Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 12, 2026
Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable
Published on: May 17, 2024
The Relationship between Motor Function and Behavioral Function in Infants with Low Birth Weight
Malek Amini1, Faranak Aliabadi1, Mehdi Alizade1
11.Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation sciences,Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Behavioral test scores can predict motor function in low birth weight infants. This study explored the relationship between behavioral assessments and motor skills in neonates, offering insights for developmental evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Infant behavioral science
- Pediatric motor function
Background:
- Evaluating infant development is crucial, but some assessments cause stress in high-risk infants.
- Predictive assessments can reduce infant distress and optimize developmental evaluations.
- Understanding relationships between different developmental domains is essential for comprehensive care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the relationship between behavioral test scores and motor function test scores in low birth weight infants.
- To determine if behavioral assessments can predict motor development in neonates.
- To explore alternative methods for assessing infant development non-invasively.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study conducted in a Neonatal Intensive Care Center.
- 50 low birth weight infants participated.
- Assessed motor function using the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and behavioral performance using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS).
Main Results:
- A statistically significant relationship was found between most behavioral performance items and motor function items (P<0.05).
- No significant association was observed between habituation (behavioral) and movement observation (motor function).
- No significant relationship was found between the autonomic system (behavioral) and the observation section of the motor test.
Conclusions:
- Specific behavioral performance scores can effectively predict motor function scores in low birth weight infants during the neonatal period.
- Behavioral assessments offer a valuable, less stressful alternative for predicting motor development.
- Findings support the use of NBAS scores to infer TIMP performance in neonates.
Objective:
Nowadays, the evaluation of all aspects of infant development is important. However, in practice, some of these assessments, especially those requiring more manipulation on high-risk infants, may impose additional stress on them. Therefore, sometimes it is essential to utilize the results of a developmental assessment for the prediction of some other aspects of development. This study evaluated the relationship between the scores of the behavioral tests and the motor function test.
Materials & Methods:
This cross-sectional study and was undertaken in the Neonatal Intensive Care Center and Clinic of Shahid Akbar Abadi Hospital, Tehran, Iran. A group of 50 infants with low birth weights was selected based on the easy non-contingency method and the inclusion criteria, and served as the participants. In order to assess the motor function and the behavioral performance, the motor function test (a test of infant motor performance (TIMP)) and the neonatal behavioral assessment scale (neonatal behavioral assessment scale (NBAS)) were used respectively. TIMP has both stimulation and observation sections. The items include habituation, social interaction, motor system, state organization, state regulation, autonomic system, smile, supplementary items, and the reflex.
Results:
No significant association was found between the items of the habituation of behavioral testing and the observation of the movement test. There was no statistically significant relationship between the habituation and stimulation sections as well as between the system autonomous of the behavioral test and the observation section of the motor test (P>0.05). The relationship between other variables was statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
The scores of some behavioral performance items could be a good predictor of the scores of the motor function items for low birth weight infants in the neonatal period.
