Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 19, 2026
Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
Published on: May 15, 2019
Six month-old infants with deformational plagiocephaly do not differ from unaffected infants with respect to vocal
Kathleen Wermke1, Christian Linz2, Annette Hasenberg1
1Center for Prespeech Development & Developmental Disorders, Department of Orthodontics, University Hospital of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.
Insights
Positional skull deformities (DP) in infants did not show significant vocal control issues during babbling. This study did not find evidence linking DP to developmental language delays, contrary to some previous research.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric neurology
- Developmental psychology
- Speech-language pathology
Background:
- Supine sleeping position reduces SIDS but increases positional skull deformities (DP).
- Previous studies suggested developmental language delays in infants with DP.
- Vocal control during babbling, measured by fundamental frequency variability, can indicate early brain function and language development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively analyze babbling in infants with positional skull deformities (DP).
- To investigate potential links between DP and vocal control, as a proxy for language development.
- To complement previous findings suggesting developmental language delays in DP infants.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-six healthy infants were grouped into moderately asymmetrical DP, severely asymmetrical DP, and control groups based on 3D scans.
- Fundamental frequency (fo) variability during babbling was measured as a proxy for vocal control.
- Statistical analysis (MANOVA) was used to compare vocal control across groups.
Main Results:
- No significant multivariate effect was found for the shape group on vocal control during babbling.
- The results do not support previous findings suggesting a negative impact of DP on language development in infancy.
- A strong link between DP and brain dysfunction affecting vocal control was not observed.
Conclusions:
- Infants with positional skull deformities (DP) did not exhibit impaired vocal control during babbling.
- The study did not find evidence supporting a link between DP and developmental language delays.
- Further long-term studies on sound production are needed to fully understand potential consequences of DP on early language development.
Objectives:
The recommendation of a supine sleeping position led to a significant reduction of SIDS, but increased positional skull deformities (DP). Here, a quantitative analysis of babbling aims to complement previous studies of language-relevant competence based on items of the Bayley-scales that suggested the presence of developmental language delays in DP infants. Measures of fundamental frequency variability as proxies for vocal control are well suited for testing this assumption, since the laryngeal neuro-muscular system matures early and is coupled with brain function while working rapidly in coordinating the structures and mechanisms involved in infant sound production.
Methods:
Sixty-six healthy, full-term infants with normal hearing and a monolingual background took part: (1) moderately asymmetrical DP group - N = 41; 21 male; (2) severely asymmetrical DP group - N = 10; 8 male; and (3) controls - N = 15; 5 male (group assignment based on stereophotogrammetric 360° scans). Fundamental frequency (fo) measures were taken as proxies for vocal control skills during babbling.
Results:
A MANOVA revealed no significant multivariate effect for the shape group, Wilks' λ = 0.86, F(2, 63) = 1.21, p = 0.30, η2 = 0.07 (medium effect-size). The results do not support previous findings based on Bayley scale evaluations that suggested a negative impact of DP on language development during infancy.
Conclusions:
A strong link between DP and brain dysfunction affecting vocal control, which would cause deviations in otherwise healthy DP infants, was not observed. Objective long-term studies of sound production are necessary to identify and/or understand the potential consequences of DP on early language development.
More Related Videos
07:11Assessment of the Efficacy of An Osteopathic Treatment in Infants with Biomechanical Impairments to Suckling
Published on: February 5, 2019
08:03Midface Hypoplasia and Cranial Base Morphology in Syndromic Craniosynostosis: A Comparative Analysis Study Using a Predictive Regression Model
Published on: November 4, 2025
Related Concept Videos
01:30Neurulation
01:24Facial Feedback Hypothesis
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
01:22Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...