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Updated: Aug 2, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Similar and functionally typical kinematic reaching parameters in 7- and 15-month-old in utero cocaine-exposed and
E Z Tronick1, Linda Fetters, Karen L Olson
1Child Development Unit, Children's Hospital, 1295 Boylston Street, Suite 320, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ed.tronick@tch.harvard.edu
Insights
Intrauterine cocaine exposure did not significantly impact infant reaching skills. Reaching movements in exposed infants were similar to unexposed infants, showing comparable development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Infant motor development
- Prenatal substance exposure effects
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to substances like cocaine can pose risks to infant development.
- Understanding the long-term motor skill development in exposed infants is crucial for early intervention.
- Kinematic analysis provides objective measures of movement quality and efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of intrauterine cocaine exposure on infant reaching kinematics.
- To compare motor control strategies between cocaine-exposed and unexposed infants.
- To assess if prenatal cocaine exposure alters the developmental trajectory of reaching movements.
Main Methods:
- Utilized kinematic measures to analyze reaching movements in 19 cocaine-exposed and 15 unexposed infants.
- Infants reached for objects (rattle, doll, chair) at 7 and 15 months of age.
- Videotaped reaches were digitized, extracting variables like reach duration, peak velocity, and movement units.
Main Results:
- Older infants (15 months) demonstrated faster, more direct reaches with fewer movement units compared to younger infants (7 months).
- Cocaine-exposed infants showed greater distance covered per movement unit than unexposed infants.
- No other significant differences in kinematic variables were observed between exposed and unexposed groups.
Conclusions:
- Intrauterine cocaine exposure did not lead to significant deficits in infant reaching kinematics.
- Reaching patterns in cocaine-exposed infants were largely similar to those of unexposed infants.
- Motor development, as assessed by reaching parameters, appears resilient to intrauterine cocaine exposure in this cohort.
Abstract:
This study examined the effects of intrauterine cocaine exposure on the reaches of 19 exposed and 15 unexposed infants at 7 and 15 months using kinematic measures. Infants sat at a table and reached for a rattle, a toy doll, and a chair. Videotaped reaches were digitized using the Peak Performance system. Kinematic movement variables were extracted (e.g., reach duration, peak velocity, movement units, path length) and ratios computed (e.g., path length divided by number of movement units). Regardless of exposure status, reaches of older infants were faster, more direct, had fewer movement units, and covered more distance with the first movement unit. Exposed infants covered more distance per movement unit than unexposed infants, but there were no other significant differences. Reaches of exposed and unexposed infants were essentially similar. Importantly, reach parameters for these high-risk infants were similar to reach parameters for infants at lower social and biological risk.
