NYMC Faculty Publications

Infant Sitting and Multi-Directional Reaching Skill

Author Type(s)

Faculty

DOI

10.1080/00222895.2023.2262428

Journal Title

Journal of Motor Behavior

First Page

109

Last Page

118

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Department

Rehabilitation Sciences

Keywords

infancy, machine learning, postural control, skill acquisition

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

We tested twenty-one 6- to 10-month-old infants with a wide range of sitting experience in forward and rightward reaching during unsupported sitting on the floor. Sessions were video-recorded for further behavioral and machine learning-based kinematic analyses. All infants, including novice sitters, successfully touched and grasped toys in both directions. Infant falls, hand support, and base of support changes were rare. Infants with more sitting experience showed better upright posture than novice sitters. However, we found no differences in trunk displacement or reaching kinematics between directions or across sitting experience. Thus, multi-directional reaching is functional in both novice and experienced infant sitters. We suggest that trunk and arm stability in sagittal and frontal planes is integral to learning to sit.

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