Can spontaneous movements be modulated by visual and acoustic stimulation in 3-month-old infants?

BACKGROUND The assessment of the quality of general movements (GMs) in infants proves to be a reliable and valid diagnostic tool for detecting brain dysfunction early in life. Of special interest, particularly for the prediction of cerebral palsy, is the fidgety kind of GMs, the so-called fidgety movements (FMs) observable in 3- to 5-month-old infants. GMs are part of an infant's spontaneous motor repertoire and as such endogenously generated by the nervous system itself. AIM The question was raised as to what extent the temporal organisation of FMs can be modulated by visual and acoustic stimulation. STUDY DESIGN Spontaneous motility in supine position with and without stimulation was recorded on video and the data were semiquantitatively analysed. We studied the effect of visual stimulation (red ring, red puppet), unanimated acoustic stimulation (68, 77, 88 dB) and of the mother, approaching her infant in a talkative manner after an absence of a quarter of an hour. SUBJECTS Twenty-nine healthy infants at the age of 12 weeks who all showed normal FMs. RESULTS Visual stimulation demonstrated that only the presentation of a red puppet elicited a significant level of focussed attention and led to a decrease of FMs. A red ring, unanimated acoustic stimulation as well as the interaction with the mother had no influence on the temporal organisation of FMs. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that in 3-month-old infants, FMs is a predominant motor pattern and that it is possible to assess FMs during (playful) social interaction.