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The organization of leg movements in preterm and full-term infants after term age
J J Geerdink1, B Hopkins, W J Beek
1Department of Medical Allied Health Professions, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
Insights
Infant kicking movements develop differently in preterm versus full-term babies, with initial coordination and frequency differences resolving by 12 weeks corrected age, suggesting neurological influences on infant development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Infant motor development
- Neurology
Background:
- Kicking movements are crucial for infant motor development.
- Understanding developmental trajectories in preterm and full-term infants is vital for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the development of kicking movement characteristics in full-term and preterm infants.
- To identify age-related changes and differences in motor patterns between the two groups.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 13 full-term and 10 preterm infants.
- Analysis of kicking movements at 6, 12, and 18 weeks corrected age.
- Assessment of movement parameters including kick frequency and joint coordination.
Main Results:
- Full-term infants showed stable kicking characteristics, while preterm infants exhibited higher initial kick rates that decreased over time.
- Preterm infants, especially those born before 32 weeks gestation, displayed lower joint coordination initially.
- Differences in kick frequency and joint coordination between groups resolved by 12 weeks corrected age.
Conclusions:
- Neurological condition, rather than physical factors, likely explains initial differences in infant kicking patterns.
- Motor development in preterm infants shows catch-up by 12 weeks corrected age, aligning with neural maturation.
- Kicking movement analysis provides insights into early neurological development in infants.
Abstract:
In a sample of 13 full-term and 10 preterm infants, the development of kicking movements was studied at 6, 12, and 18 weeks (corrected) age. In healthy full-term infants some characteristics are strikingly stable, such as the duration of the flexion and extension phase and the within-joint organization. These parameters did not differ in preterm compared to full-term infants. For other features, however, developmental changes and differences were observed. Full-term infants tended to decrease their kick frequencies slightly with age. In preterm infants much higher initial kick rates were found, followed by a steep decrease, which resulted in kick frequencies comparable to the full-term levels after the (corrected) age of 12 weeks. There is a tight coupling between the movements in the different joints of the leg in full-term newborns. Preterm infants, in contrast, initially show much lower cross-correlations between hip and ankle and between knee and ankle. This is particularly the case for those preterm infants who were born before 32 weeks gestation. Again, the differences resolved after the age of 12 weeks, which might be related to a transformation in neural functions reported previously around this age. The initial differences in the characteristics of kicking appeared to be more readily explainable by differences in neurological condition than by contrasts in leg volume or postural control.