Development of Prehension Between 5 and 10 Years of Age: Distance Scaling, Grip Aperture, and Sight of the Hand

Abstract

The authors investigated whether 5- to 10-year-old children (N = 75) differ from adults (N = 12) in the developmental course of distance scaling and the adaptations to the inability to see the hand during prehension movements. The children reached under a surface and grasped and lifted an object suspended through it. All children scaled velocity appropriately for movement distance, both with and without sight of the hand. However, 5- to 6-year-old children did not increase grip aperture with increased distance, whereas older children and adults did. The older children and adults spent longer after peak deceleration when they could not see the hand, and maximum grip aperture (MGA) was larger, providing an increased safety margin. Children aged 5 to 6 spent the same amount of time between peak deceleration and grasp, whether or not they could see the hand, and they failed to increase MGA when they could not see the hand. Prehension in the younger children differed from that of older children in two ways: The younger children did not integrate reach and grasp over different distances and did not use visual information about hand position to optimize accuracy.

Bimanual Reach to Grasp Movements in Youth With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…While reaching and grasping (prehension) is one of the earliest developing motor skills in humans, this skill undergoes a prolonged developmental trajectory, becoming more and more refined through childhood and adolescence (Kuhtz-Buschbeck et al, 1998; Schneiberg et al, 2002; Smyth et al, 2004). Although no longitudinal studies have investigated the developmental trajectory of reaching and grasping in ASD during childhood and adulthood, case-control studies suggest that atypicalities in reach to grasp movements appear to persist past infancy.…”

Perception–action development from infants to adults: Perceiving affordances for reaching through openings

“…But how does perception of affordances for fitting through openings progress from infants' rudimentary body scaling to adult-like accuracy? Despite a wealth of studies on the kinematics of reaching (Berthier, 2011; Hay, 1979; Kuhtz-Buschbeck, Stolze, Jöhnk, Boczek-Funcke, & Illert, 1998; Schneiberg, Sveistrup, McFadyen, McKinley, & Levin, 2002; Smyth, Katamba, & Peacock, 2004) and locomotion (Assaiante, 1998; Assaiante, Woollacott, & Amblard, 2000; Cowie, Atkinson, & Braddick, 2010; Ledebt, Bril, & Breniere, 1998) in children, relatively little is known about children's perception of affordances for fitting. One recent exception demonstrated that 8- to 10-year-olds scaled decisions to turn their shoulders to fit through openings based on opening size (Wilmut & Barnett, 2011).…”

Effects of Finger Markers on the Kinematics of Reaching Movements in Young Children and Adults

“…It has previously been suggested that children need more time to process and use visual and proprioceptive feedback information when reaching to grasp, as expressed in increased time spent in deceleration (Pryde et al, 1998). However, Smyth et al (2004) demonstrated that 5-to 6-year-old children do not necessarily rely more on visual information than do older children and adults, or spend longer time in deceleration, when reaching. In the present study, the increased time to establish a grip in the FM condition indicates that the timing and anticipatory control of the reach-to-grasp movements were affected.…”