title: Electrophysiological and hemodynamic evidence for late maturation of hand power grip and force control under visual feedback.
abstract: Several human imaging studies have described the neural network involved in power grip under visual control and the subset of cortical areas within this network that are sensitive to force modulation. As there is behavioral evidence for late maturation in even simple hand motor tasks involving visual feedback, we aimed at identifying the neural correlates of these developmental changes. Subjects from three developmental age groups (9-11, 15-17, and adults) performed the same power grip task in both a functional magnetic resonance imaging and an event-related potential (ERP) session. Trials started with a visual target indicating whether to squeeze at 20%, 40%, or 75% of their maximum and online visual feedback on the actual amount of force was provided. Longer reaction times and more shallow slopes of the force curve characterized the behavior of the younger age groups, especially the children. Both neurophysiological methods detected both general as well as force modulation-specific maturational changes. General development was characterized by decreasing ERP amplitudes and increasing deactivation of an extended network, closely resembling the so-called "default" network. The most pronounced developmental changes specific for force control were observed in an ERP component and brain regions involved in feedback processing. In contrast to adult subjects, we found evidence for a stronger dependency on visual feedback information in the younger age groups. Our results also suggest that the ability to deactivate task-irrelevant networks might be a late developmental achievement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Brain Mapping Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Halder
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brem
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bucher
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boujraf
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Summers
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: Spyros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kollias
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brandeis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005246:Feedback / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology