From Hemispheric Asymmetry through Sensorimotor Experiences to Cognitive Outcomes in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Recent neuroimaging studies allowed us to explore abnormal brain structures and interhemispheric connectivity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Behavioral researchers have long reported that children with CP exhibit suboptimal performance in different cognitive domains (e.g., receptive and expressive language skills, reading, mental imagery, spatial processing, subitizing, math, and executive functions). However, there has been very limited cross-domain research involving these two areas of scientific inquiry. To stimulate such research, this perspective paper proposes some possible neurological mechanisms involved in the cognitive delays and impairments in children with CP. Additionally, the paper examines the ways motor and sensorimotor experience during the development of these neural substrates could enable more optimal development for children with CP. Understanding these developmental mechanisms could guide more effective interventions to promote the development of both sensorimotor and cognitive skills in children with CP.

Hand-Use Preferences for Reaching and Object Exploration in Children with Impaired Upper Extremity Functioning: The Role of Environmental Affordances

“…Environmental affordances can be manipulated in the form of subtraction or addition. Examples of the subtraction in environmental affordances would be forced-use therapy (FUT [86,87]), constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT [63,[88][89][90]), or interventions using a novel PlaySkin Duo TM (Move 2 Learn Innovation Lab, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA) soft exoskeletal garment (PlaySkin Duo [10]). In FUT and CIMT therapies, the child's better functioning hand is casted, thus significantly preventing its use, especially for activities requiring fine-motor movements.…”

“…Hemispheric lateralization increases the efficiency of information processing through parallel processing, redundancy reduction, and interhemispheric conflict prevention [7][8][9]. If hand preference is a marker of hemispheric lateralization, a stronger hand-use preference should result in better developmental outcomes [10]. Indeed, previous research found that early development of distinct and consistent hand preferences (irrespective of their direction-right or left) might stimulate children's object Symmetry 2023, 15, 2161 2 of 18 management (i.e., object storage [11]), object construction (i.e., block stacking onset and skill level [12]), tool-use [13], language skills [14][15][16][17], and cognition [18,19].…”

The Relation between Infants’ Manual Lateralization and Their Performance of Object Manipulation and Tool Use

“…Specialization of functions across the two hemispheres, along with communication between the hemispheres through the corpus callosum (the corpus callosum is the major commissural tract connecting the cerebral hemispheres and allowing for the coordination and integration of sensorimotor information to optimize information processing [4,5]), ensures more effective information processing and the emergence of new skills [6][7][8][9]. The gains in the speed and quality of information processing provided by hemispheric lateralization may translate into more advanced manual performance [10]. Due to reciprocal relations between early sensorimotor experiences and hemispheric organization, infants with a distinct hand preference are likely to differ from their peers without a hand preference in their patterns of hemispheric lateralization, sensorimotor experiences, and levels of manual performance [11].…”

Reduced Cortical Complexity in Children with Developmental Delay in Saudi Arabia

“…These changes occur in an age-related manner and involve both short-range and long-range connections [ 11 , 12 ]. This developmental remodeling of brain connectivity, often referred to as pruning and strengthening of network connectivity, contributes to hemispheric specialization, increased efficiency, and reduced redundancy in neural processes [ 13 - 15 ]. However, disruptions in these processes can contribute to the emergence of cognitive and behavioral impairments observed in individuals with DD [ 16 - 18 ].…”