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Consumer virtual reality (VR) systems are increasingly being deployed in research to study sensorimotor behaviors, but properties of such systems require verification before being used as scientific tools. The 'motion-to-photon' latency (the lag between a user making a movement and the movement being displayed within the display) is a particularly important metric as temporal delays can degrade sensorimotor performance. Extant approaches to quantifying this measure have involved the use of bespoke software and hardware and produce a single measure of latency and ignore the effect of the motion prediction algorithms used in modern VR systems. This reduces confidence in the generalizability of the results. We developed a novel, system-independent, high-speed camera-based latency measurement technique to co-register real and virtual controller movements, allowing assessment of how latencies change through a movement. We applied this technique to measure the motion-to-photon latency of controller movements in the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, and Valve Index, using the Unity game engine and SteamVR. For the start of a sudden movement, all measured headsets had mean latencies between 21 and 42 ms. Once motion prediction could account for the inherent delays, the latency was functionally reduced to 2–13 ms, and our technique revealed that this reduction occurs within ~25–58 ms of movement onset. Our findings indicate that sudden accelerations (e.g., movement onset, impacts, and direction changes) will increase latencies and lower spatial accuracy. Our technique allows researchers to measure these factors and determine the impact on their experimental design before collecting sensorimotor data from VR systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optometric disorders are likely to increase the difficulties experienced by an individual who is struggling to read. There are some reports of a higher incidence of visual abnormalities in children with dyslexia, but there has been little investigation into adults. We therefore investigated the optometric status of a population comprising children and adults with dyslexia. Fifty-four patients (27 with dyslexia, 27 controls) underwent extensive optometric testing. Measurements included visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, accommodation, and binocular vision testing. There was a higher proportion of individuals with dyslexia presenting with optometric problems compared to controls. For children, the most common diagnoses were hypermetropia and accommodation insufficiency. The results strongly suggest that an optometric examination should be included in the management of dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated hemispheric processing of puns involving decomposable idioms (e.g. Old skiers never die, they just go downhill ) and non-decomposable ones (e.g., Old cleaners never die, they just bite the dust ) using a divided visual field paradigm. In two cross-modal priming experiments, participants listened to puns and made lexical decisions for targets presented either in the left or right visual fields. To investigate hemispheric asymmetries at different processing stages (early vs. late), the prime-target inter-stimulus interval was 0 ms in Experiment 1 and was increased to 750 ms in Experiment 2. The results from both experiments demonstrated a left hemisphere advantage for processing puns triggered by non-decomposable idioms; puns motivated by decomposable idioms were processed equally fast in both hemispheres, suggesting that this type of pun induced right hemisphere involvement and led to bilateral processing. We discuss the results in light of predictions derived from the 'graded salience' hypothesis and the 'fine-coarse coding' hypothesis and argue that the data are more consistent with the graded salience hypothesis. • Puns motivated by less salient meanings show Right Hemisphere (RH) involvement. • Puns motivated by semantically distant meanings do not show similar RH processing. • Language saliency is a stronger predictor for RH involvement than semantic distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of human performance is subject to speed-accuracy trade-offs. For spatially constrained aiming, the trade-off is often said to take the specific form of Fitts' law, in which movement duration is predicted from a single factor combining target distance and target size. However, efforts to extend this law to the three-dimensional context of reaching to grasp (prehension) have had limited success. We suggest that there are potentially confounding influences in standard grasping, and we introduce a novel task to regularize the direction of approach and to eliminate the influences of nearby surfaces. In six participants, we examined speed-accuracy trade-offs for prehension, manipulating the depth (in the plane of the reach), height (orthogonal to the reach), and width (the grasped dimension) of the target object independently. We obtained lawful relationships that were consistent at the group and individual levels. It took longer to reach for more distant objects, and more time was allowed when placing the fingers on a contact surface smaller in either depth or height. More time was taken to grasp wider objects, but only beyond a critical width that varied between individuals. These speed-accuracy trade-offs showed substantial departures from Fitts' law, and were well described by a two-factor model in which reach distance and object size have separate influences on movement duration. We discuss empirical and theoretical reasons for preferring a two-factor model, and we propose that this may represent the most general form of speed-accuracy trade-off, not only for grasping but also for other spatially constrained aiming tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to use advance information to prepare and execute a movement requires cognitive control of behaviour (e.g., anticipation and inhibition). Our aim was to explore the integrity of saccadic eye movement control in developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and typically developing (TD) children (8–12 years) and assess how these children plan and inhibit saccadic responses, the principal mechanisms within visual attention control. Eye movements and touch responses were measured (separately and concurrently) in Cued and Non-Cued conditions. We found that children with DCD had similar saccade kinematics to the TD group during saccade initiation. Advance information decreased hand movement duration in both groups during Cued trials, but decrements in accuracy were significantly worse in the DCD group. In addition, children with DCD exhibited greater inhibitory errors and inaccurate fixation during the Cued trials. Thus, children with DCD were reasonably proficient in executing saccades during reflexive (Non-Cued) conditions, but showed deficits in more complex control processes involving prediction and inhibition. These findings have implications for our understanding of motor control in children with DCD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous activities require an individual to respond quickly to the correct stimulus. The provision of advance information allows response priming but heightened responses can cause errors (responding too early or reacting to the wrong stimulus). Thus, a balance is required between the online cognitive mechanisms (inhibitory and anticipatory) used to prepare and execute a motor response at the appropriate time. We investigated the use of advance information in 71 participants across four different age groups: (i) children, (ii) young adults, (iii) middle-aged adults, and (iv) older adults. We implemented ‘cued’ and ‘non-cued’ conditions to assess age-related changes in saccadic and touch responses to targets in three movement conditions: (a) Eyes only; (b) Hands only; (c) Eyes and Hand. Children made less saccade errors compared to young adults, but they also exhibited longer response times in cued versus non-cued conditions. In contrast, older adults showed faster responses in cued conditions but exhibited more errors. The results indicate that young adults (18–25 years) achieve an optimal balance between anticipation and execution. In contrast, children show benefits (few errors) and costs (slow responses) of good inhibition when preparing a motor response based on advance information; whilst older adults show the benefits and costs associated with a prospective response strategy (i.e., good anticipation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reach-to-grasp movements require information about the distance and size of target objects. Calibration of this information could be achieved via feedback information (visual and/or haptic) regarding terminal accuracy when target objects are grasped. A number of reports suggest that the nervous system alters reach-to-grasp behavior following either a visual or haptic error signal indicating inaccurate reaching. Nevertheless, the reported modification is generally partial (reaching is changed less than predicted by the feedback error), a finding that has been ascribed to slow adaptation rates. It is possible, however, that the modified reaching reflects the system's weighting of the visual and haptic information in the presence of noise rather than calibration per se. We modeled the dynamics of calibration and showed that the discrepancy between reaching behavior and the feedback error results from an incomplete calibration process. Our results provide evidence for calibration being an intrinsic feature of reach-to-grasp behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental coordination disorder affects a relatively large proportion (5%-6%) of the childhood population. Severity of the disorder varies but there is a great need for therapeutic intervention. We propose a method for the training of manual actions in children with developmental coordination disorder. Our solution is achieved by applying haptic virtual reality technology to attack the difficulties that children with developmental coordination disorder evidence. Our results show that children with developmental coordination disorder are able to learn complex motor skills if proper training methods are employed. These findings conflict with reports of impaired motor learning in developmental coordination disorder because of underactivation of cerebellar and parietal networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research has identified the affordances used to guide actions, as originally conceived by Gibson (Perceiving, acting, and knowing: towards an ecological psychology. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, ; The ecological approach to visual perception. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, /1986). We sought to discover the object affordance properties that determine the spatial structure of reach-to-grasp movements-movements that entail both collision avoidance and targeting. First, we constructed objects that presented a significant collision hazard and varied properties relevant to targeting, namely, object width and size of contact surface. Participants reached-to-grasp objects at three speeds (slow, normal, and fast). In Experiment 1, we explored a 'stop' task where participants grasped the objects without moving them. In Experiment 2, we studied 'fly-through' movements where the objects were lifted. We discovered the object affordance properties that produced covariance in the spatial structure of reaches-to-grasp. Maximum grasp aperture (MGA) reflected affordances determined by collision avoidance. Terminal grasp aperture (TGA)-when the hand stops moving but prior to finger contact-reflected affordances relevant to targeting accuracy. A model with a single free parameter predicted the prehensile spatial structure and provided a functional affordance-based account of that structure. In Experiment 3, we investigated a 'slam' task where participants reached-to-grasp flat rectangular objects on a tabletop. The affordance structure of this task was found to eliminate the collision risk and thus reduced safety margins in MGA and TGA to zero for larger objects. The results emphasize the role of affordances in determining the structure and scaling of reach-to-grasp actions. Finally, we report evidence supporting the opposition vector as an appropriate unit of analysis in the study of grasping and a unit of action that maps directly to affordance properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigated the calibration of reach distance by gradually distorting the haptic feedback obtained when participants grasped visible target objects. The authors found that the modified relationship between visually specified distance and reach distance could be captured by a straight-line mapping function. Thus, the relation could be described using 2 parameters: bias and slope. The authors investigated whether calibration generalized across reach space with respect to changes in bias and slope. In Experiment 1, the authors showed that both bias and slope recalibrate. In Experiment 2, they tested the symmetries of reach space with respect to changes in bias. They discovered that reach space is asymmetric, with the bias shifting inward more readily than outward. The authors measured how rapidly the system calibrated and the stability of calibration once feedback was removed. In Experiment 3, they showed that bias and slope can be calibrated independently of one another. In Experiment 4, the authors showed that these calibration effects are not cognitively penetrable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the influence of backrest inclination and vergence demand on the posture and gaze angle that workers adopt to view visual targets placed in different vertical locations. In the study, 12 participants viewed a small video monitor placed in 7 locations around a 0.65-m radius arc (from 65 degrees below to 30 degrees above horizontal eye height). Trunk posture was manipulated by changing the backrest inclination of an adjustable chair. Vergence demand was manipulated by using ophthalmic lenses and prisms to mimic the visual consequences of varying target distance. Changes in vertical target location caused large changes in atlanto-occipital posture and gaze angle. Cervical posture was altered to a lesser extent by changes in vertical target location. Participants compensated for changes in backrest inclination by changing cervical posture, though they did not significantly alter atlanto-occipital posture and gaze angle. The posture adopted to view any target represents a compromise between visual and musculoskeletal demands. These results provide support for the argument that the optimal location of visual targets is at least 15 degrees below horizontal eye level. Actual or potential applications of this work include the layout of computer workstations and the viewing of displays from a seated posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current upper limb assessment methods in MS rely on measuring duration in tasks like the nine-hole peg test (9HPT). Kinematic techniques may provide a more useful measure of functional change in clinical and research practice. The aim of this study was to assess upper limb function prospectively in people with progressive MS using a kinematic 3D motion capture system and compare with current measures. 42 people with progressive MS (PwPMS) and 15 healthy controls reached-and-grasped different objects whilst recorded by a kinematic assessment system. 9HPT, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), and patient reported outcome measures (PROs) were collected. All measures were taken at baseline for PwPMS and controls, and again at six months for PwPMS. Relative to controls, PwPMS had significantly longer reaction (0.11 s, p < 0.05) and reach (0.25 s, p < 0.05) times. PwPMS took longer to pick-up (0.34 s, p < 0.05), move (0.14 s, p < 0.05), and place (0.18 s, p < 0.05) objects. PwPMS had lower peak velocities when reaching (7.4 cm/s, p < 0.05) and moving (7.3 cm/s, p < 0.05) objects. Kinematic assessment demonstrated consistent differences between PwPMS with mild and severe upper limb dysfunction as defined by PROs, which were not captured by 9HPT or EDSS in this group. PwPMS demonstrated altered grip apertures profiles, as measured by their ability to complete individual parts of the reach and grasp task, between the baseline and follow-up timepoints. We have created and tested a novel upper limb function assessment tool which has detected changes and characteristics in hand function, not currently captured by the EDSS and 9HPT. • Kinematic assessment shows differences in upper limb function between mildly and severely affected people with progressive MS • There was no correlation between upper limb performance and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) • There was no significant change in most of the kinematic parameters at six months compared to baseline • Kinematic assessment has potential for better sensitivity and behaviour capture than the EDSS and nine-hole peg test [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Not being in employment, education, or training (NEET) is associated with poor health (physical and mental) and social exclusion. We investigated whether England's statutory school readiness measure conducted at 4–5 years provides a risk signal for NEET in late adolescence. Methods: We identified 8,118 individuals with school readiness measures at 4–5 years and NEET records at 16–17 years using Connected Bradford, a bank of linked routinely collected datasets. Children were categorised as 'school ready' if they reached a 'Good Level of Development' on the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. We used probit regression and structural equation modelling to investigate the relationship between school readiness and NEET status and whether it primarily relates to academic attainment. Results: School readiness was significantly associated with NEET status. A larger proportion of young people who were not school ready were later NEET (11%) compared to those who were school ready (4%). Most of this effect was attributable to shared relationships with academic attainment, but there was also a direct effect. Measures of deprivation and Special Educational Needs were also strong predictors of NEET status. Conclusions: NEET risk factors occur early in life. School readiness measures could be used as early indicators of risk, with interventions targeted to prevent the long-term physical and mental health problems associated with NEET, especially in disadvantaged areas. Primary schools are therefore well placed to be public health partners in early intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. It has been well established that extra-retinal information is used in the perception of visual direction and distance. Furthermore, a number of studies have established that both efference copy and afferent discharge contribute to the extra-retinal signal. Despite this, no model currently exists to explain how the signals which arise through oculomotor control contribute to perception. This paper attempts to provide such a framework. The first part of the paper outlines the framework [the cyclopean equilibrium point (EP) model] and considers the binoculus or cyclopean eye from the perspective of a current account of motor control (the EP hypothesis). An existing model is used to describe how the nervous system could utilise available efference copy and afferent extra retinal signals when determining the direction and distance of cyclopean fixation. Although the cyclopean EP model is speculative, it allows for a parsimonious framework when considering the oculomotor contribution to perception. The model has the additional advantage of being consistent with current theories regarding the control and perception of limb movement. The second part of the paper shows that the model is biologically plausible, demonstrates the use of the proposed model in describing the central control of eye movements with regard to non-conjugate peripheral adaptation and reconciles seemingly disparate empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reveals that the expected triangulation account of distance perception has not been verified in experiments. Prediction of decrease of apparent target distance; Dependence of binocular perception of the distance between point lights on vergence angle.

The short-term effects on binocular stability of wearing a conventional head-mounted display (HMD) to explore a virtual reality environment were examined. Twenty adult subjects (aged 19-29 years) wore a commercially available HMD for 10 min while cycling around a computer generated 3-D world. The twin screen presentations were set lo suit the average interpupillary distance of our subject population, to mimic the conditions of public access virtual reality systems. Subjects were examined before and after exposure to the HMD and there were clear signs of induced binocular stress for a number of the subjects. The implications or introducing such HMDs into the workplace and entertainment environments are discussed. ' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies whether conflicting vergence and accommodative stimuli are sufficient to cause visual stress and to determine the conditions and thresholds of conflict that may cause problems. Details on head-mounted displays (HMDs); Methodology used in the study; Indications of the findings.

Aim: Assess whether school-based teacher-led screening is effective at identifying children with motor difficulties. Methods: Teachers tested 217 children aged between 5 and 11 years old, after a one hour training session, using a freely available tool (FUNMOVES). Four classes (n = 91) were scored by both researchers and teachers to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Researchers assessed 22 children using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2; considered to be the 'gold standard' in Europe for use as part of the diagnostic process for Developmental Coordination Disorder) to assess concurrent and predictive validity. Results: Inter-rater reliability for all individual activities within FUNMOVES ranged from 0.85–0.97 (unweighted Kappa; with 95%CI ranging from 0.77–1). For total score this was lower (κ = 0.76, 95%CI = 0.68–0.84), however when incorporating linear weighting, this improved (κ = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.89–0.99). When evaluating FUNMOVES total score against the MABC-2 total score, the specificity (1, 95%CI = 0.63–1) and positive predictive value (1; 95%CI = 0.68–1) of FUNMOVES were high, whereas sensitivity (0.57, 95%CI = 0.29–0.82) and negative predictive values (0.57, 95%CI = 0.42–0.71) were moderate. Evaluating only MABC-2 subscales which are directly related to fundamental movement skills (Aiming & Catching, and Balance) improved these values to 0.89 (95%CI = 0.52–1) and 0.93 (95%CI = 0.67–0.99) respectively. Interpretation: Teacher-led screening of fundamental movement skills (via FUNMOVES) is an effective method of identifying children with motor difficulties. Such universal screening in schools has the potential to identify movement difficulties and enable earlier intervention than the current norm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that children struggle to acquire age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS), despite their importance for facilitating physical activity. This has led to calls for routine school-based screening of children's FMS. However, there is limited research exploring schools' capacity to conduct such assessments. This study investigated what factors might affect the adoption and implementation of FMS assessments in primary schools. School staff (n = 853) completed an online questionnaire developed using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behavior (COM-B) model. A majority reported that knowledge of pupils' FMS ability would be beneficial (65.3%), and 71.8% would assess FMS if support was provided. Barriers included: Capability – few possessed knowledge of FMS (15%); Opportunity – teachers reported 30–60 minutes as acceptable for assessing a class, a substantially shorter period than current assessments require; Motivation – 57.2% stated FMS assessments would increase workload stress. Solutions to these issues are discussed using the COM-B theoretical framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A large proportion of children are not able to perform age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS). Thus, it is important to assess FMS so that children needing additional support can be identified in a timely fashion. There is great potential for universal screening of FMS in schools, but research has established that current assessment tools are not fit for purpose. Objective: To develop and validate the psychometric properties of a FMS assessment tool designed specifically to meet the demands of universal screening in schools. Methods: A working group consisting of academics from developmental psychology, public health and behavioural epidemiology developed an assessment tool (FUNMOVES) based on theory and prior evidence. Over three studies, 814 children aged 4 to 11 years were assessed in school using FUNMOVES. Rasch analysis was used to evaluate structural validity and modifications were then made to FUNMOVES activities after each study based on Rasch results and implementation fidelity. Results: The initial Rasch analysis found numerous psychometric problems including multidimensionality, disordered thresholds, local dependency, and misfitting items. Study 2 showed a unidimensional measure, with acceptable internal consistency and no local dependency, but that did not fit the Rasch model. Performance on a jumping task was misfitting, and there were issues with disordered thresholds (for jumping, hopping and balance tasks). Study 3 revealed a unidimensional assessment tool with good fit to the Rasch model, and no further issues, once jumping and hopping scoring were modified. Implications: The finalised version of FUNMOVES (after three iterations) meets standards for accurate measurement, is free and able to assess a whole class in under an hour using resources available in schools. Thus FUNMOVES has the potential to allow schools to efficiently screen FMS to ensure that targeted support can be provided and disability barriers removed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that adults are skilled at learning new words and meanings. We examined whether learning new meanings for familiar words affects the processing of their existing meanings. Adults learnt fictitious meanings for previously unambiguous words over four consecutive days. We tested comprehension of existing meanings using a semantic relatedness decision task in which the probe word was related to the existing but not the new meaning. Following the training, responses were slower to the trained, but not to the untrained, words, indicating competition between newly-acquired and well-established meanings. This effect was smaller for meanings that were semantically related to existing meanings than for the unrelated counterparts, demonstrating that meaning relatedness modulates the degree of competition. Overall, the findings confirm that new meanings can be integrated into the mental lexicon after just a few days' exposure, and provide support for current models of ambiguity processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that adults can engage in cognitive offloading, whereby internal processes are offloaded onto the environment to help task performance. Here, we investigate an application of this approach with children, in particular children with poor working memory. Participants were required to remember and recall sequences of colors by placing colored blocks in the correct serial order. In one condition the blocks were arranged to facilitate cognitive offloading (i.e., grouped by color), whereas in the other condition they were arranged randomly. Across two experiments (total N = 166) the ordered condition improved task performance for children with low working memory ability. In addition, participants in Experiment 2 rated the difficulty of the two arrangements and performed a further condition in which they were given an opportunity to freely arrange the blocks before completing the task. Despite performing better in the ordered condition, children with low working memory ability did not rate the ordered arrangement as easier, nor did they choose an ordered arrangement when given the opportunity to do so. This research shows that cognitive offloading can also be a useful process in populations other than typical adults, and the implications of this work for supporting children with poor working memory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the article on how neurons respond to looming stimuli. Description on how time to contact (TTC) information could be obtained from the rate of expansion; How weight is related to looming.

Patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (TN) were categorised into 3 subtypes (n = 225). Group 1 (n = 155, 68.9%) had TN without concomitant pain, group 2 (n = 32, 14.2%) had TN with intermittent concomitant pain, and group 3 (n = 39, 16.9%) had TN with autonomic symptoms. We tested 2 hypotheses: (1) that different pain profiles would be associated with the different groups; (2) that the severe pain associated with TN would impact negatively on activities of daily living and thereby result in disability as defined by the World Health Organisation. A different pain profile was found across the groups. We obtained unequivocal evidence that TN causes disability with up to 45% of patients being absent from usual daily activities 15 days or more in the past 6 months. On the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, 35.7% patients had mild-to-severe depression and over 50% were anxious. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale showed that 78% of patients had considerable negative thoughts with scores >20 and a mean score of 36.4. Prior to referral, only 54% had been prescribed carbamazepine while opioids had been prescribed in 14.6% of the patients. Prior to referral, over 80% had already been to 1 specialist centre which had not provided appropriate management. Patients with TN report varied characteristics but all result in some degree of psychosocial disability especially before adequate therapy is attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial evidence indicates that decision outcomes are typically evaluated relative to expectations learned from relatively long sequences of previous outcomes. This mechanism is thought to play a key role in general learning and adaptation processes but relatively little is known about the determinants of outcome evaluation when the capacity to learn from series of prior events is difficult or impossible. To investigate this issue, we examined how the feedback-related negativity (FRN) is modulated by information briefly presented before outcome evaluation. The FRN is a brain potential time-locked to the delivery of decision feedback and it is widely thought to be sensitive to prior expectations. We conducted a multi-trial gambling task in which outcomes at each trial were fully randomised to minimise the capacity to learn from long sequences of prior outcomes. Event-related potentials for outcomes (Win/Loss) in the current trial (Outcome t ) were separated according to the type of outcomes that occurred in the preceding two trials (Outcome t-1 and Outcome t-2 ). We found that FRN voltage was more positive during the processing of win feedback when it was preceded by wins at Outcome t-1 compared to win feedback preceded by losses at Outcome t-1 . However, no influence of preceding outcomes was found on FRN activity relative to the processing of loss feedback. We also found no effects of Outcome t-2 on FRN amplitude relative to current feedback. Additional analyses indicated that this effect was largest for trials in which participants selected a decision different to the gamble chosen in the previous trial. These findings are inconsistent with models that solely relate the FRN to prediction error computation. Instead, our results suggest that if stable predictions about future events are weak or non-existent, then outcome processing can be determined by affective systems. More specifically, our results indicate that the FRN is likely to reflect the activity of positive affective systems in these contexts. Importantly, our findings indicate that a multifactorial explanation of the nature of the FRN is necessary and such an account must incorporate affective and motivational factors in outcome processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Losing a point in tennis could result from poor shot selection or faulty stroke execution. To explore how the brain responds to these different types of errors, we examined feedback-locked EEG activity while participants completed a modified version of a standard three-armed bandit probabilistic reward task. Our task framed unrewarded outcomes as the result of either errors of selection or errors of execution. We examined whether amplitude of a medial frontal negativity (the feedback-related negativity [FRN]) was sensitive to the different forms of error attribution. Consistent with previous reports, selection errors elicited a large FRN relative to rewards, and amplitude of this signal correlated with behavioral adjustment after these errors. A different pattern was observed in response to execution errors. These outcomes produced a larger FRN, a frontocentral attenuation in activity preceding this component, and a subsequent enhanced error positivity in parietal sites. Notably, the only correlations with behavioral adjustment were with the early frontocentral attenuation and amplitude of the parietal signal; FRN differences between execution errors and rewarded trials did not correlate with subsequent changes in behavior. Our findings highlight distinct neural correlates of selection and execution error processing, providing insight into how the brain responds to the different classes of error that determine future action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously linked interceptive timing performance to mathematics attainment in 5- to 11-yr-old children, which we attributed to the neural overlap between spatiotemporal and numerical operations. This explanation implies that the relationship should persist through the teenage years. Here, we replicated this finding in adolescents (n = 200, 11--15 yr). However, an alternative explanation is that sensorimotor proficiency and academic attainment are both consequences of executive function. To assess this competing hypothesis, we developed a measure of a core executive function, inhibitory control, from the kinematic data. We combined our new adolescent data with the original children's data(total n = 568), performing a novel analysis controlling for our marker of executive function. We found that the relationship between mathematics and interceptive timing persisted at all ages. These results suggest a distinct functional link between interceptive timing and mathematics that operates independently of our measure of executive function. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Previous research downplays the role of sensorimotor skills in the development of higher-order cognitive domains such as mathematics: using inadequate sensorimotor measures, differences in "executive function" account for any shared variance. Utilizing a high-resolution, kinematic measure of a sensorimotor skill previously linked to mathematics attainment, we show that inhibitory control alone cannot account for this relationship. The practical implication is that the development of children's sensorimotor skills must be considered in their intellectual development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bingham and Pagano (1998) described calibration as a mapping from embodied perceptual units to an embodied action unit and suggested that it is an inherent component of perception/action that yields accurate targeted actions. We tested two predictions of this "Mapping Theory." First, calibration should transfer between limbs, because it involves a mapping from perceptual units to an action unit, and thus is functionally specific to the action (Pan, Coats, and Bingham, 2014). We used distorted haptic feedback to calibrate feedforward fight hand reaches and tested fight and left hand reaches after calibration. The calibration transferred. Second, the Mapping Theory predicts that limb specific calibration should be possible because the units are embodied and anatomy contributes to their scaling. Limbs must be calibrated to one another given potential anatomical differences among limbs. We used distorted haptic feedback to calibrate feedforward reaches with fight and left arms simultaneously in opposite directions relative to a visually specified target. Reaches tested after calibration revealed reliable limb specific calibration. Both predictions were confirmed. This resolves a prevailing controversy as to whether calibration is functional (Bruggeman & Warren, 2010; Rieser, Pick, Ashmead, & Gating, 1995) or anatomical (Durgin et al., 2003; Durgin & Pelah, 1999). Necessarily, it is both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive modeling of movements is often used in movement therapy to overcome disabilities caused by stroke or other disorders (e.g. Developmental Coordination Disorder or Cerebral Palsy). Either a therapist or, recently, a specially designed robot moves or guides the limb passively through the movement to be trained. In contrast, action theory has long suggested that effective skill acquisition requires movements to be actively generated. Is this true? In view of the former, we explicitly tested the latter. Previously, a method was developed that allows children with Developmental Coordination Disorder to produce effective movements actively, so as to improve manual performance to match that of typically developing children. In the current study, we tested practice using such active movements as compared to practice using passive movement. The passive movement employed, namely haptic tracking, provided a strong test of the comparison, one that showed that the mere inaction of the muscles is not the problem. Instead, lack of prospective control was. The result was no effective learning with passive movement while active practice with prospective control yielded significant improvements in performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • We estimated 13 urban exposures and cognitive and motor function in 5403 children. • Connectivity and land use diversity are negatively associated with verbal abilities. • PM2.5 mediate the positive association of greenness and verbal abilities. • PM2.5 is negatively associated with fine motor function. The urban environment may influence neurodevelopment from conception onwards, but there is no evaluation of the impact of multiple groups of exposures simultaneously. We investigated the association between early-life urban environment and cognitive and motor function in children. We used data from 5403 mother–child pairs from four population-based birth-cohorts (UK, France, Spain, and Greece). We estimated thirteen urban home exposures during pregnancy and childhood, including: built environment, natural spaces, and air pollution. Verbal, non-verbal, gross motor, and fine motor functions were assessed using validated tests at five years old. We ran adjusted multi-exposure models using the Deletion-Substitution-Addition algorithm. Higher greenness exposure within 300 m during pregnancy was associated with higher verbal abilities (1.5 points (95% confidence interval 0.4, 2.7) per 0.20 unit increase in greenness). Higher connectivity density within 100 m and land use diversity during pregnancy were related to lower verbal abilities. Childhood exposure to PM2.5 mediated 74% of the association between greenness during childhood and verbal abilities. Higher exposure to PM2.5 during pregnancy was related to lower fine motor function (-1.2 points (-2.1, -0.4) per 3.2 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5). No associations were found with non-verbal abilities and gross motor function. This study suggests that built environment, greenness, and air pollution may impact child cognitive and motor function at five years old. This study adds evidence that well-designed urban planning may benefit children's cognitive and motor development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to air pollution during childhood has been linked with adverse effects on cognitive development and motor function. However, limited research has been done on the associations of air pollution exposure in different microenvironments such as home, school, or while commuting with these outcomes. To analyze the association between childhood air pollution exposure in different microenvironments and cognitive and fine motor function from six European birth cohorts. Methods : We included 1301 children from six European birth cohorts aged 6–11 years from the HELIX project. Average outdoor air pollutants concentrations (NO 2 , PM 2.5) were estimated using land use regression models for different microenvironments (home, school, and commute), for 1-year before the outcome assessment. Attentional function, cognitive flexibility, non-verbal intelligence, and fine motor function were assessed using the Attention Network Test, Trail Making Test A and B, Raven Colored Progressive Matrices test, and the Finger Tapping test, respectively. Adjusted linear regressions models were run to determine the association between each air pollutant from each microenvironment on each outcome. In pooled analysis we observed high correlation (rs = 0.9) between air pollution exposures levels at home and school. However, the cohort-by-cohort analysis revealed correlations ranging from low to moderate. Air pollution exposure levels while commuting were higher than at home or school. Exposure to air pollution in the different microenvironments was not associated with working memory, attentional function, non-verbal intelligence, and fine motor function. Results remained consistently null in random-effects meta-analysis. No association was observed between outdoor air pollution exposure in different microenvironments (home, school, commute) and cognitive and fine motor function in children from six European birth cohorts. Future research should include a more detailed exposure assessment, considering personal measurements and time spent in different microenvironments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many people experience unilateral degraded vision, usually owing to a developmental or age-related disorder. There are unresolved questions regarding the extent to which such unilateral visual deficits impact on sensorimotor performance; an important issue as sensorimotor limitations can constrain quality of life by restricting 'activities of daily living'. Examination of the relationship between visual deficit and sensorimotor performance is essential for determining the functional implications of ophthalmic conditions. This study attempts to explore the effect of unilaterally degraded vision on sensorimotor performance. Methods: In Experiment 1 we simulated visual deficits in 30 participants using unilateral and bilateral Bangerter filters to explore whether motor performance was affected in water pouring, peg placing, and aiming tasks. Experiment 2 (n = 74) tested the hypothesis that kinematic measures are associated with visuomotor deficits by measuring the impact of small visual sensitivity decrements created by monocular viewing on sensorimotor interactions with targets presented on a planar surface in aiming, tracking and steering tasks. Results: In Experiment 1, the filters caused decreased task performance—confirming that unilateral (and bilateral) visual loss has functional implications. In Experiment 2, kinematic measures were affected by monocular viewing in two of three tasks requiring rapid online visual feedback (aiming and steering). Conclusions: Unilateral visual loss has a measurable impact on sensorimotor performance. The benefits of binocular vision may be particularly important for some groups (e.g. older adults) where an inability to complete sensorimotor tasks may necessitate assisted living. There is an urgent need to develop rigorous kinematic approaches to the quantification of the functional impact of unilaterally degraded vision and of the benefits associated with treatments for unilateral ophthalmic conditions to enable informed decisions around treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old age is associated with poorer movement skill, as indexed by reduced speed and accuracy. Nevertheless, reductions in speed and accuracy can also reflect compensation as well as deficit. We used a manual tracing and a driving task to identify generalized spatial and temporal compensations and deficits associated with old age. In Experiment 1, participants used a hand-held stylus to trace a path. In Experiment 2, participants steered along paths in a virtual reality driving simulator. In both experiments, participants were required to stay within the boundaries while we manipulated task difficulty by changing path width or movement speed. The older group showed worse performance in the highly constrained conditions. Corner cutting effectively reduces the curvature of bends but yields a greater risk of error (i.e., clipping the path or road edge). Corner cutting is thus less risky on wider paths, and we found that corner cutting increased for both age groups in both tasks when paths were wider. Crucially, we observed a greater degree of corner cutting in the young group compared with the old, suggesting the old group compensated for decreased motor skill with "middle-of-the-road" behavior. Enforcing increased speed caused all participants to increase corner cutting. Thus, older participants showed spatial compensation for decreased skill by biasing their position toward the middle of the path in both a manual and steering task. External constraints (narrow paths and fast speeds) prevented this strategy and revealed age-related declines in skills central to manual control and driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The study of human behaviour ultimately requires the documentation of human movement. In some instances movements can be recorded through a simple button press on a computer input device. In other situations responses can be captured through questionnaire surveys. Nevertheless, there is a need within many neuroscience settings to capture how complex movements unfold over time (human kinematics). Current methods of measuring human kinematics range from accurate but multifarious laboratory configurations to portable but simplistic and time-consuming paper and pen methods. We describe a new system for recording the end-point of human movement that has the power of laboratory measures but the advantages of pen-and-paper tests: the Kinematic Assessment Tool. KAT provides a highly portable system capable of measuring human movement in configurable visual-spatial tasks. The usefulness of the system is shown in a study where 12 participants undertook a tracing and copying task using their preferred and non-preferred hand. The results show that it is possible to capture behaviour within complex tasks and quantify performance using objective measures automatically generated by the KAT system. The utility of these measures was indexed by our ability to distinguish the performance of the preferred and non-preferred hand using a single variable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Feedback is a central feature of neural systems and of crucial importance to human behaviour as shown in goal directed actions such as reaching-to-grasp. One important source of feedback in reach-to-grasp behaviour arises from the haptic information obtained after grasping an object. We manipulated the felt distance and/or size of a visually constant object to explore the role of haptic information in the calibration of reaching and grasping. Crucially, our design explored post-adaptation effects rather than the previously documented role of haptic information in movement organisation. A post-adaptation reach-to-grasp task showed: (1) distorted haptic feedback caused recalibration; (2) reach distance and grasp size could be calibrated separately but, if calibrated simultaneously, then (3) recalibration was greater when distance and size changed in a consistent (e.g. reaching for a larger object at a greater distance) rather than an inconsistent (e.g. a smaller object at a greater distance) fashion. These interactions reveal the integral nature of reach-to-grasp organization, that is, that reaching and grasping are integrated components of a single action system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What determines coordination patterns when both hands reach to grasp separate objects at the same time? It is known that synchronous timing is preferred as the most stable mode of bimanual coordination. Nonetheless, normal unimanual prehension behaviour predicts asynchrony when the two hands reach towards unequal targets, with synchrony restricted to targets equal in size and distance. Additionally, sufficiently separated targets require sequential looking. Does synchrony occur in all cases because it is preferred in bimanual coordination or does asynchrony occur because of unimanual task constraints and the need for sequential looking? We investigated coordinative timing when participants ( n = 8) moved their right (preferred) hand to the same object at a fixed distance but the left hand to objects of different width (3, 5, and 7 cm) and grip surface size (1, 2, and 3 cm) placed at different distances (20, 30, and 40 cm) over 270 randomised trials. The hand movements consisted of two components: (1) an initial component (IC) during which the hand reached towards the target while forming an appropriate grip aperture, stopping at (but not touching) the object; (2) a completion component (CC) during which the finger and thumb closed on the target. The two limbs started the IC together but did not interact until the deceleration phase when evidence of synchronisation began to appear. Nonetheless, asynchronous timing was present at the end of the IC and preserved through the CC even with equidistant targets. Thus, there was synchrony but requirements for visual information ultimately yielded asynchronous coordinative timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Reach-to-grasp (prehension) movements are normally accurate, precise and stereotypical in movement pattern. These features disappear when haptic feedback is removed in ‘virtual reality’ systems or when participants pantomime prehension. [Goodale, M. A., Jakobsen, L. S., Keillor, J. M. (1994). Differences in the visual control of pantomimed and natural grasping movements. Neuropsychologia, 32, 1159–1178] suggested that pantomimed reaches are unnatural in form because the ventral rather than the dorsal stream mediates them. We tested whether calibration can prevent ‘unnatural’ prehension. Calibration refers to the use of an error (visual and/or kinaesthetic) signal to refine performance. We asked participants to reach-and-grasp in four conditions: (A) baseline; (B) reaching-to-grasp with haptic feedback (visual open-loop prehension to a physical object); (C) no feedback (visual-open-loop prehension to an object that could be seen but not felt); (D) a random mixture of (B) and (C). A 45° mirror was used to display objects without any reduction in visual quality. The normal decrements in performance were observed in condition (C) but not in the identical trials randomly embedded with feedback trials in condition (D). These findings show that participants can produce normal visual-open-loop prehension in the absence of haptic feedback when calibration is allowed. Thus, dorsal stream processing can support pantomimed reaching when calibration is allowed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: In England, the onset of COVID-19 and a rapidly increasing infection rate resulted in a lockdown (March-June 2020) which placed strict restrictions on movement of the public, including children. Using data collected from children living in a multi-ethnic city with high levels of deprivation, this study aimed to: (1) report children's self-reported physical activity (PA) during the first COVID-19 UK lockdown and identify associated factors; (2) examine changes of children's self-reported PA prior to and during the first UK lockdown. Methods: This study is part of the Born in Bradford (BiB) COVID-19 Research Study. PA (amended Youth Activity Profile), sleep, sedentary behaviours, daily frequency/time/destination/activity when leaving the home, were self-reported by 949 children (9–13 years). A sub-sample (n = 634) also self-reported PA (Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children) pre-pandemic (2017-February 2020). Univariate analysis assessed differences in PA between sex and ethnicity groups; multivariable logistic regression identified factors associated with children's PA. Differences in children's levels of being sufficiently active prior to and during the lockdown were examined using the McNemar test; and multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors explaining change. Results: During the pandemic, White British (WB) children were more sufficiently active (34.1%) compared to Pakistani Heritage children (PH) (22.8%) or 'Other' ethnicity children (O) (22.8%). WB children reported leaving the home more frequently and for longer periods than PH and O children. Modifiable variables related to being sufficiently active were frequency, duration, type of activity, and destination away from the home environment. There was a large reduction in children being sufficiently active during the first COVID-19 lockdown (28.9%) compared to pre-pandemic (69.4%). Conclusions: Promoting safe extended periods of PA everyday outdoors is important for all children, in particular for children from ethnic minority groups. Children's PA during the first COVID-19 UK lockdown has drastically reduced from before. Policy and decision makers, and practitioners should consider the findings in order to begin to understand the impact and consequences that COVID-19 has had upon children's PA which is a key and vital behaviour for health and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal iodine requirements increase during pregnancy to supply thyroid hormones critical for fetal neurodevelopment. Iodine insufficiency may result in poorer cognitive or child educational outcomes but current evidence is sparse and inconsistent. Objectives: To quantify the association between maternal iodine status and child educational outcomes. Methods: Urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) and iodine/creatinine ratios (I:Cr) were measured in 6971 mothers at 26‐28 weeks' gestation participating in the Born in Bradford cohort. Maternal iodine status was examined in relation to child school achievement (early years foundation stage (EYFS), phonics, and Key Stage 1 (KS1)), other learning outcomes, social and behavioural difficulties, and sensorimotor control in 5745 children aged 4‐7 years. Results: Median (interquartile range) UIC was 76 µg/L (46, 120), and I:Cr was 83 µg/g (59, 121). Overall, there was no strong or consistent evidence to support associations between UIC or I:Cr and neurodevelopmental outcomes. For instance, predicted EYFS and phonics scores (primary outcomes) at the 25th vs 75th I:Cr percentiles (99% confidence intervals) were similar, with no evidence of associations: EYFS scores were 32 (99% CI 31, 33) and 33 (99% CI 32, 34), and phonics scores were 34 (99% CI 33, 35) and 35 (99% CI 34, 36), respectively. Conclusions: In the largest single study of its kind, there was little evidence of detrimental neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born to pregnant women with iodine insufficiency as defined by World Health Organization–outlined thresholds. Alternative functional biomarkers for iodine status in pregnancy and focused assessment of other health outcomes may provide additional insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hand rehabilitation is core to helping stroke survivors regain activities of daily living. Recent studies have suggested that the use of electroencephalography-based brain-computer interfaces (BCI) can promote this process. Here, we report the first systematic examination of the literature on the use of BCI-robot systems for the rehabilitation of fine motor skills associated with hand movement and profile these systems from a technical and clinical perspective.Methods: A search for January 2010-October 2019 articles using Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PEDro, PsycINFO, IEEE Xplore and Cochrane Library databases was performed. The selection criteria included BCI-hand robotic systems for rehabilitation at different stages of development involving tests on healthy participants or people who have had a stroke. Data fields include those related to study design, participant characteristics, technical specifications of the system, and clinical outcome measures.Results: 30 studies were identified as eligible for qualitative review and among these, 11 studies involved testing a BCI-hand robot on chronic and subacute stroke patients. Statistically significant improvements in motor assessment scores relative to controls were observed for three BCI-hand robot interventions. The degree of robot control for the majority of studies was limited to triggering the device to perform grasping or pinching movements using motor imagery. Most employed a combination of kinaesthetic and visual response via the robotic device and display screen, respectively, to match feedback to motor imagery.Conclusion: 19 out of 30 studies on BCI-robotic systems for hand rehabilitation report systems at prototype or pre-clinical stages of development. We identified large heterogeneity in reporting and emphasise the need to develop a standard protocol for assessing technical and clinical outcomes so that the necessary evidence base on efficiency and efficacy can be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) play a critical role in ontogenesis. Many children have insufficient FMS, highlighting the need for universal screening in schools. There are many observational FMS assessment tools, but their psychometric properties are not readily accessible. A systematic review was therefore undertaken to compile evidence of the validity and reliability of observational FMS assessments, to evaluate their suitability for screening. Methods: A pre-search of 'fundamental movement skills' OR 'fundamental motor skills' in seven online databases (PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, EBSCO CINAHL, EBSCO SPORTDiscus, Ovid PsycINFO and Web of Science) identified 24 assessment tools for school-aged children that: (i) assess FMS; (ii) measure actual motor competence and (iii) evaluate performance on a standard battery of tasks. Studies were subsequently identified that: (a) used these tools; (b) quantified validity or reliability and (c) sampled school-aged children. Study quality was assessed using COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklists. Results: Ninety studies were included following the screening of 1863 articles. Twenty-one assessment tools had limited or no evidence to support their psychometric properties. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD, n = 34) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC, n = 37) were the most researched tools. Studies consistently reported good evidence for validity, reliability for the TGMD, whilst only 64% of studies reported similarly promising results for the MABC. Twelve studies found good evidence for the reliability and validity of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency but poor study quality appeared to inflate results. Considering all assessment tools, those with promising psychometric properties often measured limited aspects of validity/reliability, and/or had limited feasibility for large scale deployment in a school-setting. Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence to justify the use of any observational FMS assessment tools for universal screening in schools, in their current form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is an orofacial condition defined by reoccurring, spontaneous, short-lived but excruciating stabbing pain. Pharmacological interventions constitute the first-line treatment for TN, with antiepileptic drugs commonly prescribed. People treated for TN pain with antiepileptic drugs describe cognitive and motor difficulties affecting activities of daily living, and report poorer quality of life. We undertook the first comprehensive objective evaluation of sensorimotor and cognitive performance in participants being treated for TN pain with antiepileptic drugs relative to age-matched controls. Methods: Participants (43 TN, 41 control) completed a battery of sensorimotor (steering, aiming and tracking) and cognitive (working memory, processing speed, inhibition) tasks. Results: The TN group performed significantly worse than controls on the sensorimotor tracking and aiming tasks and across all cognitive measures. Conclusions: The data explain why patients treated with antiepileptic drugs report impairment when conducting activities of daily living (given the need for cognitive and motor capability within most of these). The study is an important first step in: (i) ensuring there is adequate information on the impact of pharmacological treatment; (ii) identifying measures to determine optimal medication dosage and track change over time; (iii) creating an evidence base that could allow scientific justification of alternative pain treatment options for TN (e.g. the costs/benefits of surgery). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Severe iodine insufficiency in pregnancy has significant consequences, but there is inadequate evidence to indicate what constitutes mild or moderate insufficiency, in terms of observed detrimental effects on pregnancy or birth outcomes. A limited number of studies have examined iodine status and birth outcomes, finding inconsistent evidence for specific outcomes.Methods: Maternal iodine status was estimated from spot urine samples collected at 26-28 weeks' gestation from 6971 mothers in the Born in Bradford birth cohort. Associations with outcomes were examined for both urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and iodine-to-creatinine ratio (I:Cr). Outcomes assessed included customised birthweight (primary outcome), birthweight, small for gestational age (SGA), low birthweight, head circumference and APGAR score.Results: There was a small positive association between I:Cr and birthweight in adjusted analyses. For a typical participant, the predicted birthweight centile at the 25th percentile of I:Cr (59 μg/g) was 2.7 percentage points lower than that at the 75th percentile of I:Cr (121 μg/g) (99% confidence interval (CI) 0.8 to 4.6), birthweight was predicted to be 41 g lower (99% CI 13 to 69) and the predicted probability of SGA was 1.9 percentage points higher (99% CI 0.0 to 3.7). There was no evidence of associations using UIC or other birth outcomes, including stillbirth, preterm birth, ultrasound growth measures or congenital anomalies.Conclusion: Lower maternal iodine status was associated with lower birthweight and greater probability of SGA. Whilst small, the effect size for lower iodine on birthweight is comparable to environmental tobacco smoke exposure. Iodine insufficiency is avoidable, and strategies to avoid deficiency in women of reproductive age should be considered.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03552341. Registered on June 11, 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disturbance forces facilitate motor learning, but theoretical explanations for this counterintuitive phenomenon are lacking. Smooth arm movements require predictions (inference) about the force-field associated with a workspace. The Free Energy Principle (FEP) suggests that such 'active inference' is driven by 'surprise'. We used these insights to create a formal model that explains why disturbance might help learning. In two experiments, participants undertook a continuous tracking task where they learned how to move their arm in different directions through a novel 3D force field. We compared baseline performance before and after exposure to the novel field to quantify learning. In Experiment 1, the exposure phases (but not the baseline measures) were delivered under three different conditions: (i) robot haptic assistance; (ii) no guidance; (iii) robot haptic disturbance. The disturbance group showed the best learning as our model predicted. Experiment 2 further tested our FEP inspired model. Assistive and/or disturbance forces were applied as a function of performance (low surprise), and compared to a random error manipulation (high surprise). The random group showed the most improvement as predicted by the model. Thus, motor learning can be conceptualised as a process of entropy reduction. Short term motor strategies (e.g. global impedance) can mitigate unexpected perturbations, but continuous movements require active inference about external force-fields in order to create accurate internal models of the external world (motor learning). Our findings reconcile research on the relationship between noise, variability, and motor learning, and show that information is the currency of motor learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) systems offer a powerful tool for human behavior research. The ability to create three-dimensional visual scenes and to measure responses to the visual stimuli enables the behavioral researcher to test hypotheses in a manner and scale that were previously unfeasible. For example, a researcher wanting to understand interceptive timing behavior might wish to violate Newtonian mechanics so that objects can move in novel 3-D trajectories. The same researcher might wish to collect such data with hundreds of participants outside the laboratory, and the use of a VR headset makes this a realistic proposition. The difficulty facing the researcher is that sophisticated 3-D graphics engines (e.g., Unity) have been created for game designers rather than behavioral scientists. To overcome this barrier, we have created a set of tools and programming syntaxes that allow logical encoding of the common experimental features required by the behavioral scientist. The Unity Experiment Framework (UXF) allows researchers to readily implement several forms of data collection and provides them with the ability to easily modify independent variables. UXF does not offer any stimulus presentation features, so the full power of the Unity game engine can be exploited. We use a case study experiment, measuring postural sway in response to an oscillating virtual room, to show that UXF can replicate and advance upon behavioral research paradigms. We show that UXF can simplify and speed up the development of VR experiments created in commercial gaming software and facilitate the efficient acquisition of large quantities of behavioral research data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research suggests that children identified with impaired motor skills can respond well to intensive therapeutic interventions delivered via occupational and physical therapy services. There is, however, a need to explore alternative approaches to delivering interventions outside traditional referral‐based clinic settings because limited resources mean such health services often struggle to meet demand. This review sets out to systematically assess the evidence for and against school‐based interventions targeted at improving the motor skills of children aged between 3 and 12 years old. Method: Five electronic databases were searched systematically (AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane, Medline, and PsycINFO) for peer‐reviewed articles published between January 2012 and July 2018. Studies were eligible if they implemented a school‐based motor skill intervention with a randomized or case‐controlled trial design that objectively measured motor skills as an outcome, which were not specific to an athletic or sporting skill. Participants had to be aged between 3 and 12 years old and free from neurological disorders known to affect muscle function. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: Twenty‐three studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies encompassed interventions targeted at training: fundamental movement skills, handwriting, fine, and global motor skills. The majority of these studies reported beneficial impact on motor function specifically, but some interventions also assessed subsequent impacts on activity and participation (but not well‐being). A number of the studies had methodological shortcomings that means these results need to be interpreted with caution. Conclusions: Schools appear to be an effective setting for motor skill interventions, but the extent of benefit likely depends on the type of intervention. Moreover, confirmation is needed as to whether benefits extend beyond motor function into everyday activities, participation, and well‐being. Future research should include follow‐up measures to assess the longer term efficacy of school‐based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Born in Bradford (BiB) is a prospective multi-ethnic pregnancy and birth cohort study that was established to examine determinants of health and development during childhood and, subsequently, adult life in a deprived multi-ethnic population in the north of England. Between 2007 and 2010, the BiB cohort recruited 12,453 women who experienced 13,776 pregnancies and 13,858 births, along with 3353 of their partners. Forty five percent of the cohort are of Pakistani origin. Now that children are at primary school, the first full follow-up of the cohort is taking place. The aims of the follow-up are to investigate the determinants of children's pre-pubertal health and development, including through understanding parents' health and wellbeing, and to obtain data on exposures in childhood that might influence future health.Methods: We are employing a multi-method approach across three data collection arms (community-based family visits, school based physical assessment, and whole classroom cognitive, motor function and wellbeing measures) to follow-up over 9000 BiB children aged 7-11 years and their families between 2017 and 2021. We are collecting detailed parent and child questionnaires, cognitive and sensorimotor assessments, blood pressure, anthropometry and blood samples from parents and children. Dual x-ray absorptiometry body scans, accelerometry and urine samples are collected on subsamples. Informed consent is collected for continued routine data linkage to health, social care and education records. A range of engagement activities are being used to raise the profile of BiB and to disseminate findings.Discussion: Our multi-method approach to recruitment and assessment provides an efficient method of collecting rich data on all family members. Data collected will enhance BiB as a resource for the international research community to study the interplay between ethnicity, socioeconomic circumstances and biology in relation to cardiometabolic health, mental health, education, cognitive and sensorimotor development and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some activities can be meaningfully dichotomised as ‘cognitive’ or ‘sensorimotor’ in nature—but many cannot. This has radical implications for understanding activity limitation in disability. For example, older adults take longer to learn the serial order of a complex sequence but also exhibit slower, more variable and inaccurate motor performance. So is their impaired skill acquisition a cognitive or motor deficit? We modelled sequence learning as a process involving a limited capacity buffer (working memory), where reduced performance restricts the number of elements that can be stored. To test this model, we examined the relationship between motor performance and sequence learning. Experiment 1 established that older adults were worse at learning the serial order of a complex sequence. Experiment 2 found that participants showed impaired sequence learning when the non-preferred hand was used. Experiment 3 confirmed that serial order learning is impaired when motor demands increase (as the model predicted). These results can be captured by reinforcement learning frameworks which suggest sequence learning will be constrained both by an individual’s sensorimotor ability and cognitive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been recent interest in the relationship between socioeconomic status and the diagnosis of autism in children. Studies in the United States have found lower rates of autism diagnosis associated with lower socioeconomic status, while studies in other countries report no association, or the opposite. This article aims to contribute to the understanding of this relationship in the United Kingdom. Using data from the Born in Bradford cohort, comprising 13,857 children born between 2007 and 2011, it was found that children of mothers educated to A-level or above had twice the rate of autism diagnosis, 1.5% of children (95% confidence interval: 1.1%, 1.9%) compared to children of mothers with lower levels of education status 0.7% (95% confidence interval: 0.5%, 0.9%). No statistically significant relationship between income status or neighbourhood material deprivation was found after controlling for mothers education status. The results suggest a substantial level of underdiagnosis for children of lower education status mothers, though further research is required to determine the extent to which this is replicated across the United Kingdom. Tackling inequalities in autism diagnosis will require action, which could include increased education, awareness, further exploration of the usefulness of screening programmes and the provision of more accessible support services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interceptive timing is a fundamental ability underpinning numerous actions (e.g., ball catching), but its development and relationship with other cognitive functions remain poorly understood. Piaget suggested that children need to learn the physical rules that govern their environment before they can represent abstract concepts such as number and time. Thus, learning how objects move in space and time may underpin the development of related abstract representations (i.e., mathematics). To test this hypothesis, we captured objective measures of interceptive timing in 309 primary school children (5-11 years old), alongside scores for general motor skill and national standardized academic attainment. Bayesian estimation showed that interceptive timing (but not general motor capability) uniquely predicted mathematical ability even after we controlled for age, reading, and writing attainment. This finding demonstrates that interceptive timing is distinct from other motor skills with specificity in predicting childhood mathematical ability independently of other forms of attainment and motor capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]