Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2025

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task
11:18

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Published on: June 1, 2015

10.7K

Relationship Between Prone Skills and Motor-Based Problem-Solving Abilities in Full-Term and Preterm Infants During

Ketaki Inamdar1, Tanya Tripathi2, Rebecca M Molinini3

  • 1Department of Human Performance, Division of Physical Therapy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.

Developmental Psychobiology
|July 11, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Tummy time (prone position) enhances infant cognitive development. Advanced prone skills correlate with better problem-solving abilities, especially in preterm infants, suggesting its importance for early learning.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Infant Motor Development
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Motor experiences significantly influence infant cognitive development.
  • The prone position (tummy time) is a critical early motor experience.
  • While motor benefits are known, prone position's cognitive impact is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the relationship between prone motor skills and problem-solving abilities in infants.
  • To explore these relationships in both full-term and preterm infants aged 3-6 months.

Main Methods:

  • Prone skills assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) prone domain.
  • Motor-based problem-solving measured via the Assessment of Problem-Solving in Play (APP).

Main Results:

  • Advanced prone skills correlated with sophisticated exploration and reduced lower-order exploration.
  • These correlations were stronger in preterm infants.
  • A 1-point increase in prone skills associated with a 1.3-point increase in problem-solving.

Conclusions:

  • Prone play contributes to cognitive development in infants.
  • Findings support incorporating prone positioning in infant assessments and interventions.
  • Further research needed on delayed prone skills and early problem-solving in preterms.

Keywords:
cognitionmotor skillsprematurityproblem‐solvingprone playtummy time

More Related Videos

A Battery of Motor Tests in a Neonatal Mouse Model of Cerebral Palsy10:02

A Battery of Motor Tests in a Neonatal Mouse Model of Cerebral Palsy

Published on: November 3, 2016

24.2K
A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants11:14

A Novel Experimental and Analytical Approach to the Multimodal Neural Decoding of Intent During Social Interaction in Freely-behaving Human Infants

Published on: October 4, 2015

10.9K

Related Concept Videos

The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to...
40
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
610
Information Processing Approach01:30

Information Processing Approach

The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is...
33
Language Development01:22

Language Development

Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
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...
339