The relationship of muscular endurance and coordination and dexterity with behavioral and neuroelectric indices of attention in preschool children

The LEG program promotes the development of physical activity and fundamental movement skills in preschool children aged 3-6 years: a Delphi study

Background

Effectively addressing physical inactivity and the delayed development of fundamental movement skills in preschool children aged 3-6 years.

Methods

We assembled an interdisciplinary team of experts to systematically validate the LEG program indicators using the Delphi method. This Delphi study thoroughly and meticulously explored the insights of experts in the field to identify the necessary indicators of the LEG program's role in promoting the sustainable development of physical activity and fundamental movement skills in preschoolers aged 3-6. Using a 5-point Likert scale and Wilcoxon statistical techniques, this study examines the dynamic consensus among experts and elucidates potential differences in their views.

Results

After three rounds of Delphi surveys, O1, O2, and O3 reached consensus in all three rounds. T5, I5, I14, C11, and C12 disagreed due to disciplinary differences, while C18 and C22 disagreed due to cultural differences. Finally, the LEG program indicators achieved consensus on three objectives, seven tasks, 17 indicators, and 25 content areas. The results of this study strongly convey the experts' positive perceptions of the LEG program indicators in promoting sustainable development of physical activity and fundamental movement skills in preschoolers aged 3-6 years.

Conclusion

This indicates that the LEG-structured curriculum indicators we developed are scientific and reliable, aligning with the physical and mental development of preschoolers aged 3-6 years. This understanding fosters the in-depth integration of early childhood physical education and preschool education, providing a foundation for enhancing the sustainable development of physical activity and fundamental movement skills among preschoolers aged 3-6 years.

Cortical brain potentials in response to lower limb proprioceptive stimuli in young adults with probable developmental coordination disorder

BACKGROUND

Proprioceptive deficits have been shown to underlie motor problems in individuals with a probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD). Behavioral studies have employed response times to passive limb movement to evaluate proprioceptive function in individuals with pDCD. However, the underlying neural mechanisms involved in the cortical processing of proprioceptive input and its corresponding motor response are unclear. To address this issue, this study aims to investigate neuropsychological and neurophysiological performances using event-related potentials (ERP) on proprioceptive-motor tasks in young adults with pDCD.

METHODS

From a total of 149 young adults screened using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2nd Edition Complete Form (BOT-2), 12 individuals with pDCD were identified (mean age ± SD: 20.50 ± 1.08 years) along with 12 age- and sex-matched controls (mean age ± SD: 20.75 ± 1.05 years). Participants placed their dominant foot on a passive ankle motion apparatus that plantarflexed the ankle at a constant velocity of 22°/s for a total of 75 trials in each proprioceptive condition. With vision occluded, participants had to press the trigger button held by the dominant hand when they sensed the passive motion of the ankle (voluntary response, VR), or purely receive the movement without a voluntary response (non-voluntary response, NVR). Behavioral performances [i.e., mean movement detection time (MDTmean), the standard deviation of the movement detection time (MDTSD)] and ERP indices (i.e., N1, P3 amplitude, and latency) related to ankle kinesthetic stimuli were obtained to determine the proprioceptive-motor function.

RESULTS

The results showed that young adults with pDCD exhibited longer MDTmean (p < 0.001) and MDTSD (p = 0.002) compared to their controls. Electrophysiological indices measured at frontal and central electrode sites, showed that young adults with pDCD exhibited significantly smaller N1 (p = 0.019) and P3 amplitudes (p = 0.032) during VR and NVR conditions. Notably, correlation analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between MDTmean and N1 (r = 0.62, p < 0.001) and P3 amplitudes (r = - 0.55, p = 0.005) in the VR condition in young adults with and without pDCD.

CONCLUSIONS

This study sheds light on the central brain mechanisms underlying proprioceptive-motor deficits in young adults with pDCD. The combined analysis of behavioral and ERP data suggests that longer MDTmean and larger MDTSD in young adults with pDCD are associated with weaker proprioceptive afferent inflow shown by decreased N1 amplitude to the frontal and parietal cortices. Such degraded proprioceptive signals are followed by reduced P3 amplitude, suggesting that young adults with pDCD allocate fewer neural resources to modulate motor processes with regard to proprioceptive stimuli. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the neurophysiological basis of proprioceptive-motor deficits in pDCD and may inform the development of targeted sensorimotor interventions.

Size or Strength? how components of muscle relate to behavioral and neuroelectric measures of executive function independent of aerobic fitness

While previous research has linked cognitive function with resistance exercise, the nuanced links between muscle strength, mass, and neuroelectric function are less understood. Therefore, this study investigated the association of muscle strength and mass with inhibitory control (IC), working memory (WM), and related neuroelectric activity. A total of 123 18-50-year-old adults completed maximal aerobic capacity and strength tests, a body composition scan, and IC and WM tasks while the N2 and P3 components of event-related potentials were recorded. Bivariate correlations revealed aerobic fitness, strength, and mass were associated with behavioral and neuroelectric outcomes. After accounting for age, sex, and aerobic fitness, strength was associated with intra-individual response time variability, accuracy, and P3 latency during WM. Muscle mass was associated with N2 latency during IC. While relationships with behavioral outcomes did not persist after controlling for the opposite muscle outcome, greater strength and mass were related to shorter P3 latency during WM and shorter N2 latency during IC, respectively. These results provide initial evidence that muscle outcomes are associated with executive function and neuroelectric processing speed, suggesting distinct contributions of strength and mass to cognition. This work highlights the significance of maintaining muscle strength and mass alongside aerobic fitness for optimal cognitive health.