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Published on: June 1, 2015
Increasing selectivity of interlimb coordination during spontaneous movements in 2- to 4-month-old infants
Nao Kanemaru1, Hama Watanabe, Gentaro Taga
1Department of Physical and Health Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Insights
Infant spontaneous movements evolve from general limb activity to coordinated limb actions between 2-4 months. This developmental shift in motor patterns may predict future goal-directed behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Motor Development
- Infant Behavior
Background:
- The role of spontaneous movements in early infancy as precursors to goal-directed behaviors is a key question in motor development.
- Understanding the detailed properties of spontaneous movements is crucial for addressing this question.
Purpose of the Study:
- To longitudinally examine the properties of spontaneous limb movements in infants aged 2-4 months.
- To investigate age-related changes in interlimb coordination during spontaneous activity.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 6 infants aged 2-4 months.
- Weekly motion analysis of limb end-point movements.
- Data collection varied from 6 to 9 recordings per infant.
Main Results:
- An age-related increase in velocity and position correlation between arms and between legs was observed.
- No significant changes were found in the velocity, duration, or amplitude of individual limb movements.
- Spontaneous movement patterns shifted from general activity to more selective interlimb coordination.
Conclusions:
- Spontaneous movements in infants aged 2-4 months show developing interlimb coordination.
- Dissociated movements during spontaneous activity may be precursors to functionally dissociated goal-directed movements.
Abstract:
In the field of motor development, a question exists whether spontaneous activity in early infancy serves as a precursor to later-emerging goal-directed behaviors. To answer this question, it is necessary to investigate in detail the properties of spontaneous movements in individual infants. In the current study, we longitudinally examined the spontaneous movements of the end points of the limbs in 6 infants aged 2-4 months. Examinations were carried out every week by using a motion analysis system, and the number of recordings performed for each infant varied from 6 to 9 times. Our major finding was that there was an age-related increase in the velocity and position correlation between arms and between legs, whereas there was no significant change in the velocity, duration, and amplitude of movements of individual limbs. That is, the pattern of spontaneous movements changes from a general activity involving all the limbs to an activity involving more selective interlimb coordination from 2 to 4 months of age. These findings suggest that the dissociated movements of a selective combination of arms or legs during spontaneous movements may be a precursor to functionally dissociated movements during goal-directed behaviors.
