Development of psychomotor tempó (tapping speed and stability) and EEG alpha frequency in 7 to 15-years-old children.
The psychomotor tempo (tapping) and its relation to alpha frequency was investigated in 100 7- to 15-year-old children. The frequency of alpha rhythm increased in proportion to age, and the maximum and preferential tapping frequencies revealed an increasing tendency, too. Mainly the preferential tapping frequency correlated with the age-dependent increment of EEG alpha frequency. Simultaneously, the variability of the tapping frequency decreased. During a phase of relatively stable tapping performance regular fluctuations in the tapping frequency occurred with a period duration between 0.67 and 13.3 s. These oscillations of the motor activity developed during ontogenesis: The slow fluctuations were found in all groups, whereas those with shorter periods were best pronounced in the older children. The development of EEG and psychomotor indices are assumed to be based on the morphological and functional maturation of the developing brain. Therefore, they may be used as a tool to assess the normal and disturbed brain development.
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000513:Alpha Rhythm; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010507:Periodicity; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*