APPW2025

Oranizers :Sachine Yoshida (Faculty of Medicine, Toho University) and Nobuhiro Nakai (Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine)

In the motor development of young mammals, the process starts with reflexes, followed by experiences with simple body movements, and gradually progresses to the ability to perform complex voluntary movements. The timing of the emergence of each motor action during development is well known and is used as a developmental milestone and screening tool for behavioral abnormalities in human infants. However, much remains unclear about the significance of each movement and the neurophysiological basis that supports them, making it challenging to intervene in the development of spontaneous motor skills. This symposium aims to deepen the basic knowledge of motor development through studies on juvenile and adult mice using behavioral science, physiology, and neuroscience (Yoshida, Nakai). Additionally, it will discuss the application of musculoskeletal simulations for modeling motor development in human infants and research on motion measurement for pediatric physical therapy (Kanazawa, Gima). Through this symposium, we aim to foster multidisciplinary discussions on motor development and contribute to creating new experimental approaches that cross various fields.