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Infant motor and cognitive abilities and subsequent executive function

Meng Wu1, Xi Liang2, Shan Lu2

  • 1Research Center for Child Development, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, College of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, China.

Infant Behavior & Development
|September 27, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Infant motor skills and cognitive abilities at 1-2 years predict executive function (EF) at age 3. Early movement and cognition are foundational for developing complex cognitive skills like working memory and inhibitory control.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Executive function (EF) is critical throughout life, yet its developmental mechanisms in infancy are poorly understood.
  • EF development is a progressive process, evolving from sensorimotor behaviors to basic and then mature cognitive abilities.
  • Motor and general cognitive skills are recognized as linked to EF from behavioral and neurodevelopmental viewpoints.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between infant motor and general cognitive abilities and their executive function (EF) at three years of age.
  • To explore the developmental pathways of EF, specifically how early movement contributes to its emergence.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study involving 96 infants (55 female, 41 male).
  • Motor and general cognitive abilities were assessed at 1 and 2 years using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (2nd and 3rd Editions).
  • Executive functions were evaluated at 3 years using tasks assessing working memory, inhibitory control, and planning.

Main Results:

  • Higher cognitive ability scores at 2 years correlated with better working memory performance at 3 years.
  • Superior gross motor ability at 2 years was associated with enhanced cognitive inhibitory control (IC) at 3 years.
  • Early motor abilities (1-2 years) indirectly influenced cognitive IC through 2-year cognitive ability and working memory.

Conclusions:

  • Executive function development is a sequential process, progressing from physical movement to increasingly complex cognitive functions.
  • Targeted motor training interventions in infancy and toddlerhood may serve as a strategy to foster executive function development.
Abstract

Keywords:
Executive functionGeneral cognitive abilityInfantsMotor ability

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