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Motor asymmetries in the human infant: Stepping movements
Author(s) -
Kamptner N. Laura,
Cornwell Karen S.,
Fitzgerald Hiram E.,
Harris Lauren Julius
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0355(198523)6:3<145::aid-imhj2280060306>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - psychology , asymmetry , developmental psychology , motor skill , physical medicine and rehabilitation , audiology , medicine , physics , quantum mechanics
Stepping movements were investigated for evidence of early motor asymmetry in 24 familial right‐handed infants and 14 familial left‐handed infants at each of five ages: 2–3 days after birth, 14 days, and 1, 2, and 3 months of age. Results indicated a nonsignificant right leg advantage during the newborn period, with few significant lateral preferences evidenced in either direction at later testing ages. These results fail to indicate that a reliable leg preference persists beyond the newborn period, particularly among familial right‐handed infants. Thus, it seems unlikely that an asymmetry in stepping movements during early infancy marks the beginning of a direct developmental path that culminates in a motor asymmetry in later childhood.