Neurobiological bases and neurophysiological correlates of developmental coordination disorders

Among psychomotor disorders in children, developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is characterized by a motor skill impairment that interferes with psychomotor development, academic performance and activities of daily living, despite normal intelligence. The main behavioural phenomena (lack of postural control, coordination and motor learning) suggest involvement of cerebellum, basal ganglia and frontal and parietal lobes. Our studies on a synchronisation/syncopation task, with EEG recording (coherence analysis and evoked potential), show that DCD children (8 to 12 years old) exhibit major interindividual variability and do not improve performance with repetition. In younger DCD children, an increase of coherence between fronto-central regions was reported, and, for evoked potential, an increase of motor preparation component and a N100 latency longer than control children. These findings support the idea of a general synchronization disorder in DCD children and furnish elements allowing a better understanding of intra- and interindividual variability.