Developmental features of auditory-motor coordination in urban and rural children aged be-tween 4 and 10 years

Introduction. The research problem lies in the lack of comparative data on the influence of the living environment on the development of auditory-motor coordination in children, despite the established link between rhythmic processing and the development of speech and cognitive functions. The aim of this study is to identify age related and population specific features of auditory motor coordination (acoustic non verbal gnosis) in children aged 4–10 years living in urban and rural environments. Materials and Methods. A cross sectional study was conducted as part of a population based neuropsychological screening. A total of 2,253 children (1,362 urban and 891 rural) aged between 4 and 10 years were examined. Rhythm perception and reproduction were assessed using a standardized Rhythm Evaluation and Reproduction technique on a five point scale. Statistical processing included the Kolmogorov–Smirnov λ test, Pearson's χ² test, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, and Fisher's φ* test (Statistica 8.0 software package). Results. The study revealed that differences in the success of auditory motor coordination development between urban and rural children emerge at the age of 5 years and reach statistical significance from the age of 6. Intensive development of the function begins earlier and proceeds more effectively in rural children, while heterochrony of development persists until completing primary education. Gender differences were summarized: girls outperform boys regardless of population group. It was established that in the rural population, auditory motor coordination is associated with kinesthetic and spatial praxis, whereas in the urban population, it is associated with the kinetic component. Conclusions. The development of auditory motor coordination in children is population specific and proceeds heterochronously. The rural environment provides earlier and more successful formation of acoustic non verbal gnosis compared to the urban environment, which should be taken into account when developing age norms and educational programs.