Sit Still and Pay Attention! Trunk Movement and Attentional Resources in Infants with Typical and Delayed Development

ABSTRACT

Aims: (1) examine infant movement during an early posture (sitting) utilizing a novel video assessment technique; and (2) document the differences between infants with typical development (TD), premature infants with motor delay, and infants with cerebral palsy (CP) during focused and nonfocused attention (NFA). Methods: Infants were tested when they began to sit independently. We utilized Eulerian Video Magnification (EVM) to accentuate small trunk and pelvic movements for visual coding from video taken during a natural play task with and without focused attention (FA). Results: Trunk/pelvic movement varied as a function of both motor skill and attention. Infants with TD and CP made fewer trunk movements during periods of FA than NFA. Preterm infants exhibited more trunk/pelvic movement than the other groups and their movement did not differ based on attention type. Conclusions: The EVM technique allowed for replicable coding of real-time “hidden” motor adjustments from video. The capacity to minimize extraneous movements in infants, or “sitting still” may allow greater attention to the task at hand, similar to older children and adults. Premature infants' excessive trunk/pelvic movement that did not adapt to task requirements could, in the long term, impact tasks requiring attentional resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Attention
• cerebral palsy
• infancy
• postural sway
• prematurity
• sitting

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Acknowledgments

Portions of the data were from a grant to RTH from the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy, American Physical Therapy Association. Portions of this research were presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies, New Orleans, LA, May, 2016.

This manuscript is based, in part, on an undergraduate honors thesis submitted to the College of Staten Island Department of Psychology by Carmen Guallpa Lliguichuzhca in partial fulfillment of the requirements to graduate with honors.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant RUI: NSF/SBE-BSF 1551703 to SEB and by a Dean's Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the College of Staten Island to CGL.

Notes on contributors

Sarah E. Berger

Sarah Berger is a professor in the Psychology department at the College of Staten Island and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She received her PhD in Psychology, program in Cognition and Perception, with a Developmental concentration from New York University, was an American Association of University Women postdoctoral research fellow, and was a Fulbright scholar.

Regina T. Harbourne

Regina T. Harbourne is a pediatric physical therapist and researches the efficacy of early intervention for infants with motor delays. She received her PhD in Developmental Psychology, and is an assistant professor in the physical therapy department at Duquesne University.

Carmen L. Guallpa Lliguichuzhca

Carmen L. Guallpa Lliguichuzhca received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the College of Staten Island in 2016. She plans on attending graduate school to become an occupational therapist.