Neural correlates of the development of reaching in infants at risk for developmental delay

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Project Summary Infants with developmental delay often experience lifelong difficulties in motor, cognitive and social skills. A challenge to providing early physical therapy intervention, however, is that it can be difficult to identify atypical development within the first few months of life due to infants’ limited motor skills and highly variable rates of development and motor skill performance. The aim of this study is to use electroencephalography (EEG) to obtain a neural measure of the development of infant motor control in infants at risk for developmental delay. EEG is a neural imaging technique that non--invasively measures brain activity and has great potential for measuring brain function related to infant motor control. Combining EEG with observation of infant movements will support better identification of infants who will benefit from early therapy intervention. This is a longitudinal, observational study of infants at risk for developmental delay 3--6 months of age. EEG data will be collected monthly as infants learn to reach for objects. EEG measures of interest are amount of activity in (power) and connections (coherence) between parts of the brain involved in executive attention and intention (frontal cortex), motor control (motor cortex), and sensory integration (parietal cortex). The first aim of this project is to determine the developmental trajectory of changes in EEG measures of neuromotor control as infant reaching skills develop in infants at risk for developmental delay. The second aim of this project is to relate EEG measures to behavioral and functional measures of infant neuromotor control. Achieving our overall objective will provide a much- -needed neural biomarker of the development of infant neuromotor control in infants at risk for developmental delay. Results of this study will provide the crucial first step in our effort to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention aimed at improving neuromotor development for infants with or at risk for developmental delay and other neuromotor problems. Optimal early intervention will support the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development mission that all children have the chance to achieve their full potential for healthy and productive lives, free from disease or disability, and to ensure the health, productivity, independence, and well--being of all people through optimal rehabilitation. This research also fits with the mission of the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.