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Strong biomechanical constraints on young children's mental imagery of hands.

ABSTRACT: Mental rotation (MR) of body parts is a useful paradigm to investigate how people manipulate mental imagery related to body schema. It has been documented that adult participants use 'motor imagery' for MR of hands: a behavioural indication is a biomechanical effect, that is, hand pictures in orientations to which imitative hand movement would be biomechanically difficult require longer response times to be visually identified as the left or right hand. However, little is known about the typical developmental trajectory of the biomechanical effect, which could offer clues to understanding how children acquire the ability to manipulate body schema. This study investigated developmental changes in the biomechanical effect in schoolchildren. Eighty-four children (from 6 to 11 years old, grouped into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders) and fifteen adults made hand laterality judgements in an MR paradigm. The results indicated that the biomechanical effect is stronger for younger children, and that there is a transitional period (around 7-8 years) during which children shift from action execution to imagery in manipulating body schema. The results suggest that mental imagery of hands has a stronger motor aspect in the transitional period than later in childhood and adulthood.

SUBMITTER: Sekiyama K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4448770 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Strong biomechanical constraints on young children's mental imagery of hands.

Sekiyama Kaoru K Kinoshita Toshiro T Soshi Takahiro T

Royal Society open science 20141210 4

Mental rotation (MR) of body parts is a useful paradigm to investigate how people manipulate mental imagery related to body schema. It has been documented that adult participants use 'motor imagery' for MR of hands: a behavioural indication is a biomechanical effect, that is, hand pictures in orientations to which imitative hand movement would be biomechanically difficult require longer response times to be visually identified as the left or right hand. However, little is known about the typical ...[more]

PMID: 26064568

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Hands are a route of transmission for fecal-oral pathogens. This analysis aimed to assess associations between hand E. coli contamination and child age and determine if observed hand cleanliness can serve as a proxy for E. coli contamination on young children's hands. METHODS:Trained field workers collected hand rinse samples from children aged 1-14 months in 584 households in rural Bangladesh and assessed the visual cleanliness of child hands (fingernails, finger pads and palms). Samples were analyzed using the IDEXX most probable number (MPN) methodto enumerate E. coli. We assessed if child age (immobile children aged 1-4 months vs. mobile children aged 5-14 months) is associated with log10 E. coli counts on hands using generalized estimating equations (GEE). We estimated the log10 difference in hand E. coli counts associated with the cleanliness of different hand parts using a multivariable GEE model.We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for dirty fingernails, fingerpads, palms and overall hands (the three observed parts combined) against binary E. coli presence on hands. RESULTS:E. coli was detected on 43% of child hands. Children in the mobile age range had 0.17 log10 MPN higher E. coli on hands than those in the immobile age range (?log10 = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.32, p = 0.03). Children with visible dirt particles on finger pads had 0.46 log10 MPN higher E. coli on hands than those with clean finger pads (?log10 = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.05, 0.87, p = 0.03). Dirty fingernails indicated binary E. coli presence with 81% sensitivity and 26% specificity while dirty fingerpads and palms indicated E. coli presence with 29% sensitivity and 75-77% specificity. The PPV was 45-48% and NPV 59-65% for all three types of observations. CONCLUSION:Hand contamination with E. coli was prevalent among young children in rural Bangladesh, with higher levels of contamination among mobile children. Studies should assess if strategies to remove animal feces from the courtyard, provide designated hygienic play spaces for children and deliver targeted messaging to mothers to wipe or wash children's hands after contact with animals and animal feces reduce child hand contamination. Visible hand cleanliness was a poor predictor of E. coli presence on young children's hands so other low-cost field measurements are needed to accurately detect fecal contamination on hands.

Project description:Background:Thirdhand smoke (THS) pollutants, such as nicotine, accumulate on the hands of children who live in homes with smokers and are exposed to secondhand smoke. Our objective was to examine whether levels of hand nicotine in exposed children are associated with demographics, environmental factors, and clinical findings. Methods:Participants were caregivers who smoke and children (mean age (SD)?=?2.6 (3.7)?years) who were part of an ongoing 2-group, randomized controlled trial of an emergency department-based tobacco cessation intervention (N?=?104). The primary outcome measure was nicotine on the child's hand. Caregivers reported demographics and smoking patterns; children's medical records were abstracted for chief complaint, medical history, and diagnoses. Results:All children had detectable hand nicotine (geometric mean [GeoM]?=?86.2?ng/wipe; range?=?3.5-2, 190.4?ng/wipe). Children in the age group of 2 to 4?years old (GeoM?=?185.6?ng/wipe) had higher levels than the children in the age groups of 0 to 1 (GeoM?=?68.9?ng/wipe, P?<?.001), 5 to 9 (GeoM?=?77.9?ng/wipe, P?=?.04), and 10 to 15?years old (GeoM?=?74.2?ng/wipe, P?=?.048). Children whose caregivers smoked 6 to 14 (GeoM?=?97.2?ng/wipe, P?=?.047) and 15 to 40 cigarettes/day (GeoM?=?124.0?ng/wipe, P?=?.01) had higher levels than children whose caregivers smoked 1 to 5 cigarettes/day (GeoM?=?59.7?ng/wipe). Children with 6 to 14 cigarettes/day (GeoM?=?163.11?ng/wipe, P?=?.007) and 15 to 40 cigarettes/day (GeoM?=?186.1, P?=?.003) smoked inside the home by all smokers had significantly higher levels than homes with 0 cigarettes (GeoM?=?81.3?ng/wipe). Similar differences in hand nicotine levels were found for smoking frequency of all household members in any location. Children with complaints of cough/congestion (GeoM?=?97.7?ng/wipe) had higher levels than those without cough/congestion (GeoM?=?59.0?ng/wipe, P?=?.01). Conclusions:The high hand nicotine levels in children whose caregivers do not necessarily smoke indoor demonstrate that indoor smoking bans do not safeguard against THS exposure and the associations with increased home smoking activity indicate that hand wipes may be a noninvasive way to characterize children's exposure. The findings of associated cough and congestion with higher THS levels need to be examined further.

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Strong biomechanical constraints on young children's mental imagery of hands.

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Strong biomechanical constraints on young children's mental imagery of hands.

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