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Reaching with one arm to the other: Coordinating touch, proprioception, and action during infancy
L K Chinn1, M Hoffmann2, J E Leed1
1Department of Psychology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|March 10, 2019
Summary
Infants improve body-target localization with age, developing bimanual coordination and integrating touch, proprioception, and vision for reaching. This research sheds light on early sensorimotor development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Motor Control
Background:
- Reaching to body targets is crucial for adaptive behaviors like feeding and grooming.
- This complex skill necessitates multisensory integration (touch, proprioception, vision) and motor action.
- The developmental origins of body-target localization remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how infants develop the ability to localize targets on their own bodies.
- To identify the motor strategies infants employ for tactile localization.
- To understand the role of age-related changes in multisensory integration and action.
Main Methods:
- Infants aged 7-21 months participated in the study.
- A vibrating target was placed on five distinct arm/hand locations.
- Infants were prompted to reach with one arm to localize the tactile target on the other arm/hand.
Main Results:
- Infant coordination in body-target localization strategies significantly increases with age.
- The majority of infants demonstrated bimanual coordination, using the reaching arm to assist.
- Inter-sensory coordination, including visual-motor and bimanual coordination, improved with age.
Conclusions:
- Infant tactile localization and body-target reaching skills develop progressively with age.
- Multisensory integration plays a key role in the development of sensorimotor skills.
- The findings offer novel insights into the developmental trajectory of tactile localization and its link to action.
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