Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
06:34

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

17.3K

Rhythm perception, production, and synchronization during the perinatal period

Joëlle Provasi1, David I Anderson2, Marianne Barbu-Roth3

  • 1Laboratoire Cognition Humaine et Artificielle, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes Paris, France.

Frontiers in Psychology
|October 4, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Infants, even newborns, can synchronize movements with external rhythms. This sensori-motor synchronization (SMS) is present from birth, crucial for early communication and interaction.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human infant behavior

Background:

  • Sensori-motor synchronization (SMS) is key to motor, cognitive, and social functions.
  • SMS research typically focuses on adults and children over four years old.
  • Investigating SMS in younger populations is limited by methodological challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review existing knowledge on sensori-motor synchronization (SMS) in fetuses, infants, and newborns.
  • To explore the capabilities of pre-verbal humans in perceiving and producing rhythmic patterns.
  • To determine if newborns can adjust their motor behavior to external rhythmic stimuli.

Main Methods:

  • Review of studies on fetal and infant perception and production of rhythm.
  • Analysis of spontaneous motor behaviors (sucking, crying, leg movements) in response to auditory rhythms.
  • Examination of cross-modal rhythmic perception and production in infants.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests rhythm perception and production exist in fetuses and infants.
  • Newborns demonstrate SMS under specific conditions, particularly near their natural motor tempo.
  • Interaction between auditory rhythms and motor activity is present at birth.

Conclusions:

  • Sensori-motor synchronization (SMS) is an innate ability present from birth.
  • SMS in early infancy occurs within a limited tempo range and specific contexts.
  • This early synchronization plays a fundamental role in infant interaction and communication.

Keywords:
infantsrhythmsensorimotor synchronizationsynchrony

More Related Videos

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit11:50

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Published on: January 7, 2020

28.5K
Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks09:04

Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks

Published on: March 16, 2015

12.4K

Related Concept Videos

Fetal Circulation01:14

Fetal Circulation

Fetal circulation is a unique system that facilitates the exchange of gases, nutrients, and waste products between the developing fetus and the mother. This intricate process takes place through a special organ called the placenta.
Two umbilical arteries transport blood from the fetus to the placenta. At the placenta, the blood absorbs oxygen and nutrients while simultaneously eliminating waste products. This oxygen-enriched and nutrient-rich blood then returns to the fetus through one...
4.9K
Pulse rhythm01:30

Pulse rhythm

Pulse rhythm refers to the pattern of pulsations within specific intervals, offering valuable insights into the regularity or irregularity of the heart's beats as observed through the pattern of pulsation within specific intervals. A regular pulse exhibits a consistent heart rate with uniform waveforms and pulsation force, variations of which can be classified as normal, weak, or bounding.
Conversely, an irregular pulse pattern is termed dysrhythmia, stemming from disruptions in cardiac...
1.6K
Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation02:19

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent...
3.4K