Signs of long-term adaptation to permanent brain damage as revealed by prehension studies of children with spastic hemiparesis

Abstract

This chapter focusses on signs of long-term adaptation to permanent brain damage in children with spastic hemiparesis. First, we recognize that adaptation processes may occur at various time scales. Then, we formulate a tentative strategy to infer signs of adaptation from behavioral data. Subsequently, a series of studies on grasping movements in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy is reviewed. The series initially addressed a macroscopic aspect of human prehension, i.e. the planning of a suitable grip type, but then gradually focussed on more detailed aspects of the control of grasping movements, viz. the kinematics of the transport and manipulation components of grasps, interjoint coordination, and, finally, force control. We conclude that the deviations in the motor behaviour of children with spastic hemiparesis reflect many signs of adaptation since the deviations are often based on efficiency principles that demonstrate a core feature of adaptation, viz., the exploitation of redundancy.