# Role of early motor experience in infants with Down syndrome (DS)

> **NIH NIH R21** · GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $195,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This is a one-year administrative supplement to the parent award titled “Role of early motor experience in infants
with Down syndrome (DS)”. Characterizing the process of motor and language development requires extensive
data collection within a specific time window. Previous longitudinal studies have been hindered by logistic
barriers of traveling to infants’ homes or bringing them to the lab for frequent data collections. Motor data are
typically recorded using cameras and reflective markers, which requires expertise in marker placement on
anatomical landmarks such as center of a joint. Emerging markerless motion capture and analysis may induce
a paradigm shift in video recording of longitudinal motor data. The markerless technology has become more
realistic due to recent advances in mobile technology (such as smartphone/tablet and cloud storage) and video
analysis (such as computer vision and machine learning). Aim 1: Examine the reliability of markerless motor data
compared to traditional marker-based motor data in infant treadmill stepping and reaching/grasping. We will
utilize mobile technology (smartphone/tablet and cloud storage) to collect markerless data of treadmill stepping
and reaching/grasping during our monthly home visits. We will use OpenPose (a computer vision/machine
learning software) to quantify leg movement of treadmill stepping and arm movement of reaching/grasping. We
will compare the markerless data with the marker-based data collected from the parent project. We hypothesize
that the markerless motor data are comparable to the traditional marker-based motor data in infants with DS
during treadmill stepping and reaching/grasping. When proven reliable, this new technology will allow parents in
future studies to use their own devices to record their child’s motor data on a more frequent basis. This will
generate a larger, real-world motor data during training and open the door for comprehensively studying the
subjects’ daily motor activities beyond training. Aim 2: Promote the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility
(DEIA) of the parent project by recruiting two underrepresented undergraduate and two doctoral students and
providing them with comprehensive research mentoring and career development. We will use the framework of
the NIH UNITE and NICHD STRIVE initiatives to diversify our research team and create an individualized
mentoring plan. Georgia State University is one of the most diverse universities in the United States and has
been known for its research innovation, DEIA initiatives, and student success. The PIs have successfully
mentored underrepresented students and will continue their DEIA efforts. The mentoring plan will include, but
not limited to, training on data collection and analysis, clinical experience in DS clinics and other clinical settings,
attendance and participation in research seminars, weekly research meetings with PIs, presentations at scientific
conferences, participatio...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10603394
- **Project number:** 3R21HD105879-01S2
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Seyda Ozcaliskan
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $195,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10603394

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10603394, Role of early motor experience in infants with Down syndrome (DS) (3R21HD105879-01S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10603394. Licensed CC0.

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