3-MONTH-OLD INFANTS CAN LEARN TASK-SPECIFIC PATTERNS OF INTERLIMB COORDINATION

Three-month-old infants cannot yet coordinate and control their limbs for functional tasks like reaching or locomoting. This study demonstra tes that given an appropriate, novel task, infants can transform their seemingly spontaneous kicking movements into new and efficient patter ns of interlimb coordination even at this early age. Three-month-old i nfants were allowed to control the movement of an overhead mobile by m eans of a string attached to their left ankles. In addition, some grou ps had their two legs yoked together at the ankle with a soft elastic. The elastic permitted kicks to be coordinated in any pattern-alternat ing, single, or simultaneous-but simultaneous kicks provided the most vigorous activation of the mobile. All infants kicked more and faster when their kicks were reinforced by mobile movement than when their ki cks did not activate the mobile. However, only the yoked infants incre asingly moved their legs in a simultaneous, or in-phase, pattern. The study suggests that learning processes are in place at 3 months for in fants to discover a match between their interlimb coordination pattern s and a specific task, and that these learning processes, rather than autonomous brain ''maturation,'' may underlie the acquisition of motor skills.