Infantswithdevelopmentaldelayoftenexperiencelifelongdifficultiesinmotor,cognitiveand socialskills.Achallengetoprovidingearlyphysicaltherapyintervention,however,isthatitcan bedifficulttoidentifyatypicaldevelopmentwithinthefirstfewmonthsoflifeduetoinfants? limitedmotorskillsandhighlyvariableratesofdevelopmentandmotorskillperformance.
The aim ofthisstudyistouseelectroencephalography(EEG)toobtainaneuralmeasureofthe developmentofinfantmotorcontrolininfantsatriskfordevelopmentaldelay.EEGisaneural imagingtechniquethatnon-invasivelymeasuresbrainactivityandhasgreatpotentialfor measuringbrainfunctionrelatedtoinfantmotorcontrol.CombiningEEGwithobservationof infantmovementswillsupportbetteridentificationofinfantswhowillbenefitfromearlytherapy intervention. Thisisalongitudinal,observationalstudyofinfantsatriskfordevelopmentaldelay3-6months ofage.EEGdatawillbecollectedmonthlyasinfantslearntoreachforobjects.EEGmeasures ofinterestareamountofactivityin(power)andconnections(coherence)betweenpartsofthe braininvolvedinexecutiveattentionandintention(frontalcortex),motorcontrol(motorcortex), andsensoryintegration(parietalcortex).
The firstaim ofthisprojectistodeterminethe developmentaltrajectoryofchangesinEEGmeasuresofneuromotorcontrolasinfantreaching skillsdevelopininfantsatriskfordevelopmentaldelay.
The secondaim ofthisprojectisto relateEEGmeasurestobehavioralandfunctionalmeasuresofinfantneuromotorcontrol. Achievingouroverallobjectivewillprovideamuch-neededneuralbiomarkerofthedevelopment ofinfantneuromotorcontrolininfantsatriskfordevelopmentaldelay.Resultsofthisstudywill providethecrucialfirststepinourefforttoevaluatetheeffectivenessoftherapeuticintervention aimedatimprovingneuromotordevelopmentforinfantswithoratriskfordevelopmentaldelay andotherneuromotorproblems.OptimalearlyinterventionwillsupporttheEuniceKennedy ShriverNationalInstituteofChildHealthandHumanDevelopmentmissionthatallchildrenhave thechancetoachievetheirfullpotentialforhealthyandproductivelives,freefromdiseaseor disability,andtoensurethehealth,productivity,independence,andwell-beingofallpeople throughoptimalrehabilitation.ThisresearchalsofitswiththemissionoftheNationalInstitutes ofNeurologicalDisordersandStroke:toseekfundamentalknowledgeaboutthebrainand nervoussystemandtousethatknowledgetoreducetheburdenofneurologicaldisease.
Astrictly-defined,conservativeestimaterecentlydeterminedthat~9%ofinfantsintheUSareeligibleforearly interventionservices.Thisprojectwillprovideaneuralmeasureofneuromotorcontrolininfantsatriskfor developmentaldelay,afundamentalmissingmeasureforevaluatingearlyinterventionattemptstopromote positiveexperience-dependentneuroplasticchanges.Wewilluseelectroencephalography(EEG)todetermine thedevelopmentaltrajectoryofbrainfunctionchangesacrosstimeasinfantreachingskillsdevelop,relating EEGmeasurestobehavioralmeasuresofqualityofreachingandtostandardizeddevelopmentalassessment ofcognitive,languageandmotordevelopmentininfantsatriskfordevelopmentaldelay.
