Understanding the neural basis of motor development in early childhood

了解幼儿期运动发育的神经基础

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05702
• 负责人: Cheyne, Douglas
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=715753
• 关键词: Understanding; neural; basis; motor; development

The acquisition of skilled motor abilities is one of the most important aspects of human development. However, fine motor control and coordination does not approach adult patterns of stability until after the preschool years, a period when many motor disorders also emerge. Little is known about the underlying neural development of motor control, although it is known that both brain structure and function undergo dramatic changes throughout early childhood. Using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) functional measures in preschool children, we have recently demonstrated that movement-related brain activity does not demonstrate adult-like patterns until after preschool age. Studies in non-human primates have demonstrated that the motor cortex and its associated efferent pathways undergo significant changes in neural organization postnatally. This includes the delayed maturation of phylogenetically newer motor pathways originating in posterior motor cortex with direct connections to spinal motor neurons the corticomotoneuronal (CM) pathways which are critical for fine motor control such as dexterous hand movements. This suggests that the maturation of this motor system also occurs late in human development, yet such changes have never been directly measured, nor is their impact on normal motor development known. In the proposed research, we will combine for the first time, non-invasive neuroimaging techniques (functional MEG and structural MRI) with kinematic measures of fine motor skill assessments in typically developing children from ages 6 to 10 years to identify and track neurological correlates of critical milestones in motor skill development. We will use child-friendly motor tasks to obtain high-resolution MEG motor source imaging, combined with MRI tractography of motor pathways, to directly test the hypothesis that the maturation of motor skills with age (e.g., improved dexterity) will be accompanied by a shift to activation of CM neurons during the control of skilled movements. Importantly, we will track these changes longitudinally within individual children at different stages of development, providing neurophysiological indicators of both typical and delayed motor development. We will also use this information to guide computational modeling of the involved cortical motor networks that can predict the observed changes in electrical brain activity to test and validate physiological models of developmental changes in these networks. Our study will be the first to examine structural brain changes over a critical age period in combination with functional MEG measures, and detailed assessments of general and fine motor function in the same group of children. This will provide a new perspective on the postnatal development of motor abilities in typically developing children, laying the groundwork for a better understanding of both typical and atypical motor skill development during early childhood.

熟练运动能力的获取是人类发展最重要的方面之一。但是，直到学龄前几年，精细的运动控制和协调才能接近成人稳定模式，这一时期也出现了许多运动障碍。对于运动控制的基本神经发育知之甚少，尽管众所周知，大脑结构和功能在整个幼儿期间都会发生巨大变化。使用学龄前儿童中的磁脑摄影（MEG）功能度量，我们最近证明，与运动相关的大脑活动直到学龄前年龄后才显示出类似成人的模式。非人类灵长类动物的研究表明，运动皮层及其相关的传出途径会在产后发生神经组织的显着变化。这包括延迟在后部运动皮层中的系统发育新的运动途径的延迟成熟，并直接连接到脊柱运动神经元的皮质瘤性神经元（CM）途径，这对于精细运动控制至关重要，例如灵巧手动运动。这表明该运动系统的成熟也发生在人类发展的后期，但是这种变化从未直接衡量，也未直接测量其对正常运动发育的影响。在拟议的研究中，我们将首次合并非侵入性神经影像学技术（功能性MEG和结构MRI），并在典型的6至10岁儿童中进行精细运动技能评估的运动学测量，以识别和跟踪运动技能开发中关键里程碑的神经相关性。 我们将使用儿童友好的电机任务来获得高分辨率的MEG电机源成像，并结合MRI的电动路径，直接测试以下假设：在熟练运动控制过程中，将随着年龄的增长（例如改善的敏捷性）的成熟（例如，改善的敏捷性）的成熟（例如改善的敏捷性）将伴随着CM Neurons的激活。重要的是，我们将在不同发育阶段的单个儿童中纵向跟踪这些变化，从而提供典型和延迟运动发育的神经生理学指标。我们还将使用这些信息来指导所涉及的皮质运动网络的计算建模，这些网络可以预测电气大脑活动的观察到的变化，以测试和验证这些网络中发育变化的生理模型。我们的研究将是第一个在关键的年龄期间与功能性MEG度量相结合的结构性大脑变化，并对同一儿童组中的一般运动功能和精细运动功能进行了详细评估。这将提供有关典型发展儿童运动能力后产后发展的新观点，为更好地理解童年时期典型和非典型运动技能的发展奠定了基础。