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Nature and nurture in the development of postural control in human infants
M Hadders-Algra1, E Brogren, H Forssberg
1Department of Women and Child Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Infant motor development involves innate, direction-specific muscle patterns selected through experience. Balance training and head stabilization cues guide this selection process for better postural adjustments.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Motor control
- Infant motor development
Background:
- The nature vs. nurture debate in motor development often centers on automatic motor pattern acquisition.
- Understanding the origins of postural adjustments in infants is crucial for developmental research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of maturation and training on the development of postural adjustments in sitting infants.
- To explore the role of innate patterns versus experience in shaping motor control.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of muscle activation patterns in pre-sitting infants.
- Observation of developmental changes in postural adjustments.
- Assessment of the impact of daily balance training and head stabilization cues.
Main Results:
- Direction-specific muscle activation patterns are present before independent sitting.
- Postural adjustments develop from an innate repertoire, with pattern selection occurring over time.
- Experience, guided by head stabilization and enhanced by training, influences pattern selection.
Conclusions:
- Postural development in infants involves a combination of innate predispositions and experience-dependent refinement.
- Neuronal group selection theory provides a framework for understanding how motor patterns are selected.
- Early training and sensory cues play a significant role in optimizing motor skills.
Abstract:
Nowadays, the controversy on "nature" and "nurture" in motor development focuses on the development of automatic motor patterns. The present paper discusses this issue within the framework of a recent study on the effect of maturation and training on the development of postural adjustments in sitting infants. This study revealed that already before the age of sitting without help, highly variable but direction-specific muscle activation patterns are present. This suggests that postural adjustments develop via an innate repertoire of primary direction-specific response patterns. The following developmental step consists of a decrease in muscle activation patterns, which results in selection of the most complete patterns of synergist activation. In accordance with Edelman's neuronal group selection theory, pattern selection turned out to be experience dependent, as it appeared to be guided by cues on head stabilization and enhanced by daily balance training.