NCT05154799

Brief Summary

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) corresponds to a clumsiness, a slowness and an inaccuracy of motor performance. This neurodevelopmental disorder affects 6% of school-aged children, and disturbs daily life activities and academic performances. The etiology of DCD is still unknown. An understanding of this disorder is necessary to improve interventions and therefore quality of life of these people. A deficit of the so-called internal models is the most commonly described hypothesis of DCD. Indeed, children with DCD exhibit difficulties in predictive control. Internal models, useful for motor control, are closely related to the sensory system, as they are elaborated on and constantly fed by sensory feedback. Deficits in sensory performance are described in DCD, mostly in the visual system, which could in turn partly explain poor motor performance. However, visuo-perceptual deficits cannot explain the entire motor difficulties because some activities in daily life, as buttoning a shirt, are often performed without visual control. Although the integrity of proprioceptive and tactile systems is necessary for the building of internal models, and therefore for a stable motor control, these sensory systems have been very little investigated in DCD. Moreover, using a tool is often disturbed in children with DCD. In neurotypical subjects, tool use induces a plasticity of body representation, as reflected by modifications of movement kinematics after tool use. Proprioceptive abilities are necessary for this update of the body schema. Thus, potential deficits of the proprioceptive system in children with DCD could impair the plastic modification of the body schema, and hence of motor performance, when using a tool. The aim of this study is to identify the main cause of the DCD, both by evaluating the tactile and proprioceptive abilities and by assessing the body schema updating abilities in children with DCD. While some daily life activities improve with age, some motor difficulties persist in adults with DCD. To our knowledge, perceptual abilities have never been investigated in adults with DCD and it is thus unknown whether perceptual deficits are still present in adulthood. This information could allow us to understand if motor difficulties in adult DCD are caused by enduring perceptual deficits and/or impaired plasticity of body schema. The second aim of this study is to evaluate abilities of perception and of body schema plasticity in adults with DCD.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
280

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
9mo left

Started Dec 2021

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress86%
Dec 2021Jan 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

July 8, 2021

Completed
5 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

December 13, 2021

Completed
8 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

December 21, 2021

Completed
5.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 21, 2027

Expected
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 21, 2027

Last Updated

January 16, 2026

Status Verified

January 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

5.1 years

First QC Date

July 8, 2021

Last Update Submit

January 15, 2026

Conditions

Keywords

Healthy subjectDevelopmental coordination disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Localization error distance

    Difference in localization error distance between manual response and ocular response: measure in mm between the target and the response of the subject. Task 1 : proprioceptive localization with manual response Task 2 : proprioceptive localization with ocular response Task 3: tactile localization with manual response Task 4: tactile localization with ocular response In the 4 tests, we will measure the deviation (in mm) between the localization response of the subject and the reference point. For tasks 1 and 2, the reference point is the position of the hidden index finger of the subject. For tasks 3 and 4, the reference point is the position of the tactile stimulation applied to the hidden arm of the subject. For the manual response, the subject must designate with his other index finger where he considers the target to be. For the ocular saccadic response, the subject must shift his gaze and look where he considers the target to be.

    At day 1

Secondary Outcomes (5)

  • Reaction time of motor localization response

    At day 1

  • change related to tool-use of amplitude of velocity peak and the peak opening of the thumb-index grip of free reach-to-grasp limb movements

    At day 1

  • change related to tool-use of latency of velocity peak and the peak opening of the thumb-index grip of free reach-to-grasp limb movements

    At day 1

  • change related to tool-use of acceleration peak of the upper limb of free reach-to-grasp limb movements

    At day 1

  • change related to tool-use of deceleration peak of the upper limb of free reach-to-grasp limb movements

    At day 1

Study Arms (4)

Dyspraxic children

EXPERIMENTAL

Children with Developmental coordination disorder

Behavioral: Proprioception and tactile localization with manual or ocular response and/or free hand grasp

Control children

EXPERIMENTAL

Healthy children

Behavioral: Proprioception and tactile localization with manual or ocular response and/or free hand grasp

Dyspraxic adults

EXPERIMENTAL

Adults with with Developmental coordination disorder

Behavioral: Proprioception and tactile localization with manual or ocular response and/or free hand grasp

Control adults

EXPERIMENTAL

Control adults

Behavioral: Proprioception and tactile localization with manual or ocular response and/or free hand grasp

Interventions

In the first part of the study, the subject must designate a target in 2 ways: manual pointing or ocular saccadic response. In the second part of the study the subject will have to reach and grasp a rectangular block of wood placed on the table at a distance of 35 cm. He will have to catch the wooden block, lift it a few centimeters and put it back on the table. Tool use and control phases: the subject grasps the wooden block with a tool or without the tool but with a weighted bracelet loading his wrist by the same amount as the tool.

Control adultsControl childrenDyspraxic adultsDyspraxic children

Eligibility Criteria

Age9 Years - 40 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Male or female
  • Aged 9 to 11 or 18 to 40
  • Affiliated to a health care organism
  • Signed written informed consent (adult subjects)
  • One of the legal guardians of children subjects providing their free, informed and written consent to participate in the study; With the child also giving orally his consent to participate.
  • For participants with Developmental coordination disorder:
  • Subjects fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for dyspraxia of DSM-5 (these criteria will be verified by the principal investigator)
  • Total MABC-2 score below the 15th percentile (if this MABC-2 assessment is already available).

You may not qualify if:

  • Prematurity
  • Known neurological pathology (other than dyspraxia)
  • Intellectual disability
  • Visual impairment
  • Surgery or trauma to the upper limbs that has occurred too recently to allow proper testing
  • Subject under tutorship or curatorship
  • Subject deprived of liberty by a judicial or administrative decision
  • For healthy volunteers only:
  • \- History of developmental coordination disorder in close relatives (parents, children, siblings).

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Equipe IMPACT du CRNL INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR 5292

Bron, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 69676, France

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Skills DisordersNeurodevelopmental Disorders

Interventions

Proprioception

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Vestibulocochlear Physiological PhenomenaPhysiological PhenomenaSensationNervous System Physiological PhenomenaMusculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

  • Denis PELISSON, Dr

    Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Alessandro FARNE, Dr

CONTACT

Marion NAFFRECHOUX, PhD Student

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
BASIC SCIENCE
Intervention Model
FACTORIAL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

July 8, 2021

First Posted

December 13, 2021

Study Start

December 21, 2021

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 21, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 21, 2027

Last Updated

January 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Locations