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Specialization of the motor system in infancy: from broad tuning to selectively specialized purposeful actions

Hana D'Souza1, Dorothy Cowie2, Annette Karmiloff-Smith3

  • 1Sensorimotor Development Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.

Developmental Science
|June 4, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Infants gradually refine motor control, reducing unnecessary limb movements as they develop. This specialization in unimanual actions during the first year is linked to motor experience and attention.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental psychology
  • Motor control
  • Infant behavior

Background:

  • Adults use specific limbs for tasks, but infants often move extraneous limbs.
  • This suggests a developmental trajectory towards specialized motor control in infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental process of motor specialization in infants.
  • To examine changes in extraneous limb movements during unimanual actions in 9- and 12-month-olds.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments were conducted with 9- and 12-month-old infants.
  • Researchers analyzed extraneous movements in non-acting limbs during unimanual tasks.
  • Spatiotemporal dynamics of infant movements were assessed to understand limb coordination.

Main Results:

  • 9-month-olds exhibited more extraneous movements than 12-month-olds.
  • Developmental declines in spatiotemporal coupling between acting and non-acting arms were observed.
  • Motor experience and visual attention correlated with the degree of motor specialization.

Conclusions:

  • Infant motor behaviors transition from broadly tuned to progressively specialized within the first year.
  • Motor specialization is an experience-dependent process influencing broad functional development.
  • These findings offer new insights into the developmental nature of motor control.

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