Papers by Louise Rönnqvist
Fysisk aktivitet har positiva effekter pa var hjarnas tidiga utveckling och leder bland annat til... more Fysisk aktivitet har positiva effekter pa var hjarnas tidiga utveckling och leder bland annat till battre kroppsuppfattning, sjalvbild och sociala fardigheter. Mycket tidigt, redan under de forsta ...
6-month-old infants reaching for linear- and non-linear moving object : predictive actions and as... more 6-month-old infants reaching for linear- and non-linear moving object : predictive actions and asymmetries
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2015
ABSTRACT Introduction: Although children born preterm (PT) are at known risk for impaired neuromo... more ABSTRACT Introduction: Although children born preterm (PT) are at known risk for impaired neuromotor development, longitudinal studies using detailed measurements of motor performance are rare. This study investigated developmental changes in goal-directed upper-limb kinematics from 4-8 years old in a sample of children born fullterm (FT) and PT without known developmental disabilities. Participants and Methods: 3D kinematic recordings of performance with either arm/hand during a goal-directed unimanual precision task were carried out at 4 and 8 years in 37 children (13 very PT, V-PT, < 32 GW; 5 moderately PT, M-PT, 33-35 GW; 19 FT). Results: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant main effects for group and occasion, and interaction effects between group and occasion, for distal movement duration (p < .0001) and segmentation in terms of movement units (MUs, p < .0001). From initially having displayed less proficient movement organization at 4 years than both children born FT and M-PT, the children born V-PT showed a marked catch-up at 8 years, where no significant group differences remained. The mean between-occasion difference was substantial for both duration and segmentation in V-PT relative the other groups, although with noticeably higher within-group variability (MSD = 1.2 s/7.8 MUs) than M-PT (MSD = 0.5 s/2.5 MUs) and FT (MSD = 0.5 s/4.2 MUs). Conclusion: The children born PT, V-PT in particular, generally displayed a considerable gain in fine motor performance from preschool to school age. Compared with the FT and M-PT groups, however, the rate of improvement appears more heterogeneous in the V-PT group.
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2015
ABSTRACT Introduction: It is well established that a very preterm birth (PT) relates to increased... more ABSTRACT Introduction: It is well established that a very preterm birth (PT) relates to increased behavioral problems. The aim of this study was to investigate effects and associations between different gestational ages (GA) at birth (term, late-to-extreme) and later functions. This study is part of an ongoing, longitudinal project. Participants and Methods: Test outcomes from WISC-IV and Achenbach’s Child-Behavior-Checklist (CBCL) in children tested at 7-8-years (M=7.7) were used to investigate group differences as effect of GA at birth. In total, 64 preterm born (PT), GA range 22-36, (divided into groups of 14 extremely-PT/EPT, 17 very-PT/VPT, and 33 moderately PT/MPT) and 64 term born (TB), were included. Additionally, associations between GA, birth weight (BW), and outcomes from WISC-IV and CBCL were investigated. Results: Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) revealed significantly (p < .05) poorer WISC outcomes on Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, and on Full-Scale-IQ for children born EPT/VPT in comparison to MPT and TB born. Parents’ CBCL ratings reveled that EPT children had significantly higher prevalence of Attention problems, Thought problems, Aggressive and Somatic complaints. Including the PT-group only shown significant positive correlations between GA/BW respectively and full scale IQ. Higher GA/BW was related to increasing IQ scores. Significant negative correlations were seen between GA/BW respectively and TotProblem/CBCL-scale. Additionally, CBCL/DSM-Oriented Scales; Adhd-, Opposite-, and Conduct-Problems correlated significantly negative with GA/BW in the PT-born children. Conclusion: Our study provides further support for associations between increased risk of cognitive and behavior problems with decreasing GA/BW at birth. Grant from the Swedish-Research-Council (Dnr:2011-179)
The primary purpose of the present study was to analyze quantitatively the vestibular evoked Moro... more The primary purpose of the present study was to analyze quantitatively the vestibular evoked Moro response, and the symmetry of the movement pattern involved, as the traditional descriptions bring about. Another aim was to determine the segmental movements involved and determine whether the components of the Moro response are dependent on changes in the infant's behavioral state. Another question concerns whether the form of these movements changed over repeated trials on the same day, or from the first to the fifth day after birth. Vestibular evoked Moro responses of 52 neonates, 1–5 days of age, elicited in different behavior states (State 1–5), were examined and quantitatively analyzed. The response was evoked by a predefined, rapid, downward, vertical body motion, without any dorsiflexion of the infant's head. Optoelectronic device (SELSPOT II) were used to monitor the arm/hand movement patterns involved in the response. The three-dimensional movement pattern in space, duration, velocity, latency, and the acceleration of both arms/hands were analyzed in relation to the infant's behavioral state. The response movements were structured into phases of abduction/extension, adduction/flexion and the extension/flexion of the fingers. The vestibular stimulation used was found to be sufficient for eliciting an adequate Moro response. The segmental movement pattern of the Moro response was found to be sensitive to the infant's behavioral state at the time when the response was elicited. This was found in the movement pattern, duration, latency, and the velocity of the response. The response was found to be asymmetrical, in 82% of the infants it was found to be a predominant shorter onset latency of the right arm, in 12% the opposite was found. These findings suggest that there is a fundamental, spinal asymmetry involved in the Moro response which is subject to supraspinal influences emanating from the vestibulospinal system. No differences were found between 1 and 5 days of age for any of the scoring categories, and no differences were found within groups over six successive trials.
Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2003
Jordemodern, 2008
Intrauterina storningar och risker som paverkar utvecklingen av hjarnan och den "lilla kropp... more Intrauterina storningar och risker som paverkar utvecklingen av hjarnan och den "lilla kroppen"
The Journal of international medical research
Louise Rönnqvist reveals how improved understanding of preterm neonatal behavioural-brain develop... more Louise Rönnqvist reveals how improved understanding of preterm neonatal behavioural-brain development will enable timelier, better-informed clinical interventions, ultimately leading to the prospect of a better quality of life for children born prematurely With little research having been conducted on the long-term effects of early risk factors (RFs) on cognitive outcome, can you outline the specific areas that your research project will address and what you hope the outcomes to be? At the behavioral level, we expect that investigations of cognitive performances and different aspects of IQ in relation to risk factors related to the intrauterine conditions and a preterm birth will prove to be important in advancing the understanding of such associations. Given previous findings around the dynamic and interrelated development of cognitive and sensorimotor functions, we assume that the frequently observed impaired sensorimotor and cognitive functioning in prematurely born children is c...
Neuropsychologia, 1995
The primary purpose of the present study was to analyze quantitatively the vestibular evoked Moro... more The primary purpose of the present study was to analyze quantitatively the vestibular evoked Moro response, and the symmetry of the movement pattern involved, as the traditional descriptions bring about. Another aim was to determine the segmental movements involved and determine whether the components of the Moro response are dependent on changes in the infant's behavioral state. Another question concerns whether the form of these movements changed over repeated trials on the same day, or from the first to the fifth day after birth. Vestibular evoked Moro responses of 52 neonates, l-5 days of age, elicited in different behavior states (State 1-S) were examined and quantitatively analyzed. The response was evoked by a predefined, rapid, downward, vertical body motion, without any dorsiflexion of the infant's head. Optoelectronic device (SELSPOT II) were used to monitor the arm/hand movement patterns involved in the response. The three-dimensional movement pattern in space, duration, velocity, latency, and the acceleration of both arms/hands were analyzed in relation to the infant's behavioral state. The response movements were structured into phases of abduction/extension, adduction/flexion and the extension/flexion of the fingers. The vestibular stimulation used was found to be sufficient for eliciting an adequate Moro response. The segmental movement pattern of the Moro response was found to be sensitive to the infant's behavioral state at the time when the response was elicited. This was found in the movement pattern, duration, latency, and the velocity of the response. The response was found to be asymmetrical, in 82% of the infants it was found to be a predominant shorter onset latency of the right arm, in 12% the opposite was found. These findings suggest that there is a fundamental, spinal asymmetry involved in the Moro response which is subject to supraspinal influences emanating from the vestibulospinal system. No differences were found between 1 and 5 days of age for any of the scoring categories, and no differences were found within groups over six successive trials.
Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2003
ABSTRACT I would like to stress that early development repeats the evolution of the species. Henc... more ABSTRACT I would like to stress that early development repeats the evolution of the species. Hence, to understand the origins of functional brain asymmetry and the underlying mechanisms involved in handedness, we have to seek information not only from what we know about human evolution, but also from how an early hand preference develops in our own species.
1. Argues (1) that handedness in humans has a greater evolutionary depth than speech and language... more 1. Argues (1) that handedness in humans has a greater evolutionary depth than speech and language and perhaps even habitual bipedalism,(2) that the developmental origins of handedness are based on different mechanisms than for speech and language,( ...
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2018
Introduction: The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), the Manual Ability Classifi... more Introduction: The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) and the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) have become important tools to describe motor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between activities of daily living, motor function, and communication in children with CP. Patients and method: Ninety-one children with hemiplegic CP, (age 8yAE2.4y; 79% left hemiplegic CP) and between the years 2000-2015 who were accepted to therapy in the Department of Occupational Therapy in Hacettepe University were included in the study. GMFCS, MACS, CFCS, Pediatric Evaluation Disability Inventory (PEDI), and Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM) was evaluated by the child's therapist. Results: There was a good overall correlation between gross motor function and manual ability (r=0.754), gross motor function and communication (r=0.649), and manual ability and communication (r=0.779, p<0.001). In addition, there was a similar relationship between these three classification and assessment of daily living activities (r=À0.414 to r=À0.716 for WeeFIM; r=0.354-0.766 for PEDI; p<0.001). Conclusion: When evaluating children with CP, all three approaches must be assessed before complete clinical status is determined. In this context, the GMFCS, MACS, and CFCS seem to be well informed about daily living activities, and population-based studies seem to be very useful for health records and clinical practice for children with hemiplegic CP.
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Papers by Louise Rönnqvist