Auditory-motor synchronization and interlimb coordination when walking to metronomes with different tempi and structures: A comparison study of children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

Background: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting motor coordination, impacting daily-life activities like walking. Accurate sensorimotor interactions are crucial for optimal coordination. Auditory-motor synchronization paradigms allow to examine these interactions with tempo and temporal structure of auditory stimuli potentially influencing synchronization and coordination. Therefore, this study aims to investigate auditory-motor synchronization and interlimb coordination in children with DCD and typically developing children (TDC) during walking. Research question: What is the impact of metronome characteristics (tempo, temporal structure) on auditorymotor synchronization, interlimb coordination and spatiotemporal variability in children with and without DCD during walking to auditory metronomes? Methods: Twenty-one DCD and 22 TDC children walked for three minutes to auditory metronomes with different tempi and temporal structures. Synchronization, interlimb coordination and spatiotemporal variability were analyzed using mixed model analysis. Results: DCD presented lower synchronization consistency, inferior interlimb coordination and higher gait variability (speed, step length) across all tempi and temporal structures. At preferred tempo, both groups demonstrated best synchronization and interlimb coordination. The least synchronization and coordination were observed at lower tempo, with DCD additionally showing diminished tempo matching and increased cadence variability. Discrete structures optimized synchronization accuracy and continuous structures enhanced interlimb coordination accuracy. Conclusion: The study highlights difficulties in auditory-motor synchronization, interlimb coordination and spatiotemporal variability in DCD during walking, which were enlarged at lower tempo. Considering various tempi and temporal structures can enrich walking assessments and protentional interventions for DCD. What this paper adds: This paper contributes to the understanding of auditory-motor synchronization and interlimb coordination in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and typically developing children (TDC) during walking. This study expands previous research by exploring the impact of varied tempi and temporal structures on synchronization and interlimb coordination, which has been a relatively unexplored area in the context of DCD. The key findings suggest that children with DCD exhibit lower synchronization consistency and interlimb coordination compared to their typically developing peers across different tempi and temporal structures. We extend previous findings of tapping literature that optimal synchronization and coordination was present at 0 % tempo. Additionally, worsened performance was found at lower auditory tempi (-10 %) than their preferred walking tempo.