Speed and Accuracy of Movement During Visuomotor Adaptation Are Still Developing in School-age Children

It has been shown that children as young as five can adapt to small visual rotations as well as adults. However, changes in kinematic and temporal properties during different stages of visuomotor adaptation have not been thoroughly characterized in children.

In the current study, adults and 6- to 11-year-old children moved a cursor to a target using a mouse. Visual feedback of the cursor location was rotated during adaptation, requiring the participants to adjust their movement to reach the target on time. While all ages showed similar patterns of adaptation to the cursor rotation, as measured by the initial direction angle, children took significantly longer to reach the target compared to adults.