Resting State Electroencephalography (EEG) Reveals Atypical Oscillatory Power in Children With Development Coordination Disorder (DCD).

Abstract

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) present with clinically significant motor impairments. Previous research indicates altered brain activity in DCD during the completion of motor and cognitive tasks, but little is known about intrinsic or spontaneous neural activity in children with the disorder. To address this gap, this study examined resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) in 31 children with DCD and 52 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls in both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions. The mean age of the sample was 9.5 years (SD = 2.4; range 5.1-14.8). Differences in resting-state oscillatory power between the two groups were examined in delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands. Children with DCD exhibited significantly lower alpha power and higher delta power compared to the TD children in both resting state conditions. No significant differences were found in other frequency bands. Further analyses revealed that individual differences in motor functioning correlated with resting-state alpha and delta power for the DCD, but not control group. These results suggest that intrinsic brain activity is affected in children with DCD. It is proposed that reduced alpha power and elevated delta power in DCD indicate heightened neural excitability and suboptimal neural homeostatic regulation, which may be related to the motor problems in the disorder.