title: Bimanual coordination during a goal-directed task in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.
abstract: Most studies of impaired hand function in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) have focused on either the involved or the non-involved extremity in isolation. Coordination of the involved and non-involved hand during bimanual tasks in these children is not well understood. The present study examined bimanual coordination using a drawer-opening task under speed and hand constraints in 10 children with hemiplegic CP (5 males and 5 females, mean age 13y 5mo, range 8y to 16y) and 10 age-matched right-handed developing typically children (6 males and 4 females, mean age 13y 1mo). Children were asked to reach forward and open a drawer with one hand and then activate a light switch inside the drawer with the contralateral hand. The role of the two hands (open drawer and activate switch) and speed (self-paced vs fast-as-possible) were varied. The children with hemiplegic CP were slower (p<0.001) and less coordinated in this task, with reduced movement overlap of the two hands (p<0.001) and sequential completion of the two movement objectives (p<0.001). Moreover, the hand used for each task subcomponent affected task performance for the children with hemiplegic CP (p<0.05). Interestingly, faster speed facilitated better bimanual coordination for the children with hemiplegic CP (p<0.001). Results highlight the importance of movement constraints on task performance and suggest that movement speed might facilitate better bimanual coordination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Ya-Ching
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods