Abstract
M.A.
The aim of the study was to investigate whether evoked potential distinguishes between motor coordinated
and-uncoordinated African children. Because the brain functions as a unified entity
and different brain systems are integrated simultaneously, it was postulated that there is a
relationship between the auditory evoked potential of the brain stem on the one hand and motor
coordination on the other hand, that is, the sensory and the motor systems are related. Sensory-
motor activity is thus perceived to form a unified function within the total framework of human
functioning.
The relevant literature points to a possible relationship between the auditory evoked potential of
the brain stem and motor coordination. Patients with degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's
disease and multiple sclerosis exhibit abnormal evoked potential responses as well as unusual
motor behaviour and coordination. Similarly, children with hearing problems also show unusual
evoked potential responses of the brain stem as well as motor lethargy(delayed motor responses)
and clumsiness. As a result of these tendencies it was postulated that evoked potential would be
able to distinguish between motor-coordinated and -uncoordinated subjects.
The brain's evoked potential response is a robust phenomenon that provides a record of electrical
brain activity, even in trials where overt responses are not usually expected. The present study
focuses on the auditory evoked potential of the brain stem (AEP). The evoked potential serves as
a measure of the sensory transmission of information in the brain and consequently highlights the
neural activity underlying normal sensory experiences.
The subjects selected for the study were 46 eight- to twelve-year-old African children attending
a farm school. They can be regarded as representative of the population of eight- to twelve-year old African
farm children. All the subjects were administered the Quick Neurological Screening
Test in order to catagorise them into two groups, namely the motor-coordinated group and the
motor-uncoordinated group. Thereafter the auditory evoked potential of the brain stem was
recorded from all the subjects in both groups ...