Ontogenesis of laterality in 3- to 10-yr.-old children: increased unimanual independence grounded on improved bimanual motor function.

Underlying sensorimotor factors, such as intermanual coupling, contributing to optimal laterality, long remain immature. Using the handmotor laterality blackboard, developmental change in symmetric bimanual motor function for 413 children in groups of 3 to 10 years of age shows synchronicity increased between groups 3 and 5 years of age; but between groups 5 and 7 years of age, given immature coupling, one hand may still disturb the movements of the other one. Between groups 7 and 9 years of age, the hands gradually stop disturbing each other and move independently and fluently.

Differences in vulnerability between the hemispheres in early childhood and adulthood.

There are more left hemisphere damaged (LHD) than right hemisphere damaged (RHD) children and adults, if one relies on studies of congenital hemiparesis, as well as on those done on groups with radiologically demonstrated perinatal and postnatal unilateral stroke, hemispherectomy or unilateral epilepsy in childhood or adulthood. The main pathogenetic factor seems to be a hemodynamic one, responsible for insufficient blood supply to the left hemisphere (LH). Since adults show a difference in the same direction as children, the blood supply factor to the left internal carotid artery would seem to be the crucial factor.

Visuomotor control in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with chemotherapy only.

Treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which includes CNS prophylaxis, is associated with central and peripheral neurotoxicity. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effects of chemotherapy on various levels of visuomotor control in survivors of childhood ALL treated without cranial irradiation, and to identify risk factors for possible deficits. Visuomotor function was compared between children after treatment for ALL (n = 34), children after treatment for Wilms tumor, which consists of non-CNS directed chemotherapy (n = 38), and healthy controls (n = 151).

Ontogenetic trends in gnostic hand function in 3- to 12-yr-old children.

The intimate relation between the sensory and motor functions of the hands during object manipulation and exploratory touch, the well-known improvement in object handling and constructive performance in ontogenesis and the emergent laterality thereof, assume changes in morphognostic capabilities in children. In this study we tried to corroborate the hypothesis of Mesker that mature and lateralized finger-thumb opposition is preceded by a stage of two-sided manual form agnosia in preschool children, followed by acquisition of morphognosis of the fingers and, finally, the thumbs. This study examined the development of gnostic hand function in 290 children from 3 to 11 years of age who drew the outlines of a meaningless wooden object passively felt with each hand without visual control.

Facial identity and facial emotions: speed, accuracy, and processing strategies in children and adults.

As yet, nearly all studies in face and facial affect recognition typically provide only data on the accuracy of processing, invariably also in the absence of reference data on abstract information processing. In this study, accuracy and speed of abstract visuo-spatial processing, face recognition, and facial emotion recognition were investigated in normal school children (7-10 years) and adults (25+/-4 years). In the age range of 7-10 years, accuracy of facial processing hardly increased, while speed did substantially increase with age.