Codevelopment of Sensory and Motor Function in Infants At Risk for Cerebral Palsy

项目摘要 早产儿（胎龄<32周）有患脑瘫的风险（AR）。CP是最 一种常见的小儿运动障碍，是由发育过程中大脑区域的损伤引起的。儿童 患有CP的患者有运动和感觉障碍，导致肌肉无力，协调性差， 抓取物体。这些障碍妨碍了功能独立性，减少了社会参与。如何 这些损伤在整个生命过程中产生的原因还不清楚。这部分是由于有限的 了解感觉和运动系统如何在发育过程中相互作用，以组织大脑回路。的 知识的差距是特别成问题的，因为运动和感觉脑区建立的时间 (i.e.在生命的第一年）与大脑高度可塑的时期相吻合。干预措施 患有CP的婴儿正在出现，但对可以有针对性地优化的神经系统知之甚少。 这些新的干预措施。我们将纵向跟踪婴儿的运动和感觉功能， 在典型发育的婴儿和CP的婴儿AR中的脑发育。通过描述 感觉运动功能和大脑激活模式，我们将确定运动恢复的关键机制。 了解这个年龄段运动和感觉发育的机制可以提供潜在的目标 在神经系统高度可塑的时候进行活动依赖性干预。因此，该项目 将提供与NINDS使命相一致的新见解， 改善神经系统疾病的治疗。我的长期目标是发展一个研究项目 使用机械信息来开发基于证据的治疗方法， CP.为了实现这一目标，我在一位 跨学科的研究团队，在与我的培训目标直接相关的内容领域拥有专业知识。我 职业发展活动将侧重于：1）获得实用的专业发展经验， 加速我的职业道路，2）发展感觉运动行为综合测量的专业知识， 婴儿的大脑活动，以及3）获得临床设计和定量分析的坚实基础， 纵向研究。这次培训将使我能够建立一个积极而严格的研究计划， 提高知识水平，减轻儿科脑部疾病的负担。

PROJECT SUMMARY Infants born prematurely (gestational age <32 weeks) are at risk (AR) for cerebral palsy (CP). CP is the most common pediatric movement disorder and is caused by damage to brain areas during development. Children with CP have motor and sensory impairments that cause muscle weakness, poor coordination, and difficulty grasping objects. These impairments prevent functional independence and reduce social participation. How these impairments arise throughout the course of life is not well understood. This is due in part to a limited understanding of how sensory and motor systems interact during development to organize brain circuits. The gap in knowledge is particularly problematic because the timing of motor and sensory brain area establishment (i.e. during the first year of life) coincides with a period in which the brain is highly plastic. Interventions for infants with CP are emerging, but little is known about the neural systems that can be targeted to optimize these novel interventions. We will longitudinally track infant movements and sensory function in relation to brain development in typically developing infants and infants AR for CP. By characterizing the development of sensorimotor function and brain activation patterns, we will identify key mechanisms of motor recovery. Understanding mechanisms of motor and sensory development during this age could provide potential targets for activity-dependent interventions at a time when the nervous systems is highly malleable. Thus, this project will provide novel insights aligned with the NINDS mission of advancing fundamental knowledge about the brain to improve treatments for neurological disease. My long-term goal is to develop a program of research that uses mechanistic information to develop evidence-based therapies that improve function in infants with CP. To accomplish this goal, I have developed a rigorous career development plan under the mentorship of an interdisciplinary team of researchers with expertise in content areas directly related to my training goals. My career development activities will focus on: 1) obtaining pragmatic professional development experiences to accelerate my career path, 2) developing expertise in integrated measurements of sensorimotor behavior and brain activity in infants, and 3) acquiring a strong foundation in clinical design and quantitative analyses for longitudinal studies. This training will position me to establish an active and rigorous research program that will advance knowledge and reduce the burden of pediatric brain disorders.