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Dalina Delfing, student of the Research Master Cognitive Neuroscience, receives the Neuronus award for the best oral presentation in Cognitive Science
During the Neuronus conference in Krakow, Poland, Dalina Delfing gave an oral presentation about her research project. Dalina works as an intern at the Behavioral Science Institute of the Radboud University at the group of prof. Bert Steenbergen. Her project entitled, “Examining the motor observation and motor imagery capacity of typically developing children and children with unilateral cerebral palsy – an EEG study’’ and is supervised by dr. Marijtje Jongsma. Within this project, we investigate the amount of activation in the cortical motor areas when children are either watching hand movements, performing hand movements, or when they imagine that they are executing such movements. Because previous research showed that in adults the motor areas are activated during the observation and imagination of hand movements, these techniques could be useful for rehabilitation programs. We observed that children show activations of motor areas during both action observation and motor imagery. However, in children with unilateral CP, less activation was measured over the damaged hemisphere. In addition, more pronounced activation was observed during the observation of movement than during the imagination of movement in this group.
For more information see: http://neuronusforum.pl/Awards/.
The abstract of research:
Examining the motor observation and motor imagery capacity of typically developing children and children with unilateral cerebral palsy – an EEG study
D. Delfing, C.M van Rijn, R.H.J. van der Lubbe, B. Steenbergen & M.L.A. Jongsma (2018)
Studies with adult stroke patients showed that explicit motor imagery (MI) is an effective therapy tool within rehabilitation. However, studies addressing the effect of MI-based interventions in children with motor impairments hint at a compromised MI ability in this population. To determine whether and from which age children with unilateral cerebral palsy (uCP) would benefit from MI training, two studies were conducted. In study one, the effect of age on the MI ability in typically developed (TD) children was examined. In study two, the MI ability in children with uCP was examined. In both studies, the EEG signal was recorded during an EO (eyes open), an AO (action observation), a ME (motor execution) and a MI condition. We examined the mu rhythm, which is normally suppressed during AO, ME and MI compared to EO. In TD children, when analyzing the mu rhythm during AO and MI, mu-suppression was observed in both conditions. However, no age-related differences were found. In children with uCP, mu-suppression was observed in both conditions over the non-affected hemisphere. The affected hemisphere only showed mu-suppression during AO. Our findings suggest that MI ability in children with uCP is compromised. However, AO might be useful in rehabilitation programs.
