Cognitive-Motor Interference Heightens the Prefrontal Cortical Activation and Deteriorates the Task Performance in Children With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy.
Swati M Surkar, Rashelle M Hoffman, Regina Harbourne and 1 others
PMID 32976843WHAT IT FOUND
Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy showed more prefrontal activation and poorer shape matching when doing the task on a therapy ball than while sitting.
The dual task also slowed their reaction time.
Key findings
01Both groups showed greater prefrontal activation when matching shapes while sitting on a therapy ball than while sitting on a chair.
02Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy matched fewer shapes and had slower reaction times than typically developing children in both task conditions.
03In children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, higher prefrontal activation was associated with a larger drop in shape matching from the chair to the therapy ball.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 9 children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy and 12 typically developing children, so it is small. It included only children with mild to moderate hand ability and excluded children with severe hand ability, cognitive impairment, visual deficits, fixed hand or wrist contractures, or other arm weakness, so it does not show what happens in more severe hemiplegic cerebral palsy. It measured only prefrontal cortex activation, not other brain areas that may also be involved in dual tasks. It did not measure posture or movement quality, so it cannot show whether children were prioritizing balance over the shape-matching task. It was a laboratory comparison, not a treatment trial, so it does not prove that therapy ball tasks improve or worsen rehabilitation outcomes.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest declaration is included in the supplied text. The article is listed as supported by National Institutes of Health extramural research and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that therapy ball tasks are harmful or that they should be avoided. The study compared a short laboratory task in children with mild to moderate hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and it did not test a rehabilitation programme or patient outcomes.