Executive functioning, ADHD symptoms and resting state functional connectivity in children with perinatal stroke.

Perinatal stroke describes a group of focal, vascular brain injuries that occur early in development, often resulting in lifelong disability. Two types of perinatal stroke predominate, arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) and periventricular venous infarction (PVI). Though perinatal stroke is typically considered a motor disorder, other comorbidities commonly exist including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and deficits in executive function.

Functional Neuroplasticity and Motor Skill Change Following Gross Motor Interventions for Children With Diplegic Cerebral Palsy.

Background: Gross motor intervention designs for children with diplegic cerebral palsy (DCP) require an improved understanding of the children's potential for neuroplasticity.

Objective: To identify relations between functional neuroplasticity and motor skill changes following gross motor interventions for children with DCP.

Methods: There were 17 participants with DCP (ages 8-16 years; 6 females; Gross Motor Function Classification System Level I [n = 9] and II [n = 8]).

Structural brain network lateralization across childhood and adolescence.

Developmental lateralization of brain function is imperative for behavioral specialization, yet few studies have investigated differences between hemispheres in structural connectivity patterns, especially over the course of development. The present study compares the lateralization of structural connectivity patterns, or topology, across children, adolescents, and young adults. We applied a graph theory approach to quantify key topological metrics in each hemisphere including efficiency of information transfer between regions (global efficiency), clustering of connections between regions (clustering coefficient [CC]), presence of hub-nodes (betweenness centrality [BC]), and connectivity between nodes of high and low complexity (hierarchical complexity [HC]) and investigated changes in these metrics during development.

Structural connectivity of the sensorimotor network within the non-lesioned hemisphere of children with perinatal stroke.

Perinatal stroke occurs early in life and often leads to a permanent, disabling weakness to one side of the body. To test the hypothesis that non-lesioned hemisphere sensorimotor network structural connectivity in children with perinatal stroke is different from controls, we used diffusion imaging and graph theory to explore structural topology between these populations. Children underwent diffusion and anatomical 3T MRI.

Frontal interhemispheric structural connectivity, attention, and executive function in children with perinatal stroke.

Perinatal stroke affects ∼1 in 1000 births and concomitant cognitive impairments are common but poorly understood. Rates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are increased 5-10× and executive dysfunction can be disabling. We used diffusion imaging to investigate whether stroke-related differences in frontal white matter (WM) relate to cognitive impairments.

Structural and functional connectivity of motor circuits after perinatal stroke: A machine learning study.

Developmental neuroplasticity allows young brains to adapt via experiences early in life and also to compensate after injury. Why certain individuals are more adaptable remains underexplored. Perinatal stroke is an ideal human model of neuroplasticity with focal lesions acquired near birth in a healthy brain.

Comparison of sports skills movement training to lower limb strength training for independently ambulatory children with cerebral palsy: a randomised feasibility trial.

Purpose: The best approach to delivering advanced gross motor skills interventions for children with cerebral palsy (CP) is unknown. This study's aim was to assess trial feasibility and compare effectiveness of sports skills movement training (, []) to conventional lower limb strength training ( []) for improving advanced gross motor skills of children with CP.

Methods: Twenty independently ambulatory children with CP (mean age 12 ± 2.

Opening the Door to Physical Activity for Children With Cerebral Palsy: Experiences of Participants in the BeFAST or BeSTRONG Program.

This study explored children's experiences of participating in one-to-one physical training programs to identify how programs can best promote physical activity participation for children with cerebral palsy. A qualitative descriptive design with self-determination theory was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 children with cerebral palsy, age 8-14 years, who participated in a fundamental-movement-skills or lower-limb strength-training program.

Comparison of a robotic-assisted gait training program with a program of functional gait training for children with cerebral palsy: design and methods of a two group randomized controlled cross-over trial.

Background: Enhancement of functional ambulation is a key goal of rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy (CP) who experience gross motor impairment. Physiotherapy (PT) approaches often involve overground and treadmill-based gait training to promote motor learning, typically as free walking or with body-weight support. Robotic-assisted gait training (RAGT), using a device such as the LokomatPro, may permit longer training duration, faster and more variable gait speeds, and support walking pattern guidance more than overground/treadmill training to further capitalize on motor learning principles.

Postural adjustments to support surface perturbations during reaching depend upon body-target reference frame.

We investigated whether target position relative to the body modifies the postural adjustments produced when reaching movements are perturbed by unexpected displacements of the support surface. Eleven healthy participants reached to a target located at their midline, acromion height and at 130% their outstretched arm length. They stood on two force plates mounted on a moveable platform, capable of delivering horizontal forward ramp-and-hold perturbations.

Postural configuration does not alter unperturbed or perturbed reach movement kinematics.

This study investigated whether postural configuration has a significant effect upon the kinematics of arm movements when humans performed unconstrained reach movements to visual targets. Eight subjects were required to reach to static visual targets (unperturbed REACH movements) or correct reach movements when the position of a target unexpectedly changed during the execution of a planned movement (perturbed reaches, or online corrections, OC). Subjects were required to execute REACH and OC movements in sitting and standing (STAND) positions.