Robust coupling of body movement and gaze in young infants

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In the first few months after birth, rapid bursts of body movement precede and possibly facilitate shifts of gaze during free looking, with potential consequences for perception and cognition. Here we report that the characteristic features of movement-gaze coupling found during free looking are preserved when attention is perturbed by a salient change in the visual environment. Twenty-four 3-month-olds looked at two attractive 3-dimensional objects while body movement and corneal reflections of the objects were recorded. Lateral head movement was measured offline. After approximately 2 s of looking at one stimulus, the nonfixated stimulus either began to rotate back and forth (distracter events) or remained motionless (control events). In distracter events, the motion of the nonfixated stimulus triggered substantial motor quieting, shortened the duration of the look, and shortened the time to reorient gaze compared to control events. Abbreviated motor quieting and small increases in lateral head movement occurred during control events at the same time in the look as the protracted motor quieting and increased head movement in distracter events. Despite these perturbations, the characteristic bursts of body movement that precede shifts of gaze during free looking occurred in both distracter and control events. The results demonstrate the robust nature of early movement-gaze coupling, raise questions about the specific role of attention in the dynamic links between body movement and gaze, and highlight the potential short and long term functional significance of movementgaze-attention coupling. ß 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 49: 208-215, 2007.

Effects of physical activity on children’s executive function: Contributions of experimental research on aerobic exercise

“…This research suggests that physical activity may aid in unlocking infant’s sustained attention, allowing for attention to shift to another stimulus (Robertson et al, 2001, 2007). The integration of movement and attention that occurs over the first few months of life may be significant to later attention and cognitive development.…”

“…Robertson and his colleagues (Friedman, Watamura, & Robertson, 2005; Robertson, Bacher, & Huntington, 2001; Robertson & Johnson, 2009; Robertson, Johnson, Masnick, & Weiss, 2007) have examined the second-by-second coupling of movement and visual attention engagement and disengagement in young infants. This research suggests that physical activity may aid in unlocking infant’s sustained attention, allowing for attention to shift to another stimulus (Robertson et al, 2001, 2007).…”

Developmental emergence of self-referential and inhibition mechanisms of body movements underling felicitous behaviors.

“…For example, suppression of body movements has been shown to be induced by presentation of novel visual stimuli (Dibiasi & Einspieler, 2002;McDonnell, Corkum, & Wilson, 1989) or gazeshifting to visual stimuli (Robertson, Bacher, &. Huntington, 2001;Robertson, Johnson, Masnick, & Weiss, 2007). Furthermore, arm movements have been shown to have decreased in situations where the infant movements had no effects on the audio-visual events (Lewis et al, 1985).…”

Sensitivity of the rate of spontaneous eye blinking to type of stimuli in young infants

“…The attention-cardiac coupling is so robust that cardiac changes have been used to describe states or levels of attentional engagement (Lansink & Richards, 1997;Richards, 1985). Robust temporal relationships between attention and body movement (Bacher & Robertson, 2001;Roberston, Johnson, Masnick, & Weiss, 2007) and body movement and cardiac activity have been also demonstrated (Byrne & Miller, 1988).Despite substantial progress in understanding the mechanisms of SB in adults, the respective roles for central and peripheral mechanisms are not clearly understood for infants. In fact, few studies of infants have examined the possible contribution of central factors in regulating SB rate.…”