General to specific development of movement patterns and memory for contingency between actions and events in young infants

Infant Behav Dev. 2006 Jul;29(3):402-22. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2006.02.001. Epub 2006 Mar 20.

Abstract

To understand infants' learning of the contingency between their actions and events, we studied inter-limb movement patterns of 48 infants aged 2-4 months when they attempted moving a mobile using a string attached to their arm. The session was composed of baseline, acquisition, immediate retention test, re-acquisition, interference, and delayed retention test periods. The analysis revealed motor pattern dependence on age--infants exhibited increased movement over base line of all limbs (2-month-olds), both arms (3-month-olds), and the connected arm (4-month-olds). The acquired patterns were produced during immediate and delayed test periods across age groups. The results suggest that 2-month-olds can acquire and retain general body movements that induce contingent changes in a mobile, while 3- and 4-month-olds form memories that serve as a constraint enabling highly specific movement of their arm to effectively activate the mobile.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Arm / physiology
  • Child Development / physiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Leg / physiology
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology*
  • Movement / physiology*
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology*