The immediate effects of brain injury in both children and adults are directly related to loss of function in injured regions. In children the effects of early brain injury are further magnified due to distortion of subsequent development, motor learning and skill acquisition. These complications provide a unique opportunity for treatment if changes due to plasticity and distorted learning can be reversed. We have previously shown that children with dystonia due to dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP) have deficits of sensory processing. Our goal is to show that this deficit specifically interferes with motor learning. The opportunity for improved treatment arises from the potential for improved motor learning if we can increase sensory function or awareness through the use of augmented sensory feedback. We combine a newly-developed figure-8 drawing task from the laboratory of Alessandra Pedrocchi in Milan, with a new speed-accuracy learning paradigm from the laboratory of Pietro Mazzoni in New York to show that deficits of sensory and motor behavior interfere with motor learning. We also test a newly-developed self- feeding task where speed depends upon the ability to carry an object in a spoon. We will determine if model- based interventions can improve real-world function and motor skill many years after injury, using a wearable device that enhances sensory information about muscle activity. We propose the following experiments: 1. Perform a multi-center clinical trial to test the effect of one month of wearable sensory feedback on real-world skill learning in children with dyskinetic CP and primary dystonia. We hypothesize that such intervention will permit acquisition of skills in the child's natural environment that wee not previously achievable through unaided practice, but that these effects will be greatest in children with dyskinetic CP for whom sensory deficits are often present from birth. 2. Test the effect of enhanced sensory feedback during drawing movements and a self-feeding task in children with dyskinetic CP, primary dystonia, and controls. We compare 5 days of learning with augmented feedback to 5 days of learning without feedback. These experiments create a theoretical and experimental foundation for a new understanding of how early brain injury interacts with motor development and skill acquisition in childhood. They perform a multi- center clinical trial of a new noninvasive intervention with significant potential for improving function n this population. They provide a detailed quantification in the laboratory of daily changes due to learning, and the sensory-motor mechanisms responsible for these changes. This understanding will lead to new treatment approaches based on correcting deficits that prevent or distort motor learning. These experiments will provide a significant change in the paradigm for understanding childhood motor deficits, by shifting focus from the immediate effect of injury to the long-term effects on development, motor learning, and skill acquisition.

Public Health Relevance

The lack of theoretical and practical understanding of the impact of early brain injury on subsequent motor skill development is a major deficit in knowledge, yet it provides an important opportunity for significant improvement in the treatment of childhood brain injury, such as that seen in cerebral palsy (CP), stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI). We propose to study the impact of decreased sensory function on motor learning in dyskinetic CP and primary dystonia. These experiments will, for the first time, provide a link between the direct effects of brain injury and the long- term effects that result from impaired motor learning and skill acquisition.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD081346-03
Application #
9212825
Study Section
Function, Integration, and Rehabilitation Sciences Subcommittee (CHHD-K)
Program Officer
Nitkin, Ralph M
Project Start
2015-04-01
Project End
2020-01-31
Budget Start
2017-02-01
Budget End
2018-01-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
$438,046
Indirect Cost
$118,660
Name
University of Southern California
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
072933393
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90032
Bazzi, Salah; Ebert, Julia; Hogan, Neville et al. (2018) Stability and predictability in human control of complex objects. Chaos 28:103103
Bertucco, Matteo; Sanger, Terence D (2018) A Model to Estimate the Optimal Layout for Assistive Communication Touchscreen Devices in Children With Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 26:1371-1380
Chiovetto, Enrico; Huber, Meghan E; Sternad, Dagmar et al. (2018) Low-dimensional organization of angular momentum during walking on a narrow beam. Sci Rep 8:95
Borish, Cassie N; Feinman, Adam; Bertucco, Matteo et al. (2018) Comparison of speed-accuracy tradeoff between linear and nonlinear filtering algorithms for myocontrol. J Neurophysiol 119:2030-2035
Van Stan, Jarrad H; Park, Se-Woong; Jarvis, Matthew et al. (2017) Measuring vocal motor skill with a virtual voice-controlled slingshot. J Acoust Soc Am 142:1199
Liyanagamage, Shanie A; Bertucco, Matteo; Bhanpuri, Nasir H et al. (2017) Scaled Vibratory Feedback Can Bias Muscle Use in Children With Dystonia During a Redundant, 1-Dimensional Myocontrol Task. J Child Neurol 32:161-169
Lunardini, Francesca; Casellato, Claudia; Bertucco, Matteo et al. (2017) Children With and Without Dystonia Share Common Muscle Synergies While Performing Writing Tasks. Ann Biomed Eng 45:1949-1962
Huber, Meghan E; Kuznetsov, Nikita; Sternad, Dagmar (2016) Persistence of reduced neuromotor noise in long-term motor skill learning. J Neurophysiol 116:2922-2935
Stein, Peter; Saltzman, Elliot; Holt, Kenneth et al. (2016) Is failed predictive control a risk factor for focal dystonia? Mov Disord 31:1772-1776
Sternad, Dagmar; Hasson, Christopher J (2016) Predictability and Robustness in the Manipulation of Dynamically Complex Objects. Adv Exp Med Biol 957:55-77