Bimanual coordination in typical and atypical infants: movement initiation, object touching and grasping

The development of bimanual actions reflects perceptual, motor and cognitive processes, as well as the functional connectivity between brain hemispheres. We investigated the development of uni- and bimanual actions in typically-developing (TD) infants and infants with Down syndrome (DS) while they reached for objects with varying sizes. Eight TD infants and seven infants with DS (ages 4-8 months) were tested at several stages of reaching experience. Movement strategies at movement initiation, object touching and grasping were recorded. With reaching experience, typical infants increased ability to anticipate reaching strategies, and independent use of the hands according to task demands. Strategies used by infants with DS were mostly compensatory rather than anticipatory, and showed a weaker tendency for interlimb coupling at early ages. These differences may underlie functional limitations, and should be subject to early intervention.