted for. These results suggest that fine motor skills should have a pivotal role in educational interventions designed to support the development of early mathematical skills.
Research points toward the role of children's fine motor skills (FMS) in reading development but needs to better control for confounding variables and establish explanatory pathways. Three ...explanations for links between FMS and reading are developed that focus on shared development, functionalism, and shared internalized motor processes. Using a longitudinal cross-lagged design with 120 kindergarteners followed into grade 1, we administered measures of reading, FMS, IQ, executive functions (attention, rapid naming), phonemic awareness, nonword repetition, grapho-motor skills, handwriting, as well as receptive and expressive vocabulary. Structural equation modelling indicated a unique diagonal pathway from kindergarten FMS to grade 1 reading, over and above the control variables. Grapho-motor and handwriting skills did not mediate the link between FMS and reading, as predicted by functionalism. Overall, findings suggest that early FMS are subtly but importantly linked to reading in elementary school. (Verlag).
developing fine motor skills, this is because children feel that motor activities are very boring, teachers do not use interesting/varied learning media and tools, provide guidance and motivation to ...children, good learning atmosphere. less fun and the teacher does not carry out development activities gradually, repeatedly and integratively in accordance with the development of children's fine motor skills. This type of research is Classroom Action Research, which uses two cycles with each cycle consisting of four stages, namely (1) planning, (2) implementation, (3) observation, (4) reflection. The subjects of this study were group B TK Pertiwi Margorejo Tempel Sleman with 15 children, consisting of 9 boys and 6 girls. The object of this research is an effort to improve children's fine motor skills through drawing activities. Data analysis was obtained through demonstration, performance, assignment, observation and documentation. The results of increasing fine motor skills through drawing activities in the first cycle of children who developed very well 71% increased to 85.43%. In the second cycle the fine motor skills of children who developed very well 50% increased to 93.71%..
•We test the contribution of fine motor skills (FMS), writing and typing on reading.•We manipulated both FMS and whether children learned by typing or writing.•Children with experimentally impaired ...FMS learned most when typing.•FMS and working memory predicted reading acquisition.•Findings have implications for educational practice and theory.
Discussions on the contribution of motor skills and processes to learning to read has a long history. Previous work is essentially divided into two separate strands, namely the contributions of fine motor skills (FMS) to reading and the influence of writing versus typing. In the current 2 × 2 × 3 mixed, single-blind, and randomly assigned experiment, we tested both strands together. A total of 87 children learned to decode pseudowords in either typing or writing conditions in which their FMS were either impaired or not. Decoding gains were measured at pretest, posttest, and follow-up, with FMS and working memory included as participant variable predictors. Findings indicated that FMS and working memory predicted decoding gains. Importantly, children performed best when typing if in the impaired FMS condition. Results have implications for motor representation theories of writing and for instruction of children with FMS impairments.
Either Developmental Visuospatial Disorder (DVSD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) present with difficulties in visuospatial processing, even though entailing different degrees of ...impairment. Among the visuospatial domain, spatial perspective taking is essential to interact with the environment and is significantly involved in many daily activities (e.g., environment navigation and spatial orienting). Notwithstanding, no previous studies have investigated this spatial domain in children with DVSD and limited evidence is available regarding DCD. Consistent with a transdiagnostic approach, the first goal of the present study was to compare spatial perspective taking abilities of these groups, also including a control group of not diagnosed peers (ND). Secondly, the role of different fine-motor and visuo-spatial predictors on the spatial perspective taking performance was considered.
A total of 85 participants (DVSD = 26; DCD = 26; ND = 33), aged between 8 and 16 years old, were included in the study. Tasks assessing spatial perspective taking, fine-motor, visual imagery, and mental rotation skills, as well as visuo-spatial working memory were administered.
Overall, our results confirmed weaknesses in spatial perspective taking in both clinical groups, with the DVSD obtaining the lowest scores. Similarities and differences in the predictors accounting for the performance in the spatial perspective taking task emerged, suggesting the possible employment of different fine-motor or visuospatial strategies by group. Findings are discussed considering the potential impact they may have both in research and clinical practice.
The main goal of the current overview is to assess major trends in studying of fine motor skills neurobiology.Materials and techniques. PubMed (MedLine), Embase databases have been used for ...Information search. Search depth is 5 years (2016 – 2021). 12 papers that are more relevant to the topic have been chosen from the primary paper array (n=49). MAXQDA (Verbi Software GmbH, Germany) has been used for content analysis.Results and discussion. The current state is characterized by interdisciplinary integration using both complex experimental laboratory models and modern bionic and information technologies.Conclusion. Contemporary trends in the problem studying is the widespread utilization of information technologies and the development of approaches to neurorehabilitation with motor deficiency consideration. Fine motor skills recovery in patients with CNS lesions requires further interdisciplinary integration.
The development of methods for restoring the motor function of the hand is necessary due to the pronounced negative effect of motor disorders on the patient's quality of life. The aim of the study ...was to increase the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures in patients with impaired fine motor skills in the wrist due to paresis of central origin through the development and practical application of new scientifically based methodology for training fine motor skills. The clinical material of the study was patients with paresis of central origin. It was proved that inclusion of the proposed method for fine motor skills recovery in the program of the medical rehabilitation of the studied category of patients makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures in comparison with using only standard methods.
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