Abstract
Motor imagery and internal motor models have been deeply investigated in literature. It is well known that the development of motor imagery occurs during adolescence and it is limited in people affected by cerebral palsy. However, the roles of motor imagery and internal models in locomotion as well as their intertwine received poor attention. In this study we compared the performances of healthy adults (n = 8, 28.1 ± 5.1 years old), children with typical development (n = 8, 8.1 ± 3.8 years old) and children with cerebral palsy (CCP) (n = 12, 7.5 ± 2.9 years old), measured by an optoelectronic system and a trunk-mounted wireless inertial magnetic unit, during three different tasks. Subjects were asked to achieve a target located at 2 or 3 m in front of them simulating their walking by stepping in place, or actually walking blindfolded or normally walking with open eyes. Adults performed a not significantly different number of steps (p = 0.761) spending not significantly different time between tasks (p = 0.156). Children with typical development showed task-dependent differences both in terms of number of steps (p = 0.046) and movement time (p = 0.002). However, their performance in simulated and blindfolded walking (BW) were strictly correlated (R = 0.871 for steps, R = 0.673 for time). Further, their error in BW was in mean only of −2.2% of distance. Also CCP showed significant differences in number of steps (p = 0.022) and time (p < 0.001), but neither their number of steps nor their movement time recorded during simulated walking (SW) were found correlated with those of blindfolded and normal walking (NW). Adults used a unique strategy among different tasks. Children with typical development seemed to be less reliable on their motor predictions, using a task-dependent strategy probably more reliable on sensorial feedback. CCP showed less efficient performances, especially in SW, suggesting an altered locomotor imagery.
Highlights
INTRODUCTION “Go where I’m looking, not look where I’m going”, with this expression Alain Berthoz in his book “The Brain’s sense of movement” claimed the role of gaze-based feed-forward control involved in locomotion along a desired trajectory (Berthoz, 2000)
PARTICIPANTS Three groups of subjects were enrolled in this study: healthy adult group (HAG: 28.1 ± 5.1 years, age range: 23–37 years; 8 subjects: 3 males and 5 females), children clinically defined as typically developing by their pediatrician (TDC: 8.1 ± 3.8 years, age range: 4–14 years; 8 subjects: 4 males and 4 females) and a group formed by (CCP: 7.5 ± 2.9 years, 12 subjects: 7 males and 5 females)
HEALTHY ADULT GROUP (HAG) In healthy adults, neither the number of steps nor the movement time significantly differed between tasks for healthy adults (Table 1)
Summary
INTRODUCTION “Go where I’m looking, not look where I’m going”, with this expression Alain Berthoz in his book “The Brain’s sense of movement” claimed the role of gaze-based feed-forward control involved in locomotion along a desired trajectory (Berthoz, 2000). Two neural mechanisms underlie the mental representation of an action (Ito, 2008; Wolpert and Flanagan, 2010): motor imagery (Beisteiner et al, 1995) and internal motor models (Kawato, 1999). Motor imagery is developed during childhood and it reaches an asymptote during adolescence (SmitsEngelsman and Wilson, 2013). This development has been found altered in children with cerebral palsy (CCP; Mutsaarts et al, 2006, 2007). The development of motor imagery during childhood was hypothesized to be related to the fact that with age, children become less reliant on feedback and more attuned to feedforward control of movements, capturing aspects of motor prediction and involving a-priori information in their motor behaviors (SmitsEngelsman and Wilson, 2013)
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