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: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=738462
• 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。非人类私人的研究表明，运动皮层及其相关的途径会在产后有效地发生神经组织的重大变化。这包括延迟的系统发育新的电路途径源于后运动皮层，直接连接到脊柱运动神经元 - 皮质运动神经元（CM）途径，这对于精细运动控制至关重要，例如非Xtry骨手动运动。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），并在运动技能开发中识别和跟踪关键里程碑的神经系统相关性的通常6至10岁儿童的典型儿童中的精细运动技能评估中进行运动测量。我们将使用对儿童友好的电机任务来获得高分辨率的MEG运动源成像，并结合电动机的MRI曲折，直接测试以下假设：运动技能随着年龄的增长（例如改善的敏捷性），我们还将使用此信息来指导所涉及的皮质运动网络的计算模型，以预测涉及的物质性脑中的物质性能和测试型的电动性化学性能。这些网络中发展变化的模型。我们的研究将是第一个与功能性MEG测量相结合的关键年龄期间结构性大脑变化的研究，以及对同一组儿童中一般运动功能的详细评估。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。