Motor Imagery Development in Children: Changes in Speed and Accuracy With Increasing Age

Frontiers in Pediatrics

article

Deisiane Oliveira Souto¹  Thalita Karla Flores Cruz¹  Patrícia Lemos Bueno Fontes¹  Rodrigo Caetano Batista²  Vitor Geraldi Haase¹ 

[1] Graduate Program in Neurosciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais;Developmental Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais;Department of Physiotherapy, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais;National Institute of Science and Technology on Behavior

关键词: motor imagery;    development;    children;    adults;    mental rotation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fped.2020.00100

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Although motor imagery has been pointed as a promising strategy for the rehabilitation of children with neurological disorders, information on their development throughout childhood and adolescence is still scarce. For instance, it is still unclear at what age they reach a development comparable to the motor imagery performance observed in adults. Herein we used a mental rotation task to assess motor imagery in 164 typically developing children and adolescents, which were divided into four age groups (6–7, 8–9, 10–11, and 12–13 years) and 30 adults. The effects of biomechanical constraints, accuracy, and reaction time of the mental rotation task were considered. ANOVA showed that all groups had the effect of biomechanical restrictions of the mental rotation task. We found a group effect for accuracy [ F (4, 180) = 17,560; p 0.05). Concluding, children aged 6–7 years were able to perform motor imagery, motor imagery ability improved as the participants' ages increased, and children aged 10 and over-performed similarly to adults.

【 授权许可】

CC BY