Spatial cognition and motor development: a study of children with spina bifida.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between motor development and spatial cognition. The sample was 20 children with Spina bifida (M age: 11.4 yr., SD = 1.7) and 20 healthy children as controls (M age: 11.8, SD = 1.8 yr.). An experimental assessment of motor development in spatial cognition in a simulated virtual maze by school-age children is lacking. In this study children with Spina bifida, who were impaired in walking since birth, completed four visuospatial tasks in a small-scale space (Mental Rotation, Water-Level Task, Embedded Figures Test, Visual Short-term Memory Test), and a spatial behaviour and knowledge task in a virtual maze. These children showed poorer performance than children in the control group on most measures. The results are discussed with respect to theoretical implications and further research.
Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. petra.jansen-osmann@uni-duesseldorf.de
Petra
P
Jansen-Osmann
Gunnar
G
Wiedenbauer
Martin
M
Heil
D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019957:Motor Skills Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013028:Space Perception; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000453:epidemiology*