Developmental integration of posture and manual control

描述（由申请人提供）：儿童通常被描述为具有嘈杂或高度可变的运动系统。虽然姿势系统中的随机噪声可能不利于其他目标导向行为的成功完成，但成人的文献表明，一定量的可变性可能是功能性的。具体而言，姿势的变化可以是探索性的，提供有关当前任务约束下行动的可能性的信息，并允许个体在面对可能的扰动时具有适应性。姿势变异的作用及其与不同发育阶段的手动行为的相互作用在很大程度上是未知的。在这个项目中，不同年龄组的儿童的姿势动力学将被评估为不同精度的手动任务进行。还将进行其他研究，其中操纵任务期间提供的姿势要求和视觉信息。拟议的研究结果将提供洞察不同年龄的儿童的能力，以调节他们的姿势系统的动态任务的限制被操纵。这种能力在正常发育中可能很重要，并可能有助于进一步了解发育协调障碍的发病。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Children are typically described as having a noisy or highly variable motor system. Although random noise in the postural system may be detrimental to the successful completion of other goal directed behaviors, literature in adults has shown that some amount of variability may be functional. Specifically, postural variability can be exploratory, providing information about possibilities for action given current task constraints, and allows the individual to be adaptable in the face of possible perturbations. The role of postural variability and its interaction with manual behaviors at different stages of development is largely unknown. In this project the postural dynamics of children in different age groups will be assessed as manual tasks of varying precision are performed. Additional studies will also be performed where the postural requirements and the visual information provided during the task are manipulated. Results of the proposed research will provide insight into the ability of children of different ages to modulate the dynamics of their postural system as task constraints are manipulated. This ability may be important in normal development, and may help further understand the onset of developmental coordination disorders.