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Copyright of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: General movements' assessment (GMA), based on Gestalt perception, identifies infants at risk of cerebral palsy. However, the requirement of ample experience to construct the assessor's inner criteria for abnormal movement hampers its widespread clinical use. This study aims to describe details of general movements (GMs) in various body parts and to investigate their association with GMA‐Gestalt. Methods: Participants were 24 typically developing infants and 22 very‐high‐risk infants. GMs were assessed during the writhing (0‐8 weeks) and/or fidgety GM phase (2‐5 months) by GMA‐Gestalt and a semi‐quantification of the duration of simple movements and complex movements in various body parts. Results: During both GM phases, the quality of movement often varied within a single assessment, but the degree of complexity and variation of movements in trunk, arms and legs were interrelated (ρ = 0.32‐0.84). Longer durations of complex movements in arms and legs (P <.042) were further associated with a better quality in GMA‐Gestalt. Head movement was associated with movements in other body parts only in the writhing phase and not associated with GMA‐Gestalt during both GM phases. Conclusion: Infants did not show consistently over time and across body parts simple or complex movements. Detailed description of movement characteristics may facilitate the development of computer‐based GMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: To investigate postural adjustments during reaching in infants at high risk for cerebral palsy (CP).Method: Observational cohort study in which 25 infants at high risk (11 males, 14 females) and 11 infants with typical development (six males, five females) were assessed at 4, 6, and 18 months corrected age. Reaching movements were elicited during supported and unsupported sitting, while surface electromyography was recorded of arm, neck, and trunk muscles. Percentages of direction-specific adjustments (first level of control), and recruitment patterns and anticipatory activation (second level of control) were calculated. Statistical analyses were performed with a binomial generalized estimating equations model for dichotomous variables and a linear mixed model for continuous variables.Results: Postural activity of infants at high risk for CP at 4 months was virtually similar to that of infants with typical development. At 18 months, infants at high risk differed from infants with typical development with less direction-specificity (median values 20% vs 58% at trunk and neck level, OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.18-0.82); longer latencies to trunk muscle activation; and less anticipatory activation (41% vs 55%, in any direction-specific muscle, OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.32-0.89). In unsupported sitting, results were largely similar to those in supported sitting.Interpretation: Infants at high risk for CP grew into a postural deficit: at 18 months they showed delayed development of direction-specificity, and postural dysfunction as evidenced by slower recruitment of postural muscles and less frequent anticipatory activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]