Fine Motor Skill Development

Language and pictures are two major representational systems, but the relation between them in early childhood is under-investigated. This study investigated the association between drawing and language in preschoolers, and examined the role of working memory and executive functions (inhibition, shifting, and updating) in the association between drawing and language. The participants were 125 preschoolers (aged 3;0-6;1). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses found that two factors, respectively loading language and drawing measures, were correlated, also controlling for age. Regression analyses indicated that working memory and inhibition tasks predicted language, and inhibition tasks predicted drawing, above and beyond age. Structural equation modeling supported a model, according to which indirect influence of working memory and direct influence of executive functions fully accounted for the correlation between drawing and language. This suggests that the intertwining of language and drawing development in preschoolers depends on the development of domain-general components of the cognitive system.

In this study, we explored the biocultural mechanisms underlying ancient craft behaviours. Archaeological methods were integrated with neuroscience techniques to explore the impact on neuroplasticity resulting from the introduction of early pottery techniques. The advent of ceramic marked a profound change in the economy and socio-cultural dynamics of past societies. It may have also played a central role in developing new craft skills that influenced the neural plasticity of the potters. Coiling, one of the most widespread neolithic techniques, requires precise hand movements and the ability to regulate finger pressure to shape the clay without deformation. In a pilot study involving intensive training in neolithic pottery, we used TMS-EEG co-registration to monitor a group of participants and we examined the shape of the artefacts they made before and after training. Our findings suggest changes in the functional properties of the primary motor cortex (M1) responsible for the control and execution of actions. We also observed an improvement in symmetry and consistency of the artefacts and a significant reduction in errors. This multidisciplinary approach sheds light on the mechanisms of material culture's variation in the archaeological field and provides promising insights into the co-evolution of technology and human skill.

Children can draw visually realistic objects if they know how to focus on the embedded object contour as shown by the Embedded Figure Test. 1−3 However, an object contour is not a useful visual cue for drawing in perspective. Even at age eleven, only a minority of children draw in perspective. 4 The current brief review shows what kind of stimulus model is needed to elicit a perspective drawing much earlier than after a protracted stage-wise development. It is demonstrated that when perspective is embodied in the spatial model itself, and object-and view-specificity are in agreement, visual awareness is not required in order to be able to draw in perspective. It is concluded that early perspective mapping can be carried out by normally developing, and not just by highly practised talented or autistic children.

Numerous neuroscience studies demonstrate that when motor and cognitive tasks are performed simultaneously, there is dual-task interference. Experiments show that the cost is a temporal deterioration in motor functioning. However, there is no comprehensive research on the developmental costs of dual-task exercises incorporated into physical education (PE). Such an approach is called the interdisciplinary model of PE and is used to stimulate cognitive development. Therefore, there is a knowledge gap regarding the motor costs of methods based on this model, e.g., Eduball. The Eduball method integrates core academic subjects with PE using a set of educational balls printed with letters, numbers, and other signs. To fill this knowledge gap, we replicated the Eduball experiment, focusing on motor development. The half-year intervention occurred in one primary school class. The control group was a peer class participating in traditional PE, not based on dual tasks. We tested students’ space-time orientation and graphomotor, locomotor, and object control skills. We found no motor costs of the intervention. Eduball-based PE stimulated motor development as much as traditional PE. Our study suggests that methods based on the interdisciplinary model of PE are safe for motor development. As such, it is worth considering their use in children’s education.

Koordinasi mata dan tangan anak adalah bagian penting dari perkembangan anak dalam aspek kognitif, motoric kasar, dan motoric halus anak. Untuk mendukung kemampuan koordinasi mata dan tangan anak, di masa usia dini ini kita dapat memberikan stimulasi melalui berbagai aktivitas yang tentunya sesuai dengan tahap pertumbuhan dan perkembangan anak. Koordinasi adalah kemampuan anak untuk memahami dan mengolah berbagai sinyal yang ia terima untuk melakukan gerakan fisik yang kompleks. Koordinasi mata dan tangan adalah kemampuan kognitif untuk melakukan aktivitas yang melibatkan kerja mata dan tangan di saat yang bersamaan. Anak akan menerima informasi visual melalui matanya sebagai panduan bagi tangan untuk melakukan gerakan tertentu.

Introduction: The Common Region Test (CRT) is useful for predicting children’s visual memory as individual object-place binding predicted better object memory while objects-region coding predicted better place memory. Aim: The aim was to test children with ASD and ADHD with regards to spatial binding in the CRT. Methods: (1) 19 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (2) 20 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), (3) gender-matched chronological age (CA) and (4) verbal mental age (MA) typically developing (TD) children as control groups were tested with the CRT and Bender Gestalt tests (N = 117). Results: Children with ASD and ADHD showed more unsystematic coding than TD children. This was due to lower fine motor skills, and in children with ADHD also because of reduced verbal naming. Almost all children with ASD presented the less mature under-inclusive Type I unsystematic coding which included object-place binding, while children with ADHD showed the o...

The Common Region Test (CRT) is a useful spatial categorization test that assesses spatial binding of individual objects to places, or pairs of matching objects to a region. Our aim was to test whether ethnic differences exist in the CRT of typically developing children and those with special needs (N = 117). Typically developing children were more likely to show objects-region binding, independently of ethnicity. Likewise, children with ASD and ADHD showed mainly unsystematic coding, independently of ethnicity. Thus, it is demonstrated that the CRT is a useful culture-fair assessment of spatial categorization. In culture-fair test developments, it is important that the same constructs are measured across different cultures. Professionals in mental health weigh socioeconomic factors as more important than race (Cuccaro et al., 1996). Moreover, epidemiological studies suggest that children with special needs have more underlying medical conditions than typically developing children even after controlling for factors such as race/ethnicity/national minority status (Dizitzer et al., 2020; Schieve et al., 2012; Turygin et al., 2013). The Common Region Test (CRT) uses a Wertheimer array with three rows of dots (Wertheimer, 1923), see Figure 1, upper left figure. In the first row, dots were equal insofar as they were of the same appearance and distance, in the second row, pairs of dots were closer together which tests the Gestalt principle of proximity, and in the third row, pairs of dots were of different colour which resembled the Gestalt principle of similarity. When asked to draw a circle around those dots which they think belong together, young children allocate small individual places to each dot in this array (object-place binding), but

Introduction. The Common Region Test (CRT) is useful for predicting children’s visual memory as individual object-place binding predicted better object memory while objects-region coding predicted better place memory.
Aim. The aim was to test children with ASD and ADHD with regards to spatial binding in the CRT.
Methods. (1) 19 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (2) 20 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), (3) gender-matched chronological age (CA) and (4) verbal mental age (MA) typically developing (TD) children as control groups were tested with the CRT and Bender Gestalt tests (N = 117).
Results. Children with ASD and ADHD showed more unsystematic coding than TD children. This was due to lower fine motor skills, and in children with ADHD also because of reduced verbal naming. Almost all children with ASD presented the less mature under-inclusive Type I unsystematic coding which included object-place binding, while children with ADHD showed the overinclusive Type II unsystematic coding that was overriding the Gestalt-like properties of proximity and similarity.
Conclusions. It was demonstrated that the CRT is a useful screening instrument for ASD and ADHD that shows that their spatial categorization varies in their unsystematic visuo-spatial classification due to fine motor skill deficiencies.