MOTOR SKILL LEARNING IN AUTISM

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目及 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 运动障碍检查常常为了解大脑的发育障碍提供有价值的见解。 这种异常在自闭症患者中有很好的记录（6，13，15，16，22，39，41，43，49，52），事实上，可以追溯到这种疾病的一些原始描述（23）。 通过对这些运动信号的仔细研究，可以更深入地了解自闭症的大脑机制。 通过对运动功能的测试，神经学基础已经被很好地绘制出来，有可能了解自闭症患者受损的神经回路;运动体征也可以作为平行脑系统缺陷的标志，这些缺陷对于控制自闭症特征性的社交和沟通技能障碍很重要。 在自闭症患者的运动检查中最一致观察到的异常是复杂手势的表现缺陷。 这包括那些涉及运动模仿以及其他熟练运动任务的表现（4-6，17，19，22，40，43，45）。 研究人员将这些缺陷统称为“运动障碍”。“在自闭症的发展障碍的背景下，这些缺陷可能是次要的一个基本问题，获得运动技能，即运动技能学习。 事实上，Barger（1961）指出，自闭症儿童有运动问题，因为他们在日常生活中不通过观察其他人来学习（Barger H。Heilpadagogik {治疗教学法}-引用自Miyahara等人，1997年）。 最近，在1994年对“自闭症中的模仿和行动”的评论中，史密斯和布赖森引用了Wing（1969），指出“据报道，患有自闭症的笨拙儿童在学习有组织的运动模式方面特别困难（例如，跳跃和跳舞）”（第267页）。 运动技能学习的缺陷也可能导致有限的运动和行为的发展，从而有助于解释自闭症中的运动刻板印象和其他重复行为的观察结果。 此外，运动技能学习的调查可能有助于阐明自闭症的核心社会和沟通缺陷的原因。 社交和交流手势的发展，例如指向，与另一个人握手，向某人提供安慰，或参与互惠游戏，涉及学习复杂的运动模式。 婴儿作为新生儿年轻从事模仿面部表情和手动手势（9，31，32），它已被假设，完整的运动模仿是至关重要的发展意识的“其他思想”（30）。 换句话说，感知和解释其他人的社交/情感手势的能力的发展也可能取决于学习执行这些手势的能力。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Abnormalities on motor examination have often afforded valuable insights into developmental disorders of the brain. Such abnormalities have been well documented in individuals with autism (6, 13, 15, 16, 22, 39, 41, 43, 49, 52) and, in fact, date back to some of the original descriptions of the disorder (23). Increased insight into the brain mechanisms underlying autism can be gained from careful consideration of these motor signs. By using tests of motor function for which the neurologic basis is well mapped out, it is possible to gain an understanding of the neural circuits impaired in autism; motor signs can also serve as markers for deficits in parallel brain systems important for control of the social and communication skill impairments that characterize autism. Among the most consistently observed abnormalities on motor examination of autistic patients are deficits in performance of complex gestures. This includes those involving motor imitation as well as performance of other skilled motor tasks (4-6, 17, 19, 22, 40, 43, 45). Investigators have collectively referred to these deficits as "dyspraxia." In the context of the developmental disorder of autism, these deficits could be secondary to a fundamental problem with acquiring motor skills, i.e. motor skill learning. Asperger (1961) in fact stated that autistic children have movement problems because they do not learn by watching other people in daily life (Asperger H. Heilpadagogik {Therapeutic pedagogy}-cited in Miyahara et al., 1997). More recently, in a 1994 review of "Imitation and Action In Autism," Smith and Bryson cited Wing (1969), noting that, "clumsy children with autism reportedly have particular difficulty with learning organized patterns of movements (e.g., skipping and dancing)" (p. 267). Deficiencies in motor skill learning could also result in development of a limited repertoire of movements and behaviors and might thereby help to explain observations of motor stereotypies and other repetitive behaviors in autism. Further, investigations of motor skill learning might help to elucidate the cause of the core social and communicative deficits that characterize autism. Development of social and communicative gestures, for instance pointing, shaking another person's hand, offering comfort to someone, or engaging in reciprocal play, involves learning complex patterns of movements. Infants as young as newborns engage in imitation of facial expression and manual gestures (9, 31, 32), and it has been hypothesized that intact motor imitation is crucial in developing a sense of "other minds" (30). In other words, development of the ability to perceive and interpret other's social/emotional gestures may also depend upon the ability to learn to execute those gestures.