This study investigated two‐handed catching in eight children (four males, four females) aged 7 to 8 years (mean 7y 4mo [SD 3mo]) with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and their age‐matched controls (AMCs). Kinematic data were collected to examine Bernstein's (1967) notion of freezing and releasing degrees of freedom (DF). Participants were asked to catch a ball 30 times, delivered in three blocks of 10 trials. Video analysis showed that children with DCD caught significantly fewer balls than their AMCs (p≤0.001) counterparts. Kinematic analyses showed that children with DCD exhibited smaller ranges of motion and less variable angular excursions of the elbow joints than their AMCs, and that their elbows are more rigidly coupled (p≤0.001). These data suggest that children with DCD rigidly fix and couple their limbs to reduce the number of DF actively involved in the task.

Bimanual co-ordination is a field that has generated much research interest. It is clear that when hands move simultaneously there is a tendency for such movements to be synchronized. This phenomenon has also been observed in individuals with congenital brain damage, such as cerebral palsy. This paper provides an overview of past and current work in the area of bimanual co-ordination looking at the nature of the coupling and the underlying control of such movements. Work on ‘non-disabled’ individuals and unimanual reaching and grasping is included, but the main emphasis is bimanual co-ordination in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy. The direction for future research is discussed and consideration given to the therapeutic implications of such work.

Purpose. To examine unimanual and bimanual reaching and grasping in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy with particular emphasis on the nature and extent of interlimb coupling when the working surface is perturbed. Method. Nine children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy and 7 control children with no movement difficulties took part in the study. Children were asked to pick up a cube unimamually and bimanually when the surface it was placed on was either sloping away from the child (Experiment 1) or towards the child (Experiment 2). Both 3D kinematic data and video data were gathered and qualitative descriptions of video data were made. Results. The working surface did indeed influence the nature and extent of interlimb coupling and this varied from participant to participant. Analysis of the displacement data revealed that during the bimanual condition lower trajectories were produced by both the hemiplegic and non hemiplegic sides, especially in Experiment 2. The control group showed little difference between the unimanual and bimanual condition. Conclusions. Evidence of interlimb coupling is found, these studies support the findings of our previous work that indicates that there are some benefits to performing bimanual movements in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Background: Natural nootropic compounds are evidenced to restore brain function in clinical and older populations and are purported to enhance cognitive abilities in healthy cohorts. This study aimed to provide neurocomputational insight into the discrepancies between the remarkable self-reports and growing interest in nootropics among healthy adults and the inconclusive performance-enhancing effects found in the literature. Methods: Towards this end, we devised a randomised, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled study where participants performed a visual categorisation task prior to and following 60 days of supplementation with a plant-based nootropic, while electroencephalographic (EEG) signals were concurrently captured. Results: We found that although no improvements in choice accuracy or reaction times were observed, the application of multivariate information-theoretic measures to the EEG source space showed broadband increases in similar and complementary interdependencies across brain networks of various spatial scales. These changes not only resulted in localised increases in the redundancy among brain network interactions but also more significant and widespread increases in synergy, especially within the delta frequency band. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that natural nootropics can improve overall brain network cohesion and energetic efficiency, computationally demonstrating the beneficial effects of natural nootropics on brain health. However, these effects could not be related to enhanced rapid perceptual decision-making performance in a healthy adult sample. Future research investigating these specific compounds as cognitive enhancers in healthy populations should focus on complex cognition in deliberative tasks (e.g., creativity, learning) and over longer supplementation durations. Clinical trials registration number: NCT06689644.

Background: Natural nootropic compounds are evidenced to restore brain function in clinical and older populations and are purported to enhance cognitive abilities in healthy cohorts. This study aimed to provide neurocomputational insight into the discrepancies between the remarkable self-reports and growing interest in nootropics among healthy adults and the inconclusive performance-enhancing effects found in the literature. Methods: Towards this end, we devised a randomised, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled study where participants performed a visual categorisation task prior to and following 60 days of supplementation with a plant-based nootropic, while electroencephalographic (EEG) signals were concurrently captured. Results: We found that although no improvements in choice accuracy or reaction times were observed, the application of multivariate information-theoretic measures to the EEG source space showed broadband increases in similar and complementary interdependencies across brain networks of various spatial scales. These changes not only resulted in localised increases in the redundancy among brain network interactions but also more significant and widespread increases in synergy, especially within the delta frequency band. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that natural nootropics can improve overall brain network cohesion and energetic efficiency, computationally demonstrating the beneficial effects of natural nootropics on brain health. However, these effects could not be related to enhanced rapid perceptual decision-making performance in a healthy adult sample. Future research investigating these specific compounds as cognitive enhancers in healthy populations should focus on complex cognition in deliberative tasks (e.g., creativity, learning) and over longer supplementation durations. Clinical trials registration number: NCT06689644.