Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Early diagnosis in the critical period is important for ASD children. Recent studies of neurodevelopmental behavioral features and joint attention in high-risk infants showed there are some special cues which can distinguish ASD from typical development infant. But the findings of high-risk population may not be applicable to the general population. It is necessary to \"analogically\" study the potential warning traits of ASD in infancy in the general population. We did a nested case-control study from June 2019 to November 2022 in Tianjin, China, including 76 general infants whom completed the neurodevelopmental evaluation, the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-23 (CHAT-23) screening, and eye tracking task. Social behavior quotient in infancy was negatively correlated to CHAT-23 total scores in toddlerhood. Social behavior quotient in infancy was positively correlated to initiating joint attention in toddlerhood. Regression model showed that high fine motor scale and social behaviour scale quotient in infancy were associated with an decreased risk of the total score of CHAT-23 ≥ 2 in toddlerhood. The Receiver operating characteristic curve showed the social behaviour in infancy alone and the combination of fine motor and social behaviour in infancy contributed to auxiliary diagnosis of higher level of autistic traits in toddlerhood. These findings suggest that Impaired development of fine motor and social behavior in infancy are potential warning features of high autistic traits in general population.

Early motor skills may be important early markers of neurodevelopmental conditions or predictors of their later onset. To explore this, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of infant motor skill assessments in those who go on to gain a clinical diagnosis of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, language conditions, tic disorders, or developmental coordination disorder (DCD). In total, 65 articles met inclusion criteria. Three three-level meta-analyses were run. Meta-analysis of milestone achievement in N=21354 individuals revealed gross motor milestones were significantly delayed compared to controls (g= 0.53, p< 0.001). Subgroup analyses revealed autism (g= 0.63) and DCD (g= 0.53) had the highest magnitude delays. Specific delays were revealed for holding the head up (g= 0.21), sitting (g= 0.28), standing (g= 0.35), crawling (g=0.19), and walking (g= 0.71). Meta-analyses of standardised motor skill measurements in N=1976 individuals revealed reduced performance compared to controls in autism and language conditions (g= -0.54, p< 0.001). Together, these findings demonstrate delayed milestone attainment and motor impairments in early childhood in neurodevelopmental conditions.

BACKGROUND: This study investigates the effects of birth season and sex on the development of gross and fine motor skills in 2-year-old children in Jinhua, Eastern China.
METHODS: Conducted in Jinhua, a city in central Zhejiang Province, Eastern China, this research involved 225 children, assessing their gross and fine motor skills using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition. Scores were adjusted for age in months to avoid the relative age effect. Statistical analyses included MANOVA to evaluate the impacts of season and sex.
RESULTS: Sex had no significant impact on overall motor development scores (p > 0.05). However, the season of birth significantly affected fine motor quotient (FMQ) and total motor quotient (TMQ) (p < 0.05). Boys\' motor skills were generally unaffected by season, whereas girls born in winter exhibited superior fine motor skills compared to those born in summer.
CONCLUSIONS: Seasonal environmental factors significantly influence early motor development, particularly fine motor skills in girls. These findings highlight the importance of considering seasonal variations in early childhood interventions aimed at enhancing exercise physiology and sports performance.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition leading to progressive muscle weakness, atrophy, and ultimately death. Traditional ALS clinical evaluations often depend on subjective metrics, making accurate disease detection and monitoring disease trajectory challenging. To address these limitations, we developed the nQiALS toolkit, a machine learning-powered system that leverages smartphone typing dynamics to detect and track motor impairment in people with ALS. The study included 63 ALS patients and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We introduce the three core components of this toolkit: the nQiALS-Detection, which differentiated ALS from healthy typing patterns with an AUC of 0.89; the nQiALS-Progression, which separated slow and fast progression at specific thresholds with AUCs ranging between 0.65 and 0.8; and the nQiALS-Fine Motor, which identified subtle progression in fine motor dysfunction, suggesting earlier prediction than the state-of-the-art assessment. Together, these tools represent an innovative approach to ALS assessment, offering a complementary, objective metric to traditional clinical methods and which may reshape our understanding and monitoring of ALS progression.

BACKGROUND: Hand function is reduced with aging which can lead to impairments in the performance of daily activities and eventually loss of independence. The ability to perceive the forces being applied to an object is an important component of hand control that also declines with age. However, the extent to which force perception can be improved through training remains largely unknown.
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a home-training program focused on improving force perception in older adults.
METHODS: Quasi-experimental - Uncontrolled trial.
METHODS: Eleven independent, healthy adults (mean age: 77.2 ± 6.8 years) participated in a home-based sensorimotor hand training program 6 days/week for 6 weeks. Force perception, the primary outcome variable, was measured as the ability to reproduce a pinch force equal to 25% maximum voluntary contraction in the absence of visual feedback using either the ipsilateral remembered or contralateral concurrent (CC) hand. We also measured hand strength, dexterity, tactile acuity, and cognition before and after training.
RESULTS: After the program was completed, participants showed a 35% reduction in absolute (p < 0.01, confidence interval (CI): [7.3, 33.2], effect sizes (ES): 0.87) and constant (p = 0.05, CI: [0.0, 34.9], ES: 0.79) force matching errors in the CC condition. Improvements in dominant hand dexterity (Purdue pegboard test) (p < 0.05, CI: [0.2, 2.4], ES: 0.60) and tactile sensitivity (JVP thresholds) (p < 0.05, CI: [-1.7, -0.1], ES: 0.94), as well as cognition (Trail Making Test B) (p < 0.05, CI: [-24,1. -1.6], ES: 0.30) were also observed post-training.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that home-hand training can be an effective way to improve force perception among older adults.

UNASSIGNED: The acquisition of fine motor skills is considered to be a crucial developmental milestone throughout early childhood. This study aimed to investigate the fine motor performance of young children with different disability diagnoses.
UNASSIGNED: We enrolled a sample of 1,897 young children under the age of 6 years who were at risk of developmental delays and were identified by a transdisciplinary team. A series of standardized developmental assessments included the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Third Edition, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Fourth Edition, Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-Second Edition, and Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition were used. Retrospective chart reviews were conducted on all children to identify specific developmental disorders. The number of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), comorbidity, motor dysfunction, and unspecified developmental delays (DD) were 363 (19.1%), 223 (11.8%), 234 (12.3%), 285 (15.0%), 128 (6.7%), and 590 (31.1%), respectively.
UNASSIGNED: Young children with ID, comorbidity, and motor dysfunction demonstrated significant difficulty in performing manual dexterity and visual motor integration tasks and scored significantly lower in these areas than children with ASD, ADHD, and unspecified DD. In addition, fine motor performance was associated with cognitive ability in children with different disability diagnoses, indicating that young children showed better fine motor performance when they demonstrated better cognitive ability.
UNASSIGNED: Our findings support that differences in fine motor performance differ by disability type. Close links between fine motor performance and cognitive ability in children under the age of 6 years were seen in all disability types.

UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between fine motor skills and reading components and compare the fine motor skills of normal children and children with dyslexia.
UNASSIGNED: In this study, 47 children with dyslexia children and 47 normal children in the first to the third grade of elementary school in the age range of seven to nine years were examined with the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and NEMA reading test. Data were analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk, U Mann-Whitney methods, multiple linear regression, and Spearman correlation coefficient.
UNASSIGNED: The results showed children with dyslexia were significantly weaker in fine motor skills than normal children (p <0.001). In addition, a relationship existed between the subtest of response speed and reading accuracy in normal children, but it was in normal children. A significant relationship was found between visual-motor control subtests and Upper-limb speed and dexterity with reading accuracy and speed. None of the motor subtests were related to reading comprehension. In children with dyslexia, no association was found between motor subtests and reading components.
UNASSIGNED: Seemingly, fine motor skills can be used as an essential factor along with other effective factors in improving the reading skills of children with reading disabilities.

Previous research suggests that the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3rd ed. (ASQ) fine motor domain (FMD) may not be culturally relevant for developmental screening in a rural Guatemalan community, as the FMD accounts for 40% of all abnormal screenings after a needs assessment in this community. We hypothesize this is due to a lack of exposure to objects assessed in the questionnaire, such as blocks or light switches. The FMD scores of rural Guatemalan children (n = 56) participating in a child development program were compared with Spanish- and English-speaking Latinx-American children attending a US primary care clinic and screened at yearly well-child checks. Groups were matched for age gender, and socioeconomic status. Item-level analyses explored differences across the three groups. In the Guatemalan sample, the FMD abnormal score rates were 16%, 62%, and zero in the 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old children, respectively. Abnormal scores for the Guatemalan sample on the 24-month ASQ-3 significantly differed (p = .01) when compared to the Latinx-American groups. The 24-month questionnaire has more questions about objects than the 12- and 36-month questionnaires, which may explain the higher rates of abnormal scores. Developmental screening with ASQ-3 may not adequately capture the skills of children in similar communities.
La investigación previa ha sugerido que el dominio de motricidad fina (FMD) del Cuestionario de Edades y Etapas - Tercera edición (ASQ) pudiera no ser culturalmente relevante para examinar el desarrollo en una comunidad rural de Guatemala, ya que el FMD representa el 40% de todas las examinaciones anormales después de la evaluación de necesidades en esta comunidad. Nuestra hipótesis es que esto se debe a la falta de exposición a objetos evaluados en el cuestionario, tales como bloques o interruptores de luz. Se compararon los puntajes del FMD de niños de áreas rurales en Guatemala (n=56) que participan en un programa de desarrollo del niño con niños norteamericanos latin-x hablantes del español y del inglés, quienes asisten a una clínica de cuidado primario y son examinados en chequeos anuales de rutina para niños sanos. Se clasificaron los grupos según la edad, el género y la condición económica. Los análisis del nivel de cada punto exploraron las diferencias a lo largo de los 3 grupos. En el grupo muestra de Guatemala, los índices de puntajes anormales de FMD fueron 16%, 62% y cero en los niños de 12, 24 y 36 meses de edad, respectivamente. Los puntajes anormales para el grupo de Guatemala en el ASQ-3 a los 24 meses significativamente difirieron (p=0.01) cuando se les comparó con los grupos muestras norteamericanos latin-x. El cuestionario para la edad de 24 meses tiene más preguntas acerca de objetos que los cuestionarios para las edades de 12 y 36 meses, lo cual pudiera explicar los más altos índices de puntajes anormales. La examinación del desarrollo con ASQ-3 pudiera no captar adecuadamente las destrezas de niños en comunidades similares.
Les recherches précédentes suggèrent que le domaine de la motricité fine (FMD en anglais) du Questionnaire des Ages et des Etapes - 3e édition (ASQ en anglais) pourrait ne pas être pertinent sur le point culturel pour le dépistage développemental dans une communauté rurale du Guatémala puisque le FMD explique 40% de tous les dépistages anormaux après une évaluation des besoins dans cette communauté. Nous émettons l\'hypothèse que cela est dû au manque d\'exposition à des objets évalués dans le questionnaire, comme des blocs ou des interrupteurs (électricité). Les scores de FMD d\'enfants de milieu rural au Guatémala (n=56) participant à un programme de développement de l\'enfant ont été comparés à ceux d\'enfants Latinx-Américains parlant espagnol et anglais, patients d\'une clinique de soins primaires aux Etats-Unis d\'Amérique et dépisté avec des contrôles de santé annuels. Les groupes ont été assortis par groupe de genre et de statut socioéconomique. Des analyses de précision ont exploré les différences entre les 3 groupes. Dans l’échantillon du Guatémala les taux de score anormal FMD étaient de 16%, 62% et zéro chez les enfants de 12, 24 et 36 mois, respectivement. Les scores anormaux pour l’échantillon du Guatémala pour le ASQ-3 à 24 moi a différé de manière importante (p=0.01) lors de la comparaison aux groupes Latinx-Américains. Le questionnaire de 24 mois a plus de questions sur les objets que les questionnaires de 12 mois et de 36 mois, ce qui peut expliquer les taux plus élevés de scores anormaux. Le dépistage développemental avec le ASQ-3 pourrait s\'avérer ne pas capturer de manière adéquate les compétences des enfants dans des communautés similaires.
Frühere Forschungsergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Domain Feinmotorik (FMD) des „Ages and Stages Questionnaire - 3rd ed.“ (ASQ) aus kulturellen Gründen möglicherweise für Entwicklungsscreenings in einer ländlichen Gemeinde Guatemalas nicht relevant ist. Die FMD hat nach einer Bedarfsanalyse in dieser Gemeinde nämlich 40 % aller abnormen Screenings ausmacht. Wir stellen die Hypothese auf, dass dies darauf zurückzuführen ist, dass die Kinder die im Fragebogen vorkommenden Objekte - wie Blöcke oder Lichtschalter - nicht kennen. Die FMD-Werte der Kinder aus dem ländlichen Guatemala (n=56), die an einem Kinderentwicklungsprogramm teilnahmen, wurden mit denen von spanisch- und englischsprachigen lateinamerikanischen Kindern verglichen, die für ihre jährliche Vorsorgeuntersuchung eine US-amerikanische Klinik für Primärversorgung besuchten. Die Gruppen wurden hinsichtlich Alter, Geschlecht und sozioökonomischem Status verglichen. Analysen auf Item-Ebene untersuchten die Unterschiede zwischen den 3 Gruppen. In der guatemaltekischen Stichprobe lagen die Raten abnormer FMD-Werte bei den 12, 24 und 36 Monate alten Kindern jeweils bei 16%, 62% bzw. 0%. Die abnormen Werte der guatemaltekischen Stichprobe im 24-Monats-ASQ-3 unterschieden sich signifikant (p=0,01) von den lateinamerikanischen Gruppen. Der 24-Monats-Fragebogen enthält mehr Fragen zu Objekten als die 12- und 36-Monats-Fragebögen, was die höheren Raten an abnormalen Ergebnissen erklären könnte. ASQ-3-Entwicklungsscreenings sind möglicherweise nicht geeignet, Fähigkeiten von Kindern aus vergleichbaren Gemeinden angemessen zu erfassen.
先前的研究表明, “年龄与发育进程问卷-第三版”(ASQ)的精细动作领域(FMD)可能与危地马拉农村社区的发育筛查没有文化相关性, 因为在该类社区进行需求评估后, FMD占所有异常筛查的40%。我们假设这是由于缺乏接触问卷中评估的物体(例如积木或电灯开关)造成的。将参加儿童发育计划的危地马拉农村儿童(n=56)的FMD分数与在美国初级保健诊所接受年度儿童体检的西班牙语和英语拉丁裔美国儿童进行比较。各组根据年龄、性别和社会经济地位进行匹配。项目分析探讨了三组之间的差异。在危地马拉样本中, 12个月、24个月和36个月的儿童中, FMD异常分数的比率分别为16%、62%和零。危地马拉样本在24个月ASQ-3上的异常分数与拉丁裔美国人组相比有显著差异(p=0.01)。24个月的问卷比12个月和36个月的问卷有更多关于物体的问题, 这可能解释了异常分数率较高的原因。使用ASQ-3进行发育筛查可能无法充分掌握类似社区中儿童的技能水平。.
تشير الأبحاث السابقة إلى أن المجال الحركي الدقيق (FMD) في استبيان الأعمار والمراحل - الإصدار الثالث (ASQ) قد لا ذا صلة ثقافية بفحص النمو في مجتمع غواتيمالي ريفي، حيث يمثل المجال الحركي الدقيق 40٪ من جميع الفحوصات غير الطبيعية بعد تقييم الاحتياجات في هذا المجتمع. ونحن نفترض أن هذا يرجع إلى عدم التعرض للأشياء التي تم تقييمها في الاستبيان، مثل الكتل أو مفاتيح الإضاءة. تمت مقارنة درجات المجال الحركي الدقيق للأطفال الريفيين الغواتيماليين (العدد = 56) المشاركين في برنامج نمو الطفل مع الأطفال الأمريكيين اللاتينيين الناطقين بالإسبانية والإنجليزية والذين يحضرون عيادة الرعاية الأولية في الولايات المتحدة وتم فحصهم خلال فحوصات صحة الطفل السنوية. وتم مطابقة المجموعات حسب العمر والجنس والحالة الاجتماعية والاقتصادية. استكشفت التحليلات على مستوى العنصر الاختلافات عبر المجموعات الثلاث. في العينة الغواتيمالية، كانت معدلات الدرجات غير الطبيعية للمجال الحركي الدقيق هي 16% و62% وصفر في الأطفال الذين تتراوح أعمارهم بين 12 و24 و36 شهرًا على التوالي. اختلفت الدرجات غير الطبيعية للعينة الغواتيمالية في استبيان الأعمار والمراحل عند عمر 24 شهر بشكل ملحوظ عند مقارنتها بمجموعات أمريكا اللاتينية. يحتوي استبيان الـ 24 شهرًا على أسئلة حول الأشياء أكثر من استبيانات الـ 12 و36 شهرًا، وهو ما قد يفسر المعدلات الأعلى للدرجات غير الطبيعية. قد لا يلتقط فحص النمو باستخدام ASQ-3 مهارات الأطفال في مجتمعات مماثلة بشكل كافي.

Early childhood life is critical for optimal development and is the foundation of future well-being. Genetic, sociocultural, and environmental factors are important determinants of child development.
The objectives were to screen for suspected developmental delays (DDs) among Egyptian preschool children, and to explore the determinants of these delays based on sociodemographic, epidemiological, maternal, and child perinatal risk factors.
A national Egyptian cross-sectional developmental screening of a representative sample of preschool children (21,316 children) aged 12 to 71 months. The Revised Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire (R-PDQ) followed by the Denver Developmental Screening Test, 2nd edition (DDST) was used.
Each screened child manifested at least one of six developmental categories. Either typical development, gross motor delay (GM), fine motor adaptive delay (FMA), Language delay (L), Personal-social delay (PS), or multiple DDs. The prevalence of preschool children with at least one DD was 6.4%, while 4.5% had multiple DDs. Developmental language delay was the most prevalent, affecting 4.2% of children. The least affected domain was GM (1.9% of children). Boys were more likely to have DD than girls. Children in urban communities were more likely to have at least one DD than those in rural areas (OR = 1.28, 95%CI: 1.14-1.42), and children of middle social class than of low or high social class (OR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.30-1.70 & OR = 1.40, 95%CI: 1.23-1.59 respectively). The strong perinatal predictors for at least one DD were children with a history of postnatal convulsions (OR = 2.68, 95%CI: 1.97-3.64), low birth weight (OR = 2.06, 95%CI: 1.69-2.52), or history of postnatal cyanosis (OR = 1.77, 95%CI: 1.26-2.49) and mothers had any health problem during pregnancy (OR = 1.73, 95%CI: 1.44-2.07). Higher paternal and maternal education decreased the odds of having any DD by 43% (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.47-0.68) and 31% (OR = 0.69, 95%CI: 0.58-0.82) respectively.
This study demonstrates a considerable attempt to assess the types and the prevalence of DD among preschool children in Egypt. Perinatal factors are among the most common determinants of DD in preschool children and the majority could be preventable risk factors.

The cerebellum plays a vital role in cognition, communication with the cerebral cortex, and fine motor coordination. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a portable, less restrictive, and noninvasive functional brain imaging method that can capture brain activity during movements by measuring the relative oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentrations in the blood. However, the feasibility of using NIRS to measure cerebellar activity requires discussion. We compared NIRS responses between areas assumed to be the cerebellum and the occipital lobe during a fine motor task (tying a bow knot) and a visual task. Our results showed that the oxy-Hb concentration increased more in the occipital lobe than in the cerebellum during the visual task (p =.034). In contrast, during the fine motor task, the oxy-Hb concentration decreased in the occipital lobe but increased significantly in the cerebellum, indicating a notable difference (p =.015). These findings suggest that we successfully captured cerebellar activity associated with processing, particularly fine motor coordination. Moreover, the observed responses did not differ between individuals with autism spectrum disorder and those with typical development. Our study demonstrates the meaningful utility of NIRS as a method for measuring cerebellar activity during movements.