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Associations between developmental trajectories of movement variety and visual attention in fullterm and preterm
Marrit M Hitzert1, Paul L C van Geert2, Sabine Hunnius3
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Insights
Infant movement variety and visual attention develop independently in the first six months. Preterm infants’ visual attention matured earlier, but this did not impact their movement development trajectories.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Infant motor development
- Visual attention development
Background:
- Infancy involves major developmental shifts in body movements and visual attention for environmental exploration.
- These developing behaviors are underpinned by a shift from subcortical to cortical brain functioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the maturation timelines of movement variety and visual attention between preterm and fullterm infants.
- To investigate the association between individual developmental trajectories of movement variety and visual attention.
- To compare these associations between fullterm and preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study tracking 20 fullterm and 9 low-risk preterm infants from 6 weeks to 6 months postterm.
- Infants performed a visual disengagement task every four weeks.
- Developmental trajectories of movement variety and visual attention (look frequencies and latencies) were analyzed using general linear models and Monte Carlo analyses.
Main Results:
- Preterm infants showed similar increases in movement variety over time compared to fullterm infants.
- Visual attention matured approximately four weeks earlier than movement variety, with a stronger effect in fullterm infants.
- No association was found between the developmental trajectories of movement variety and visual attention in either group.
Conclusions:
- Movement variety and visual attention develop independently during the first six months postterm.
- Preterm infants exhibited shorter visual attention latencies but their overall visual attention and movement development trajectories were not affected.
- These findings highlight distinct developmental pathways for motor and visual attention skills in early infancy.
Background:
During early infancy major developmental changes, both in the variety of body movements and in visual attention, help the infant to explore its surroundings. Both behaviours depend on a gradual shift from subcortical to cortical functioning.
Aims:
First, to determine whether preterms reach mature levels of movement variety (the number of different movement patterns) and visual attention earlier than fullterms. Second, to determine whether individual developmental trajectories of movement variety and visual attention were associated. Finally, we compared the associations of developmental trajectories between fullterm and preterm infants.
Study Design:
In this longitudinal study, 20 fullterm and 9 low-risk preterm infants performed a visual disengagement task every four weeks from six weeks until six months postterm. For each infant we drew up developmental trajectories for movement variety, and for frequencies and latencies of looks. We analyzed the developmental trajectories by means of general linear model (GLM) repeated measures and Monte Carlo analyses.
Results:
In comparison to fullterms, preterm infants showed a similar increase in movement variety over time (F(4,108)=0.27; partial eta(2)=0.01; P=.90). Visual attention reached mature levels four weeks earlier than movement variety. This effect was stronger in fullterm infants. Neither in fullterm nor in preterm infants did we find an association between the developmental trajectories of movement variety and visual attention. P values ranged from .37 to .99.
Conclusions:
During the first 6 months postterm, movement variety and visual attention developed independently. Temporarily, preterm exposure to the extrauterine environment led to shorter latencies of looks but it did not affect developmental trajectories of frequencies of looks and movement variety.
