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A Kinematic Analysis of Motor Planning and Movement Execution of Children With Autism Spectrum Condition

NCT ID: NCT06144775

Last Updated: 2023-11-22

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Total Enrollment

60 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-10-01

Study Completion Date

2025-03-31

Brief Summary

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Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) is a behavioral syndrome characterized by a severe organizational disorder of thinking and major functions that regulate human adaptation. It is to be considered as a functional disorder, or of executive functions, whose dysfunction is expressed in the difficulty of making voluntary movements, sequentially coordinated with each other according to a purpose, and of initiating an action, planning and monitoring it by inhibiting inappropriate responses such as gesture perseveration. Literature studies suggest that, compared to children with typical development (TD) and regardless of cognitive status, children with ASC have pervasive motor dysfunction that results in universal difficulties in several aspects of motor function, including - (1) fine motricity, (2) some aspects of praxis while performing tasks based on imitation of sequences, (3) simultaneous coordination of both sides of the body during rhythmic tasks of the upper limbs, and́ (4) interpersonal coordination and synchrony. The hypothesis of the study is that by comparing these aspects in 2 groups of children with ASC and children with TD using A.I. systems, it will be possible to extract objective markers of motor deficits found in autism, facilitating the validation of measurements acquired with clinical scales. The objective of the study is to investigate the characteristics of manual motor planning and performance difficulties in children with ASC using kinematic measurements. 30 ASC children with medium-high functioning and 30 TD children, aged 7 to 13 years, IQ \> 80, in the absence of motor deficits due to another clinical condition, will be recruited. The protocol will take place in a single session during which children will be video-recorded performing simple and complex rhythmic upper limb actions with a social partner. The presence of characteristic fine motor behaviors, practice errors, perseverations, movement variability, and interpersonal synchrony will be observed. The study will involve the use of 3 tasks contained in NEPSY-II: Finger tapping, Visual-motor precision, and Imitation of manual motor sequences. The videos will be recorded simultaneously and the different angles will allow hand kinematics to be extracted and analyzed with A.I. algorithms to measure displacement, velocity, acceleration, frequency and any other kinematic parameters highlighted. Thus, it is expected to identify objective markers of motor deficits found in children with ASC.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Autism Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

CASE_CONTROL

Study Time Perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

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Children with autism spectrum condition

Thirty ASC children with medium-high functioning, aged 7 to 13 years, IQ \> 80, in the absence of motor deficits due to another clinical condition.

Kinematics measures

Intervention Type OTHER

In a single session each child will be video-recorded while performing simple and complex rhythmic actions of the upper limbs with a social partner. The presence of characteristic motor behaviors, practice errors, perseverations, and movement variability will be observed. The study involves the use of three blocks of tasks of the neuropsychological battery (NEPSY-II): Finger Tapping, Visuo-Motor Precision, and Manual Motor Sequences. The order within each block will be randomized.

Children with typical development

Thirty TD children, aged 7 to 13 years, IQ \> 80, in the absence of motor deficits due to clinical condition.

Kinematics measures

Intervention Type OTHER

In a single session each child will be video-recorded while performing simple and complex rhythmic actions of the upper limbs with a social partner. The presence of characteristic motor behaviors, practice errors, perseverations, and movement variability will be observed. The study involves the use of three blocks of tasks of the neuropsychological battery (NEPSY-II): Finger Tapping, Visuo-Motor Precision, and Manual Motor Sequences. The order within each block will be randomized.

Interventions

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Kinematics measures

In a single session each child will be video-recorded while performing simple and complex rhythmic actions of the upper limbs with a social partner. The presence of characteristic motor behaviors, practice errors, perseverations, and movement variability will be observed. The study involves the use of three blocks of tasks of the neuropsychological battery (NEPSY-II): Finger Tapping, Visuo-Motor Precision, and Manual Motor Sequences. The order within each block will be randomized.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Diagnosis of Autism
* QI ≥ 80.

Exclusion Criteria

* Motor deficits due to another clinical condition
Minimum Eligible Age

7 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

13 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Messina, Italy

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Flavia Marino

Head of Unit

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Flavia Marino

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica

Locations

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Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB) - National Research Council (CNR)

Messina, , Italy

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Italy

Central Contacts

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Ileana Scarcella

Role: CONTACT

[email protected]
+393408322948

Giovanni Pioggia

Role: CONTACT

[email protected]
+393203390892

Facility Contacts

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Flavia Marino

Role: primary

[email protected]
+393395798263

Giovanni Pioggia

Role: backup

[email protected]
+393203390892

References

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Backstrom A, Johansson AM, Rudolfsson T, Ronnqvist L, von Hofsten C, Rosander K, Domellof E. Motor planning and movement execution during goal-directed sequential manual movements in 6-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder: A kinematic analysis. Res Dev Disabil. 2021 Aug;115:104014. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104014. Epub 2021 Jun 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34174471 (View on PubMed)

Foster NC, Bennett SJ, Causer J, Elliott D, Bird G, Hayes SJ. Getting Off to a Shaky Start: Specificity in Planning and Feedforward Control During Sensorimotor Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res. 2020 Mar;13(3):423-435. doi: 10.1002/aur.2214. Epub 2019 Oct 29.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31661192 (View on PubMed)

Glazebrook CM, Elliott D, Lyons J. A kinematic analysis of how young adults with and without autism plan and control goal-directed movements. Motor Control. 2006 Jul;10(3):244-64. doi: 10.1123/mcj.10.3.244.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17106133 (View on PubMed)

Kaur M, M Srinivasan S, N Bhat A. Comparing motor performance, praxis, coordination, and interpersonal synchrony between children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Res Dev Disabil. 2018 Jan;72:79-95. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2017.10.025. Epub 2017 Nov 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29121516 (View on PubMed)

Grace N, Johnson BP, Rinehart NJ, Enticott PG. Are Motor Control and Regulation Problems Part of the ASD Motor Profile? A Handwriting Study. Dev Neuropsychol. 2018;43(7):581-594. doi: 10.1080/87565641.2018.1504948. Epub 2018 Aug 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30124332 (View on PubMed)

Vivanti G, Trembath D, Dissanayake C. Mechanisms of imitation impairment in autism spectrum disorder. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2014 Nov;42(8):1395-405. doi: 10.1007/s10802-014-9874-9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24736983 (View on PubMed)

Zampella CJ, Wang LAL, Haley M, Hutchinson AG, de Marchena A. Motor Skill Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Clinically Focused Review. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2021 Aug 13;23(10):64. doi: 10.1007/s11920-021-01280-6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34387753 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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CNR-IRIB-PRO-2023-004

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id