Developmental Coordination Disorder and Brain Activation

A small study was recently published in Pediatrics on developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and brain activation. Seven children, ages 8-12 years, with DCD and seven control subjects without DCD, performed a fine motor trail tracing task while undergoing functional MRI. The behavioral motor results of the fine motor trail tracing task were similar between the two groups. The MRI results indicated that the children with DCD used significantly more brain activation in the left inferior parietal lobule, right middle frontal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus, right lingual gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right posterior cingulate gyrus, right precentral gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, and right cerebellar lobule VI, than the typically developing children. The researchers concluded that the children with DCD relied more on visuospatial processing to complete the fine motor activity.

Reference: Zwicker, Jill G., Missiuna, Cheryl, Harris, Susan R., Boyd, Lara A.
Brain Activation of Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder is Different Than Peers Pediatrics 2010 126: e678-e686