Abstract
•Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP) have impaired anticipatory visual control and eye-hand coordination.•Impaired anticipatory visual control potentially affects the planning of goal-directed action in children with HCP.•The action execution impairment in children with HCP is also related to deficits in integration of vision with motor output.•Visuomotor coordination should be taken into consideration when assessing and treating motor impairments in children with HCP.
Action-planning and execution deficits in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP) are potentially due to deficits in the integration of sensory information, such as vision, with motor output.
To determine differences in anticipatory visual patterns in children with HCP compared to typically developing (TD) children, and to assess visuomotor coordination in children with HCP.
We included 13 children with HCP (Age = 6.8 + 2.9 yrs) and 15 TD children (Age = 5.8 + 1.1 yrs). The experimental task used in this study is a valid action-planning task, which consisted of initially reaching and grasping an object placed at a fixed position, followed by placing the object in a random target position. Visual patterns were recorded using a head-mounted eye-tracker system and arm movements were recorded using motion capture (120 Hz).
Children with HCP had delayed anticipatory gaze time and longer latency than TD children during the planning and execution phases. Children with HCP also had a higher frequency of gaze shifts, longer reaction times (RT) and movement times (MT) than TD children.
Children with HCP may have deficits in anticipatory vision, which potentially affected planning and executing a goal-directed action. Therapeutic interventions focusing on improving visuomotor coordination may improve the motor performance in children with HCP.