Development of vertical and forward jumping skills in typically developing children in the context of referent control of motor actions

The empirically based referent control theory of motor actions provides a new framework for understanding locomotor maturation. Mature movement patterns of referent control are characterized by periods of minimization of activity across multiple muscles (global electromyographic [EMG] minima) resulting from transient matching between actual and referent body configurations. We identified whether locomotor maturation in young children was associated with (a) development of referent control and (b) children's frequency of participation in everyday activities evaluated by parents. Kinematics and EMG activity were recorded from typically developing children (n = 15, 3-5 years) and young adults (n = 10, 18-25 years) while walking, vertical or forward jumping. Presence and location of global EMG minima in movement cycles, slopes of ankle vertical/sagittal displacements, and shoulder displacement ratios were evaluated. Children had fewer global EMG minima compared to adults during specific phases of vertical and forward jumps. Ankle displacement profiles for walking and jumping forward were related to each other in adults, whereas those for walking and vertical jumping were related in children. Higher frequency of participation was significantly correlated with more mature jumping patterns in children. A decrease in the number of global EMG minima and changes in ankle movement patterns could be indicators of locomotor immaturity in typically developing children.