6 motor development Flashcards
What is the brain for?
To produce adaptable and complex movement - the only way of interacting with and influencing the world around you
If you need proof just look at the sea squirt :)
What are reflexes?
fixed action patterns. displayed by newborns but some reflexes disappear with age.
Name some reflexes present in newborns: (6)
- rooting
- stepping
- sucking/feeding
- grasping
- babinski
- moro
What can long lasting/persistant reflexes be used to diagnose?
neurological diseases
What are the feeding reflexes?
- sucking - babies suck on things that are put in their mouths - disappears at around 4 months and replaced by voluntary sucking
- rooting - babies turn their heads when their cheek is brushed - to help breastfed babies find food source
what is the grasping reflex?
- when something placed into babies hand or foot they grasp it - very strong grip
- can be used in C sections deliver baby
- thought to come from baby monkeys clinging onto hairy mother monkeys
- disappears around 4 months and replaced by voluntary grasping
What is the babinski reflex?
when the sole of the foot is stroked the babies toes curl up and spread out
disappears around 8-12 months
What is the moro reflex
when babies fall or are startled they look like scared kitty -starfish limbs
persistance might show neurological disorder
disappears around 6 months
Where does early simple movement arise from?
brain stem
Where does most movement arise from?
cortex
What is the first area of the cortex to develop?
The primary motor cortex
- responsible for voluntary movement
- begins with raising head, then arms, then trunk, then legs (top down)
What is movement a sign of?
- First thought to be a display of neurological development/maturity
- now thought to be part of a dynamic system where perceptual skills, strength, posture, control, balance and motivation all come into play too
Thelen et al.
- stepping reflex thought to disappear at 2 months but they put babies in water and when their feet touched the ground it came back
- attached weights to legs of less than 2 month olds and the reflex disappeared
- underlying reflex is still there but legs are too heavy
_____ mothers (which country mothers do what with their babies)
Mali
Do exercises with their babies to aid motor development
their babies do actually develop faster
Ages of babies motor development:
- 2 months - use arms to lift head and upper body/rolls over
- 3 months - supports some weight with legs (like a table)
- 4.5 months sits with no support
- 5 months stands with support
- 7 months walks around using furniture
- 9.5 months stands alone easily
- 11 months walks alone
Reaching in infants
For the first few months infants are limited to pre reaching movements (clumsy swipes in the direction of an object).
They begin successfully reaching for objects at around 3/4 months
What age do infants start successfully reaching for objects?
3/4 months
Manual dexterity in infants:
- moves from scissor to pincer grip
- starts properly developing at 7 months when they can sit for themselves
- at 9 months they are pick up different objects in different ways depending what they plan to do with them
- by one year show sophisticated manual dexterity
What age do infants start self locomoting?
8 months when they begin to crawl
What can effect the rate at which infants start crawling?
- whether they are lain on backs or fronts
- possibly coz when on their fronts they want to turn over to see what mum is doing
- Fater motor development if lain on front
- However increases the incidence of SIDS/cot death by double
What age to babies lain in their backs catch up with those on their tummies in motor development?
18 months
What does other type of development does motor development allow for?
Perceptual development. babies start to explore objects and their affordances, primarily through their own actions.
What age do infants start walking independently?
13/14 months
-they don’t transfer their crawling knowledge to walking knowledge (e.g. slopes)
When does infants weariness of height appear?
-although they can perceive it via monocular depth cues they don’t understand the consequences of it until they start to move
