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Development of Infant Reaching Strategies to Tactile Targets on the Face

Lisa K Chinn1, Claire F Noonan1, Matej Hoffmann2

  • 1Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology
|February 6, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Infants develop more precise reaching skills in their first year. As babies grow, they increasingly use their hands, not other body parts, to touch tactile targets on their face.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Motor Control

Background:

  • Infant reaching to tactile stimuli is crucial for adaptive behaviors like removing irritants.
  • Limited research exists on the developmental trajectory of infant tactile-guided reaching.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To longitudinally investigate the development of infant reaching and grasping strategies towards tactile targets on the face.
  • To understand how infants refine their motor control for tactile interactions during the first year of life.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of infants aged 2 to 11 months, with assessments every two weeks.
  • Application of a vibrotactile stimulus to eight facial locations (temples, ears, mouth corners, chin).
  • Observation and analysis of reaching strategies, including body part used and hand posture upon contact.

Main Results:

  • The likelihood of using the hand to reach the tactile target increased with age.
  • Infants showed a developmental progression in hand posture, moving from closed-fist or dorsal contacts to finger or palm-based interactions.
  • Older infants demonstrated more precise hand movements towards the tactile stimulus.

Conclusions:

  • During the first year, infants significantly improve their ability to precisely interact with tactile targets on their face.
  • This developmental progression highlights the maturation of sensorimotor control and tactile-guided reaching in early infancy.

Keywords:
hand-to-mouth coordinationmotor developmentmultisensory coordinationprehensionreachingtactile localization

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