Longitudinal assessment of leg motor activity and sleep patterns in infants with and without Down syndrome

Whether infants with Down syndrome (DS) perform leg movements with the same frequency and quality as their typical development (TD) counterparts is equivocal. Furthermore, the relationship between these early leg movements and later onset of locomotor milestones has only been partially explored. The...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infant behavior & development 2006-04, Vol.29 (2), p.153-168
Main Authors: McKay, Sandra M., Angulo-Barroso, Rosa M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Child clinical studies
Child development
Developmental disorders
Developmental psychology
Down syndrome
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Intellectual deficiency
Medical sciences
Milestone
Motor
Newborn. Infant
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Sleep
Walking
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Whether infants with Down syndrome (DS) perform leg movements with the same frequency and quality as their typical development (TD) counterparts is equivocal. Furthermore, the relationship between these early leg movements and later onset of locomotor milestones has only been partially explored. The aims of this study were two-fold: (1) to describe the longitudinal leg activity in infants with and without DS (3–6 months), and (2) to examine sleeping patterns and leg activity during the night. In addition, the relationships between leg activities and sleep patterns with locomotor development were explored. An activity monitor was placed monthly on the infant's ankle for 48 h. Data were analyzed to separate day–night, high–low activity, and sleep fragmentation. The results indicate that infants with DS produced more low intensity activity and more fragmented sleep. These findings are discussed in relation to the influence of early motor activity on achievement of functional motor behavior.
ISSN:0163-6383
1879-0453
DOI:10.1016/j.infbeh.2005.09.004