Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) presents challenges in motor control. DCD affects tasks such as walking and running and is characterized by poor interlimb coordination and increased spatiotemporal variability compared to typically developing children (TDC). While auditory rhythm synchronization has shown to have benefits for gait performance in adults, its impact on children with DCD during walking and running remains unclear. This study investigated auditory–motor synchronization and interlimb coordination during walking and running in children with and without DCD. Twenty-one DCD and 23 TDC participants aged 8−12 years walked and ran to two different auditory metronomes (discrete and continuous). Synchronization consistency was the primary outcome, with interlimb coordination and spatiotemporal variability as secondary outcomes. Results showed that children with DCD exhibited significantly lower synchronization consistency than TDC, particularly during running. The metronome structure did not influence synchronization ability. Additionally, interlimb coordination differed significantly between DCD and TDC during running and was not impacted by auditory–motor synchronization. Spatiotemporal variability was higher in DCD during both walking and running than in TDC, and accentuated during running. Variability of cadence was influenced by the use of continuous metronomes, which may offer potential benefits in reducing cadence variability.

中文翻译：

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发育性协调障碍的听觉-运动同步：对行走和跑步时肢体间协调的影响


发育性协调障碍 （DCD） 在运动控制方面提出了挑战。DCD 会影响行走和跑步等任务，其特征是与正常发育的儿童 （TDC） 相比，肢体间协调性差和时空变异性增加。虽然听觉节律同步已被证明对成人的步态表现有益，但其对 DCD 儿童在行走和跑步时的影响仍不清楚。本研究调查了患有和不患有 DCD 的儿童在行走和跑步过程中的听觉-运动同步和肢体间协调。21 名 8-12 岁的 DCD 和 23 名 TDC 参与者走路和跑步到两个不同的听觉节拍器（离散和连续）。同步一致性是主要结局，肢体间协调和时空变异性是次要结局。结果显示，DCD 患儿的同步一致性显著低于 TDC，尤其是在跑步时。节拍器结构不影响同步能力。此外，在跑步过程中，DCD 和 TDC 之间的肢体协调存在显着差异，并且不受听觉-运动同步的影响。DCD 在步行和跑步期间的时空变异性均高于 TDC，并且在跑步时更加突出。使用连续节拍器会影响踏频的变化，这可能在减少踏频变化方面提供潜在的好处。