Brain Imaging Increases Our Understanding of Developmental Coordination Disorder: a Review of Literature and Future Directions

Abstract Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neuromotor disorder of unknown etiology characterized by poor motor skills that significantly interferes with a child’s ability to perform everyday activities and affects their psychosocial well-being. Little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying motor impairment, making it difficult to understand why children with DCD struggle to learn motor skills and what the best intervention would be to optimize function. With the advent of advanced neuroimaging techniques, several MRI studies have been conducted to tackle this important issue. Findings from these studies suggest that children with DCD activate different regions of the brain during functional tasks and show differences in white matter microstructure compared to typically developing children. The emerging neuroimaging data will help clarify the possible underlying mechanisms in relation to impaired motor function at the behavioral level in children with DCD.
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - Category: Child Development Source Type: research