•Cortical activity modulates motor behavior from early fetal age onwards.•At early age motor behavior is characterized by variation and limited adaptation.•A major transformation in motor development ...occurs at 3–4 months post-term.•Transformation coincides with subplate dissolution in sensory and motor cortices.•After 3–4 months post-term, movement variation starts to serve adaptation.
This review summarizes early human motor development. From early fetal age motor behavior is based on spontaneous neural activity: activity of networks in the brainstem and spinal cord that is modulated by supraspinal activity. The supraspinal activity, first primarily brought about by the cortical subplate, later by the cortical plate, induces movement variation. Initially, movement variation especially serves exploration; its associated afferent information is primarily used to sculpt the developing nervous system, and less to adapt motor behavior. In the next phase, beginning at function-specific ages, movement variation starts to serve adaptation. In sucking and swallowing, this phase emerges shortly before term age. In speech, gross and fine motor development, it emerges from 3 to 4 months post-term onwards, i.e., when developmental focus in the primary sensory and motor cortices has shifted to the permanent cortical circuitries. With increasing age and increasing trial-and-error exploration, the infant improves its ability to use adaptive and efficicient forms of upright gross motor behavior, manual activities and vocalizations belonging to the native language.
Independent locomotion provides autonomy for infants, drastically changing their relationship with their surroundings. From a dynamic systems perspective, the interaction between environment, tasks, ...and organismic constraints leads to the emergence of new behaviors over time. This 6-month longitudinal study aimed to verify associations between the emergence of locomotor behaviors and infants' characteristics, developmental status, parental beliefs, and practices. This observational study remotely assessed 37 full-term Brazilian infants aged 5 to 15 months, divided into two groups (G1: 5 to 11 months, n = 19; and G2: 9 to 15 months, n = 18). The motor developmental status of infants was closely associated with the emergence of behaviors (p < 0.05). Infants in G2 whose parents agreed with the statement "In typically developing infants, motor development occurs naturally and there is no need to actively stimulate it" started to walk later than those whose parents disagreed. Infants whose parents expected them to walk around 10–11 months walked earlier compared to those expected to walk after 11 months (G2, p = 0.011). Infants in G2 with a high frequency of staying in the supine position started to walk, both with and without support, later than those with a low frequency (p < 0.05). For infants in G1 with a high frequency of playing on the floor, locomotion (p = 0.041) and crawling on hands-and-knees (p = 0.007) started sooner compared to those with a low frequency. Staying in the cradle more frequently was related to a later emergence of supported walk (p = 0.046) among infants in G2. The emergence of locomotor behaviors is associated with motor developmental status, the surfaces where the infant plays, and body position. Parental beliefs and expectations influence how infants are stimulated and, consequently, the emergence of independent walking.
•Infants were filmed during free play at home each 15 days over 6 months of follow-up.•The developmental status was closely related to the emergence of locomotor behaviors.•To place the infant to play on the floor at 5 months old favors locomotion onset.•Parental beliefs were related to the emergence age of the upright locomotion.•Walking onset was associated with placing the infant in supine position and cradle.
Introducción: La psicomotricidad ha tomado un papel relevante en el ámbito educativo, pues el desarrollo motor está estrechamente relacionado con el aprendizaje (Berruezo y Adelantado, 2000). Una ...buena interiorización del esquema corporal permitirá una adecuada construcción de hitos posteriores del desarrollo y la mejora de un equilibrio emocional y personal (Cremades, 2015). Este estudio pretende demostrar que la metodología de Psicomotricidad Vivenciada de Bernard Aucouturier (2004), permite una mejora del retraso madurativo motor en niños de 4 años. MÉTODO: se realizó una intervención cuasi experimental con una fase de pretest, fase de intervención y fase postest con un grupo de 18 niños de 4 años de edad. Para ello, se utilizaron varios instrumentos de carácter cualitativo y cuantitativo: pre-evaluación cualitativa (Hernández, 2015), Escala de Evaluación de la Psicomotricidad en Preescolar (De la Cruz y Mazaira, 1998) (cuantitativa) y cuaderno de campo (cualitativo), utilizado por los investigadores. RESULTADOS: el modelo de Psicomotricidad Vivenciada procura una mejora significativa del desarrollo motor en la muestra analizada, sobre todo, en el equilibrio, la coordinación de brazos y piernas y el esquema corporal (en sí mismos y respecto a los demás). DISCUSIÓN: las mejoras obtenidas en el desarrollo motor convergen con las mejoras afectivas y actitudinales que hemos observado de manera individual en los niños, favoreciendo e impregnando al resto del grupo. Palabras clave: educación infantil, prevención, psicomotricidad, psicomotricidad vivenciada, retraso. Abstract. Introduction: Psychomotricity has taken on an important role in the educational field, since motor development is closely related to learning (Berruezo & Adelantado, 2000). A good internalization corporal scheme will allow an adequate construction of later development milestones and the improvement of an emotional and personal balance (Cremades, 2015). This study aims to demonstrate that Bernard Aucouturier's (2004) Psychomotor Practice methodology allows an improvement in motor development backwardness in 4-year-old children. METHOD: A quasi-experimental intervention was carried out with a pre-test phase, an intervention phase and a post-test phase with a group of 18 children of 4-year-old. For this, qualitative and quantitative instruments were used: qualitative pre-assessment (Hernández, 2015), Preschool Psychomotricity Assessment Scale (De la Cruz & Mazaira, 1998) (quantitative) and field notebook (qualitative), used by researchers. RESULTS: the Experienced Psychomotricity model seeks a significant improvement in motor development in the analyzed sample, especially in balance, arm and leg coordination, and body schema (in themselves and with respect to others). DISCUSSION: the improvements obtained in motor development converge with the affective and attitudinal improvements that we have observed individually in children, favoring and impregnating the rest of the group. Keywords: pre-school education, prevention, psychomotor activity, practice psychomotor; backwardness.
The issue of obesity in childhood will be associated with deficits in rudimentary, basic, and specialized skills, as well as a drop in physical literacy. This problem can be the beginning of delay in ...other motor skills in later ages, so that it strengthens the negative cycle of obesity-inactivity-poor motor development, which reciprocally causes obesity to decrease in motor development and decrease in motor development causes obesity. Regardless of the physical effects, obesity and poor motor development cause the decline of psychological functions of obese children such as self-confidence and self-esteem. The issue that is the basis of the trainers' action for the diagnosis of obesity is the the body mass index, which cannot seem logical due to the importance of body composition. Therefore, it is essential that teachers and trainers do not have classifications based on the child's weight and body mass index calculation, because the state of muscles, body water and fat percentage are important in calculating this overall weight value. In response to the main question why the body mass index as an accepted measure of obesity cannot predict the motor development of obese children, it can be stated that absolute body weight index is a combination of muscles, fat percentage, body water and skeletal system. For instance, a child who has a body mass index between 20 and 25 has a good physical condition according to diagnostic criteria, but there are cases where the same body mass index can be misleading and the child is obese. For example, a child has sarcopenic obesity and has lost part of his muscles and replaced it with fat, so when we want to check the condition of children's obesity, the best ideal is to check their body composition in order to have a more accurate measure for predicting the motor development process of children.
The first year of life is punctuated by explosions of growth in motor and language abilities. This is not a coincidence. The notion of developmental cascades provides a conceptual framework for ...considering ways in which advances in one component of a developing system can exert far-reaching and lasting change in other domains. In this article, I review evidence for the cascading effects of early motor advances on the developing communication and language system and describe how differences in the timing of these advances may have consequences for these effects.
•Motor and executive function skills are positively associated in early childhood.•Motor development is a naturalistic form of goal-directed activity.•Motor learning activities may support executive ...function skills in early childhood.•Increased physical activity does not support executive function skills in early childhood.
Because of executive function (EF) skills’ importance for social, emotional, and academic success, there is strong interest in supporting their development in early childhood. Efforts to increase the duration and/or intensity of children’s physical activity have been proposed as one promising approach. However, this proposal has been a source of debate, and too few studies have been conducted with young children to support recommendations in early childhood. Here, we provide a critical review of relevant studies. A recurring idea is that children’s fine and gross motor development represents a sequence of goal-directed activities that serve to engage and practice their EF skills. The development of children’s motor skills appears more strongly associated with EF skill development in early childhood than the frequency, duration, or intensity of their physical activity. We integrate these ideas into the larger literature and consider implications for research and practice.
To determine prospectively gross and fine motor development of children <2 years of age, who undergo LTX.
In this prospective study, children aged <2 years who undergo LTX were tested using the motor ...scale of the Bayley Scales of infant and toddler development, 3rd edition Dutch version. Testing was done during screening pre‐ and post‐LTX: at the time of hospital discharge (2‐6 weeks), at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Z‐scores were calculated.
Twenty‐nine children participated in this study, 14 boys, median age 6 months, at screening for LTX. Gross motor skills were delayed pre‐LTX (Z‐score −1.3). Fine motor skills were normal (Z‐score 0.3). Immediately post‐LTX, both skills reduced, and at 1 year post‐LTX, gross motor skills Z‐score was −1.0 and fine motor skills Z‐score 0.0.
Both gross and fine motor skills Z‐scores decline post‐LTX and tend to recover after 1 year, gross motor skills to low normal and fine motor skills to normal levels. Monitoring of gross motor development and attention on stimulating gross motor development post‐LTX remains important, to enable participation in physical activity and sport for health benefits later in life.
•Clamping of the umbilical cord during caesarean delivery of piglets recapitulates moderate birth asphyxia (ASP) of human neonates.•ASP impairs the early development of motor functions.•ASP induces ...death of CTIP2+-neurons in the motor cortex and caudate and arrests the maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells.•Dietary plasma mitigates ASP-induced encephalopathy by induction of anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and neuroprotective mechanisms.•Dietary plasma may be a source of neuroprotective bioactive elements.
Newborns exposed to birth asphyxia transiently experience deficient blood flow and a lack of oxygen, potentially inducing hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and subsequent neurological damage. Immunomodulatory components in plasma may dampen these responses. Using caesarean-delivered pigs as a model, we hypothesized that dietary plasma supplementation improves brain outcomes in pigs exposed to birth asphyxia. Mild birth asphyxia was induced by temporary occlusion of the umbilical cord prior to caesarean delivery. Motor development was assessed in asphyxiated (ASP) and control (CON) piglets using neonatal arousal, physical activity and gait test parameters before euthanasia on Day 4. The ASP pigs exhibited increased plasma lactate at birth, deficient motor skills and increased glial fibrillary acidic protein levels in CSF and astrogliosis in the putamen. The expression of genes related to oxidative stress, inflammation and synaptic functions was transiently altered in the motor cortex and caudate nucleus. The number of apoptotic cells among CTIP2-positive neurons in the motor cortex and striatal medium spiny neurons was increased, and maturation of preoligodendrocytes in the internal capsule was delayed. Plasma supplementation improved gait performance in the beam test, attenuated neuronal apoptosis and affected gene expression related to neuroinflammation, neurotransmission and antioxidants (motor cortex, caudate). We present a new clinically relevant animal model of moderate birth asphyxia inducing structural and functional brain damage. The components in plasma that support brain repair remain to be identified but may represent a therapeutic potential for infants and animals after birth asphyxia.
La noción de competencia acuática en la infancia es un enfoque de análisis emergente que demanda de mayor apoyo científico. El presente estudio se enmarca en el ámbito del desarrollo motor y tiene ...impacto en el área del aprendizaje. Mediante una aproximación cualitativa, descriptiva e intrasujeto; el estudio observa cuatro díadas bebés-adulto (n = 4) durante un programa cuatrimestral de natación para bebés. Para ello se diseña un sistema ad-hoc de categorías de observación del comportamiento motor acuático del bebé y la actividad conjunta de la díada. El sistema de categorías se diseña sin habilidades apriorísticas a observar y de acuerdo con niveles crecientes de dificultad a través de dimensiones: respiración y equilibrio. Los resultados indican que es posible observar la evolución de la competencia y describir su naturaleza social sin observar habilidades. La aproximación del estudio sugiere posibilidades emergentes de análisis de los procesos de aprendizaje y desarrollo motor.
Abstract. The water competence in childhood is an emerging study approach that demands further scientific support. This work is framed in the field of motor development and has an impact on the study of learning. Through a qualitative, descriptive and intrasubject approach; the present study looks at four infant-adult dyads (n = 4) during a four-month baby-swimming program. Thus, an ad-hoc system of categories, built for observing the baby's water motor behaviour and the joint activity of the dyad, is used. The category system is designed without deductive skills to observe and, instead, is based on increasing levels of difficulty of aquatic motor behaviour in two dimensions: breathing and balance. Results indicate that it is possible to observe the evolution of the competence and describe it in its social nature without the observation of skills. The study suggests emerging approaches to analyse motor learning and development in other motor learning environments.
Abstract Background The cut-off date in the education system causes a relative age difference, with developmental advantages for children who are born on the “early side” of the cut-off date and ...disadvantages for those born later, which is known as the relative age effect (RAE). Very few studies have examined whether there is a RAE on the development of fundamental movement skills (FMSs) in preschool children, and no studies have been conducted in China. The purpose of this study is to identify whether a RAE exists on FMS in Chinese preschool children, comparing RAEs according to gender and age. Methods From a total of 378 invited preschool children regularly registered at one Chinese kindergarten, a total of 288 healthy and typically developing preschoolers (4.33 ± 0.84 years-old; 56.6% boys) were included in this study. All children were required to take part in anthropometry and FMS assessments. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied to examine the difference in each of the FMS items across quarter categories, year and gender groups, controlling for body mass index (BMI). Results For the overall sample, the data show the significant main effects on the quarter of birth factor in locomotor skills (LC; F (3, 265) = 2.811, p = 0.04, η p 2 = 0.031), object control skills (OB; F (3, 265) = 6.319, p = 0.04, η p 2 = 0.031), and total test score (TTS; F (3, 265) = 5.988, p = 0.001, η p 2 = 0.063). There were also significant differences in the age effect on all the domains of FMS ( F LC (2, 265) = 100.654, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.432; F OB (2, 265) = 108.430, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.450; F TTS (2, 265) = 147.234, p < 0.001, η p 2 = 0.526) but a gender effect only in LC ( F (1, 265) = 20.858; p < 0.001; η p 2 = 0.073). For gender and quarter of birth groups, RAEs in LC only exists in girls. Moreover, regarding age and quarter of birth factors, RAEs are only found at younger ages. Conclusions This study suggests the existence of RAEs in the FMS of Chinese preschool children. Teachers need to be aware of the effect of RAEs on the FMS when approaching development, evaluation, and teaching approaches in preschools.
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