Periodic Reporting for period 4 - Learn2Walk (Brain meets spine: the neural origin of toddler’s first steps)
Période du rapport: 2021-08-01 au 2022-07-31
We studied changes in gait movement and neuromuscular control in both TD children and children with high risk of developing CP. We also implemented an innovative methodological approach to quantify gait-related cortico-spinal entrainment in toddlers that learn to walk. Until recently, only a handful of studies addressed neural correlates of gait in humans and even more in young children, due to the challenge of recording the brain activity while walking. During this project we investigated in particular the ability of the primary motor cortex to entrain the output of group of muscles (also known as muscle synergies or locomotor primitives) in walking children. We showed that in the locomotor muscle synergies are represented in the sensorimotor cortex, and the two (out of the four) muscle synergies that are known to develop around the onset of independent walking displayed significant cortical representation compared to the other two synergies.
We have developed a new approach to study the neural interactions on multiple time scales using network structure that was used to study the sensorimotor integration and its effect on motor control in toddlers at the onset of independent walking and after months of independent walking experience. Moreover, we are employing sophisticated multivariate statistics (i.e. principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering) on a large number of gait variable to identify key parameter that are responsible for the modification of the gait pattern during the development od walking. These results also informed about the degree of maturity of the locomotor patterns.
These combined methodologies and studies are thus yielding scientific results that are increasing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the emergence of walking in children. Many results have been disseminated via open access publications and national/international conferences.