The development of eye movements in the zebrafish ( Danio rerio )

We investigated the development of oculomotor activity in zebrafish embryos and larvae of ages 48-96 hrs postfertilization (hpf). The optokinetic response (OKR: smooth tracking movements evoked by a rotating striped drum) improved steadily after its onset at 73 hpf, and by 96 hpf had a achieved a gain (eye velocity/drum velocity) of 0.9, comparable to adult performance. Reset movements (the fast phase of optokinetic nystagmus) developed over 75–81 hpf. The vestibuloocular reflex (VOR: compensatory eye movements evoked by passive rotation of the head) developed over 74–81 hpf, and the associated reset movements, over 76–81 hpf. The VOR was qualitatively normal in dark-reared fish, which excludes an essential role for visual experience in its early development. Spontaneous saccadic movements (the fast shift of eye position) appeared between 81 and 96 hpf, and at 96 hpf had maximum velocities that were comparable to adults. These results are compared to, and found to be incompatible with, two earlier ideas of motor development: behavioral “differentiation” and “encephalization.” © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 31: 267–276, 1997Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34395/1/4_ftp.pd

Adaptation of the difficulty level in an infant-robot movement contingency study

19th International Workshop of Physical Agents (WAF). Madrid (22-23 Noviembre 2018)ABSTRACT: This paper presents a personalized contingency feedback adaptation system that aims to encourage infants aged 6 to 8 months to gradually increase the peak acceleration of their leg movements. The ultimate challenge is to determine if a socially assistive humanoid robot can guide infant learning using contingent rewards, where the reward threshold is personalized for each infant using a reinforcement learning algorithm. The model learned from the data captured by wearable inertial sensors measuring infant leg movement accelerations in an earlier study. Each infant generated a unique model that determined the behavior of the robot. The presented results were obtained from the distributions of the participants' acceleration peaks and demonstrate that the resulting model is sensitive to the degree of differentiation among the participants; each participant (infant) should have his/her own learned policy.This work was supported by NSF award 1706964 (PI: Smith, Co-PI: Matarić). In addition, this work was developed during an international mobility program at the University of Southern California being also partially funded by the European Union ECHORD++ project (FP7-ICT-601116), the LifeBots project (TIN2015-65686-C5) and THERAPIST project (TIN2012-38079)

Cultural Models Of Infant Emotions And Needs Among The Gamo People Of Southern Ethiopia

How mothers perceive their infants’ emotions and their subsequent responses are influenced by cultural values and beliefs. Mothers who live in particularly harsh environments may have perceptions about their infants’ emotions that reflect not only cultural values but also constraints of the environment. In this qualitative study, 29 Gamo mothers living in rural Ethiopia were interviewed about perceptions of their infants’ emotions, how they felt about these emotions, and what they believed their infants needed in response. Through constant comparative analysis and thematic coding, several patterns emerged in mothers’ perceptions about their infants’ emotions and what constituted appropriate responses. Mothers said that their infants’ negative emotions were possibly related to illness and that appropriate responses were focused mostly on breastfeeding, complementary food, and needing to be held. Mothers also discussed their work demands and how they conflicted with their desire to respond to their infants; however, many mothers said that they relied on their older children to help. Mothers’ responses were centered on a parenting strategy aimed at promoting infant health and survival, which is consistent with research on parents living in rural environments who subsist by farming and have relatively high risk for infant mortality.RESUMENLos valores y creencias culturales influyen la manera como las madres perciben las emociones de sus infantes y sus respuestas subsecuentes. Las madres que viven en ambientes particularmente hostiles pudieran tener percepciones acerca de las emociones de sus infantes que reflejan no sólo los valores culturales sino también las restricciones del entorno. En este estudio cualitativo, 29 madres Gamo residentes en Etiopía fueron entrevistadas acerca de sus percepciones de las emociones de sus infantes, cómo se sentían acerca de estas emociones, y qué creían ellas que sus infantes necesitaban a manera de respuesta. A través de constantes análisis comparativos y codificaciones temáticas, surgieron varios patrones en las percepciones que las madres tenían acerca de las emociones de sus infantes y lo que constituía respuestas apropiadas. Las madres dijeron que las emociones negativas de sus infantes estaban posiblemente relacionadas con la enfermedad y que las respuestas apropiadas estaban enfocadas primordialmente en el proceso de amamantar, alimentos complementarios y la necesidad de ser llevado en brazos. Las madres también explicaron los requerimientos de su trabajo y cómo los mismos estaban en conflicto con su deseo de responder a sus infantes; sin embargo, muchas madres dijeron que ellas confiaban en la ayuda de sus hijos mayores. Las respuestas de las madres se centraron en una estrategia de crianza dirigida a promover la salud y supervivencia del infante, lo cual es consistente con la investigación acerca de progenitores que viven en entornos rurales que subsisten por medio de la agricultura y tienen un riesgo relativamente alto de mortalidad infantilRÉSUMÉLa manière dont les mères perçoivent les émotions de leurs bébés et leurs réactions qui s’en suivent sont influencées par les valeurs et les croyances culturelles. Les mères qui vivent dans des milieux particulièrement durs peuvent avoir des perceptions des émotions de leurs bébés qui reflètent non seulement des valeurs culturelles mais aussi les contraintes de leur milieu, de leur environnement. Dans cette étude qualitative, 29 mères Gamos vivant dans l’Ethiopie rurale ont été interviewées à propos de leurs perceptions des émotions de leurs bébés, ce qu’elles ressentaient à propos de ces émotions, et ce dont elles croyaient que leurs bébés avaient besoin en réponse. A travers une analyse comparative constante et un codage thématique, certains patterns ont émergé dans les perceptions des mères des émotions de leurs bébés et ce qui constituait des réactions, des réponses appropriées. Les mères ont indiqué que les émotions négatives de leurs bébés étaient peut‐être liées à une maladie ou que les réponses appropriées étaient dans l’ensemble focalisées sur l’allaitement au sein, de la nourriture complémentaire et le besoin d’être tenu. Les mères ont aussi discuté les exigences de leur travail et la manière dont celles‐ci présentaient un conflit avec leur désir de répondre à leurs bébés. Cependant beaucoup de mères ont dit qu’elles se reposaient sur l’aide de leurs enfants les plus âgés. Les réponses, les réactions des mères étaient centrées sur une stratégie de parentage destinée à promouvoir la santé du bébé et sa survie, ce qui s’aligne avec les recherches sur les parents vivant en milieux ruraux qui subsistent grâce à la petite agriculture et qui ont un risque relativement élevé de mortalité du nourrisson.ZUSAMMENFASSUNGWie Mütter die Emotionen ihrer Säuglinge wahrnehmen und wie sie darauf reagieren, wird von kulturellen Werten und Überzeugungen beeinflusst. Mütter, die in besonders rauen Umgebungen leben, mögen Auffassungen über die Emotionen ihrer Säuglinge haben, die nicht nur die kulturellen Werte, sondern auch die Einschränkungen der Umwelt widerspiegeln. In dieser qualitativen Studie wurden 29 Mütter der Gamo, die im ländlichen Äthiopien leben, befragt, wie sie die Emotionen ihrer Säuglinge wahrnehmen, wie sie sich in Bezug auf diese Emotionen fühlen und was sie glauben, was ihre Säuglinge als Reaktion darauf benötigen. Durch ständige vergleichende Analysen und thematische Kodierungen entstanden verschiedene Muster bezüglich der Auffassungen der Mütter über die Emotionen ihrer Säuglinge und über angemessene Reaktionen. Die Mütter berichteten, dass die negativen Emotionen ihrer Säuglinge möglicherweise mit einer Krankheit zusammenhängen und dass sich angemessene Reaktionen vor allem auf das Stillen, die Beikost und die Notwendigkeit, sie zu tragen, konzentrieren. Die Mütter diskutierten auch über ihre Arbeitsanforderungen und wie sie mit ihrem Wunsch, auf ihre Säuglinge zu reagieren, in Konflikt gerieten; viele Mütter sagten jedoch, dass sie sich auf ihre älteren Kinder als Unterstützung verlassen würden. Die Antworten der Mütter konzentrierten sich auf eine Erziehungsstrategie zur Förderung der Gesundheit und des Überlebens von Säuglingen, die mit der Forschung über Eltern, die in ländlichen Gebieten leben, von der Landwirtschaft abhängig sind und bei denen ein relativ hohes Risiko für Kindersterblichkeit vorliegt, im Einklang steht.抄録南部エチオピアのガモ族における乳幼児の感情と要求の文化モデル母親たちが乳幼児の感情をどう認識してそれに応じるか、は、文化的価値観や信念の影響を受ける。特に厳しい環境に暮らす母親は、乳幼児の感情を、単に文化的価値だけでなく環境による制約を反映するものととらえるかもしれない。この定性的研究では、エチオピアの農村に住む29人のガモ族の母親が、自分の乳幼児の感情への認識や、自分の感じ方、また乳幼児がどんな応答を必要とすると信じているかについてインタビューを受けた。一定の比較分析と主題コード化を通して、母親が乳幼児の感情をどうとらえ何が適切な反応を構成すると思うかについて、いくつかのパターンが判明した。母親たちは、乳児の否定的な感情は多くの場合病気に関連していて、適切な対応は母乳をあげること、またはそれを補う食物をあげること、抱っこすること、が適切な対応であると述べた。母親たちは仕事の荷が重いこと、自分たちの願うように赤ん坊に対応してやれない葛藤を抱えていることも話し合った。しかし、多くの母親は年上のきょうだいの助けを期待していると語った。母親たちの反応は、乳幼児の健康と生存の増進のための戦略が中心であり、これは、農業で暮らし、乳児死亡率のリスクが比較的高い農村環境の親の研究と一致する。摘要埃塞俄比亞南部加莫人民嬰兒情緒和需求的文化模式母親如何感知嬰兒的情緒及其隨後的反應, 受到文化價值觀和信仰的影響。生活在特別惡劣環境中的母親可能對嬰兒的情緒有所了解, 這些感受不僅反映其文化價值, 也反映環境的限制。這項定性研究, 訪問居住在埃塞俄比亞農村地區的29名加莫母親, 了解她們對嬰兒情緒的看法丶她們對這些情緒的感受, 以及她們認為嬰兒需要如何回應。通過不斷的比較分析和主題編碼, 母親對嬰兒情緒的看法以及適當反應出現幾種模式。母親認為嬰兒的負面情緒可能與疾病有關, 並認為適當的反應集中在母乳喂養丶補充食物和嬰兒需要被抱。母親還討論她們的工作要求, 以及這些要求與回應嬰兒的願望發生衝突; 然而, 許多母親說她們依靠年齡較大的孩子來幫忙。母親的回應集中於促進嬰兒健康和生存的育兒策略, 這與生活在農村環境以農業為生, 嬰兒死亡風險相對較高的父母之研究一致。ملخصالنماذج الثقافية لعواطف واحتياجات الرضع في مجتمعات الجامو في جنوب اثيوبياتتأثر تصورات الأمهات عن عواطف أطفالهن واستجابتهن اللاحقة بالقيم والمعتقدات الثقافية. فالأمهات اللاتي يعشن في بيئات قاسيه على وجه التحديد قد يكون لديهن تصورات بشان عواطف الرضع قد لا تعكس القيم الثقافية فحسب ، بل أيضا قيود وخصوصيات تلك البيئة. في هذه الدراسة الوصفية ، أجريت مقابلات مع 29 من الأمهات داخل مجتمعات الجامو واللاتي يعشن في المناطق الريفية في اثيوبيا بشان تصوراتهن لعواطف أطفالهن الرضع ، وكيف شعرن بهذه العواطف ، وما يعتقدن ان أطفالهن يحتاجون اليه استجابه لذلك. ومن خلال التحليل المقارن الثابت وتكويد المواضيع ، ظهرت عده أنماط في تصورات الأمهات بشان عواطف أطفالهن الرضع وما يشكل استجابات مناسبه في المواقف المختلفة. وقالت الأمهات ان العواطف السلبية للرضع قد تكون مرتبطة بالمرض وان الاستجابات المناسبة تتركز في معظمها علي الرضاعة الطبيعية والغذاء التكميلي وحاجة الطفل لأن تحمله أمه. وناقشت الأمهات أيضا متطلبات عملهن وكيفيه تعارضها مع رغبتهن في الاستجابة لأطفالهن ؛ بيد ان كثيرا من الأمهات أوضحن أنهن يعتمدن علي أطفالهن الأكبر سنا للمساعدة. وتركزت استجابات الأمهات علي استراتيجية الرعاية الوالدية التي تهدف إلى تعزيز صحة الرضع وبقاءهم ، والتي تتسق مع البحوث المتعلقة بالآباء الذين يعيشون في بيئات ريفيه ويعتمدون على الزراعة ولديهم مخاطر عاليه نسبيا من حيث وفيات الرضع.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146436/1/imhj21734.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146436/2/imhj21734_am.pd

A robotic wheelchair trainer: design overview and a feasibility study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Experiencing independent mobility is important for children with a severe movement disability, but learning to drive a powered wheelchair can be labor intensive, requiring hand-over-hand assistance from a skilled therapist.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To improve accessibility to training, we developed a robotic wheelchair trainer that steers itself along a course marked by a line on the floor using computer vision, haptically guiding the driver's hand in appropriate steering motions using a force feedback joystick, as the driver tries to catch a mobile robot in a game of "robot tag". This paper provides a detailed design description of the computer vision and control system. In addition, we present data from a pilot study in which we used the chair to teach children without motor impairment aged 4-9 (n = 22) to drive the wheelchair in a single training session, in order to verify that the wheelchair could enable learning by the non-impaired motor system, and to establish normative values of learning rates.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>Training with haptic guidance from the robotic wheelchair trainer improved the steering ability of children without motor impairment significantly more than training without guidance. We also report the results of a case study with one 8-year-old child with a severe motor impairment due to cerebral palsy, who replicated the single-session training protocol that the non-disabled children participated in. This child also improved steering ability after training with guidance from the joystick by an amount even greater than the children without motor impairment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The system not only provided a safe, fun context for automating driver's training, but also enhanced motor learning by the non-impaired motor system, presumably by demonstrating through intuitive movement and force of the joystick itself exemplary control to follow the course. The case study indicates that a child with a motor system impaired by CP can also gain a short-term benefit from driver's training with haptic guidance.</p

Embodiment and the origin of interval timing: kinematic and electromyographic data

Recent evidence suggests that interval timing (the judgment of durations lasting from approximately 500 ms. to a few minutes) is closely coupled to the action control system. We used surface electromyography (EMG) and motion capture technology to explore the emergence of this coupling in 4-, 6-, and 8-month-olds. We engaged infants in an active and socially relevant arm-raising task with 7 cycles and response period. In one condition cycles were slow (every 4 seconds) in another they were fast (every 2 seconds). In the slow condition, we found evidence of time locked sub-threshold EMG activity even in the absence of any observed overt motor responses at all 3 ages. This study shows that EMGs can be a more sensitive measure of interval timing in early development than overt behavior

Quadrupedal movement training improves markers of cognition and joint repositioning

Introduction - Exercise, and in particular balance and coordination related activities such as dance, appear to have positive effects on cognitive function, as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Quadrupedal gait training is a movement system requiring coordination of all four limbs that has previously been associated with cognitive development in children. There is currently little research into the effect of complex QDP movements on cognitive function in adults. Purpose - To determine the effects of a novel four-week quadrupedal gait training programme on markers of cognitive function and joint reposition sense in healthy adults. Methods - Twenty-two physically active sports science students (15 male and 7 female) were divided into two groups: a training group (TG) and a control group (CG). All participants completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) and were tested for joint reposition sense before and after a four-week intervention, during which time the TG completed a series of progressive and challenging quadrupedal movement training sessions. Results - Participants in the TG showed significant improvements in the WCST, with improvements in perseverative errors, non-perseverative errors, and conceptual level response. This improvement was not found in the CG. Joint reposition sense also improved for the TG, but only at 20 degrees of shoulder flexion. Conclusions - Performance of a novel, progressive, and challenging task, requiring the coordination of all 4 limbs, has a beneficial impact on cognitive flexibility, and in joint reposition sense, although only at the specific joint angle directly targeted by the training. The findings are consistent with other studies showing improvements in executive function and joint reposition sense following physical activity

A Cross-National Investigation of the Relationship Between Infant Walking and Language Development

The acquisition of walking has recently been linked with infant language development (Walle &amp; Campos, 2014). If this relation reflects the consequence of an epigenetic event, then it should be present regardless of when the infant typically begins to walk, the infant's culture, and the infant's native language. This study sought to replicate the previously reported link between walking and language development in American infants and investigate whether this relation exists cross-nationally in typically developing Chinese infants exposed to Mandarin. Urban Chinese infants not only provide a distinct linguistic and cultural population in which to study this relation but also typically begin walking approximately 6 weeks later than American infants. Our results demonstrated that (1) walking infants in both the American and Chinese samples had greater receptive and productive vocabularies than same-aged crawling infants, (2) differences between crawling and walking infants were proportionally similar in each sample, and (3) the walking-language relation was present for both noun and non-noun vocabularies. These findings provide further support of a relation between infant walking onset and language development, independent of age. Avenues for future research of the processes involved in this relation, as well as additional populations of interest to investigate, are discussed. Copyrigh

Embodiment and the origin of interval timing: kinematic and electromyographic data

Recent evidence suggests that interval timing (the judgment of durations lasting from approximately 500 ms. to a few minutes) is closely coupled to the action control system. We used surface electromyography (EMG) and motion capture technology to explore the emergence of this coupling in 4-, 6-, and 8-month-olds. We engaged infants in an active and socially relevant arm-raising task with seven cycles and response period. In one condition, cycles were slow (every 4 s); in another, they were fast (every 2 s). In the slow condition, we found evidence of time-locked sub-threshold EMG activity even in the absence of any observed overt motor responses at all three ages. This study shows that EMGs can be a more sensitive measure of interval timing in early development than overt behavior

Treadmill interventions with partial body weight support in children under six years of age at risk of neuromotor delay

Background Delayed motor development may occur in children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or children born preterm, which in turn may limit the child's opportunities to explore the environment. Neurophysiologic and early intervention literature suggests that task-specific training facilitates motor development. Treadmill intervention is a good example of locomotor task-specific training. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of treadmill intervention on locomotor motor development in pre-ambulatory infants and children under six years of age who are at risk for neuromotor delay. Search methods In March 2011 we searched CENTRAL (T h e Coch ran e Library 2011, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1948 to March Week 2, 2011), EMBASE (1980 to Week 11, 2011), PsycINFO (1887 to current), CINAHL (1937 to current), Science Citation Index (1970 to 19 March 2011), PEDro (until 7 March 2011), CPCI-S (1990 to 19 March 2011) and LILACS (until March 2011). We also searched ICTRP, ClinicalTrials.gov, mRCT and CenterWatch. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials that evaluated the effect of treadmill intervention in children up to six years of age with delays in gait development or the attainment of independent walking or who were at risk of neuromotor delay. Data collection and analysis Four authors independently extracted the data using standardised forms. Outcome parameters were structured according to the "Body functions" and "Activity and Participation" components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, Children & Youth version (ICFCY), which was developed by the World Health Organization. Main results We included five studies, which reported on treadmill intervention in 139 children. Of the 139 children, 73 were allocated to treadmill intervention groups, with the other children serving as controls. The studies varied in the type of population studied (children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or who were at risk for neuromotor delay); the type of comparison (for example, treadmill versus no intervention, high intensity treadmill versus low intensity); the time of evaluation (during the intervention or at various intervals after intervention), and the parameters assessed. Due to the diversity of the studies, we were only able to use data from three studies in meta-analyses and these were limited to two outcomes: age of onset of independent walking and gross motor function. Evidence suggested that treadmill intervention could lead to earlier onset of independent walking when compared to no treadmill intervention (two studies; effect estimate -1.47; 95% confidence interval (CI): -2.97, 0.03), though these trials studied two different populations and children with Down syndrome seemed to benefit while it was not clear if this was the case for children at high risk of neuromotor disabilities. Another two studies, both in children with Down syndrome, compared different types of treadmill intervention: one compared treadmill intervention with and without orthotics, while the other compared high versus low intensity treadmill intervention. Both were inconclusive regarding the impact of these different protocols on the age at which children started to walk. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether treadmill intervention improves gross motor function (two studies; effect estimate 0.88; 95% CI: -4.54, 6.30). In the one study evaluating treadmill with and without orthotics, results suggested that adding orthotics might hinder gross motor progress (effect estimate -8.40; 95% CI: -14.55, -2.25). One study of children with Down syndrome measured the age of onset of assisted walking and reported those receiving the treadmill intervention were able to walk with assistance earlier than those who did not receive the intervention (effect estimate -74.00; 95% CI: -135.40, -12.60). Another study comparing high and low intensity treadmill was unable to conclude whether one was more effective than the other in helping children achieve supported walking at an earlier age (effect estimate -1.86; 95% CI: -4.09, 0.37). One study of children at high risk of neuromotor disabilities evaluated step quality and found a statistically significant benefit from treadmill intervention compared to no treadmill intervention (effect estimate at 16 months of age: -15.61; 95% CI: -23.96, -7.27), but was not able to conclude whether there was a beneficial effect from treadmill training on step frequency at the same age (effect estimate at 16 months of age: 4.36; 95% CI: -2.63, 11.35). Step frequency was also evaluated in children with Down syndrome in another study and those who received high intensity rather than low intensity treadmill training showed an increased number of alternating steps (effect estimate 11.00; 95% CI: 6.03, 15.97). Our other primary outcome, falls and injuries due to falls, was not measured in any of the included studies. Authors' conclusions The current review provided only limited evidence of the efficacy of treadmill intervention in children up to six years of age. Few studies have assessed treadmill interventions in young children using an appropriate control group (which would be usual treatment or no treatment). The available evidence indicates that treadmill intervention may accelerate the development of independent walking in children with Down syndrome. Further research is needed to confirm this and should also address whether intensive treadmill intervention can accelerate walking onset in young children with cerebral palsy and high risk infants, and whether treadmill intervention has a general effect on gross motor development in the various subgroups of young children at risk for developmental delay

Empirical and Phenomenological Studies of Embodied Cognition

This surveys central results in empirical and phenomenological studies of embodied cognition. The central effort is to show how Husserl's phenomenology and emphasis on kinaesthesis leads to an argument that cognition must inherently be embodied