Infant Movement Response to Auditory Rhythm

Abstract

Rhythmic entrainment occurs when an auditory rhythm drives an internal movement oscillator, thus providing a continuous time reference that improves temporal and spatial movement parameters. Entrainment processes and outcomes are well known for adults, but research is lacking for infants who might benefit from diagnosis and treatment of irregular rhythms within biological, sensorimotor, cognitive, and social domains. The present study used a combination of inertial measurement units and custom-made software to determine the amount, tempo, and regularity of movement in 28 infants aged 6-10 months while they were exposed to silence, an irregular rhythmic cue, or a regular rhythmic cue with tempo changes. We also assessed changes in the infants’ movement parameters following a one-week rhythm training protocol. While results revealed no significant effect of auditory condition on amount or tempo of movement, infant movement was significantly more regular when infants were exposed to 120 bpm (beats per minute) than to an irregular rhythmic cue or a 10% faster rhythmic cue (132 bpm). Infants showed no notable changes in movement amount, tempo, or regularity following one week of training involving auditory and physical rhythm. Overall, infants seem to engage in spontaneous movements with or without auditory rhythm but may not show tempo sensitivity through their movements. Increased movement regularity suggests that 120 bpm may be a preferred tempo for infants, at which they are more likely to demonstrate well-timed movements that may reflect interval entrainment. Infants’ auditory-motor systems appear not to respond to a 1-week rhythm training protocol.

The origins of dance: Characterizing the development of infants’ earliest dance behavior.

“…Overall, we find that in a home environment, movement to music emerges early, is frequently produced, and shows more developmental change over the first two years than previously believed. These findings paint a different picture of early development of dance than do prior lab studies (e.g., de l’Etoile et al, 2020; Fujii et al, 2014; Zentner & Eerola, 2010). At home, with familiar surroundings and music, we find that many infants produce recognizable dance behavior before six months of age (i.e., nonutilitarian, often repetitive, movement in response to music), and a large majority do so within the second half of the first year.…”

“…In addition, the authors report a lack of developmental change in this behavior from 5–24 months (Zentner & Eerola, 2010). In recent work, 6- to 10-month-olds tested in-lab showed equal amounts of movement in silence as to music (de l’Etoile et al, 2020). Below the age of 5 months, only two in a sample of 30 3- to 4-month-old infants produced more movement to music than silence; most infants produced less, in effect appearing to freeze in response to music (Fujii et al, 2014).…”

Infant sensorimotor synchronisation to speech and non-speech rhythms: A longitudinal study

“…Spontaneous rhythmic movements are elicited equally by simple isochronous drumbeats and naturalistic music, and generally more to musical stimuli than to naturalistic adult-and infantdirected speech (Zentner & Eerola, 2010). Critically, very young (four-to five-month-old) infants tend to move more in silence than to music (Fujii et al, 2014), and six-to 10-month-olds move equally in silence as to music (de l'Etoile et al, 2020). Early repetitive motor movements, in which infants can spend 40% of their time, have been described as stereotypies, reflexive or rhythmic actions that precede deliberately-controlled movement (Thelen, 1981).…”

Precursors to infant sensorimotor synchronization to speech and non‐speech rhythms: A longitudinal study

“…Spontaneous rhythmic movements are elicited equally by simple isochronous drumbeats and naturalistic music, and generally more to musical stimuli than to naturalistic adult‐ and infant‐directed speech (Zentner & Eerola, 2010). Critically, very young (three to four‐month‐old) infants tend to move more in silence than to music (Fujii et al., 2014), and 6‐ to 10‐month‐olds move equally in silence as to music (de l'Etoile et al., 2020). Early repetitive motor movements, in which infants can spend 40% of their time, have been described as stereotypies, reflexive or rhythmic actions that precede deliberately controlled movement (Thelen, 1981).…”