References and bibliography

Bentzley, J. P., Coker-Bolt, P., Moreau, N., Hope, K., Ramakrishnan, V., Brown, T., … Jenkins, D. (2015). Kinematic Measurement of 12-week Head Control Correlates with 12-month Neurodevelopment in Preterm Infants. Early Human Development, 91(2), 159–164. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4324091/#R28

Bly L. (1994) Motor Skills Acquisition in the First Year.  

Cornwell, K. S., Fitzgerald, H. E., & Harris, L. J. (1985). On the state‐dependent nature of infant head orientation. Infant Mental Health Journal, 6(3), 137-144.

Duncan K, Goodworth A, Da Costa CSN, Wininger M, Saavedra S. Parent handling of typical infants varies segmentally across development of postural control. Exp Brain Res. 2017 Dec 28. doi: 10.1007/s00221-017-5156-4. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29285555.

Dusing, S. C., Thacker, L. R., Stergiou, N., & Galloway, J. C. (2013). Early Complexity Supports Development of Motor Behaviors in the First Months of Life. Developmental Psychobiology, 55(4), 404–414. http://doi.org/10.1002/dev.21045

Dunsirn S, Smyser C, Liao S, Inder T, Pineda R. Defining the nature and implications of head turn preference in the preterm infant. Early Hum Dev. 2016 May;96:53-60. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2016.02.002.

Einspieler, C., Marschik, P. B., & Prechtl, H. F. R. (2008). Human Motor Behavior Prenatal Origin and Early Postnatal Development. Journal of Psychology, 216(3), 148–154. doi:10.1027/0044-3409.216.3.148

Lee HM, Galloway JC. Early intensive postural and movement training advances head control in very young infants. Phys Ther. 2012 Jul;92(7):935-47.

Lima-Alvarez CD, Tudella E, van der Kamp J, Savelsbergh GJ. Effects of postural manipulations on head movements from birth to 4 months of age. J Mot Behav. 2013;45(3):195-203.

Lima-Alvarez CD, Tudella E, van der Kamp J, Savelsbergh GJ. Early development of head movements between birth and 4 months of age: a longitudinal study. J Mot Behav. 2014;46(6):415-22. 

Reddy, V., Markova, G., & Wallot, S. (2013). Anticipatory Adjustments to Being Picked Up in Infancy. PLoS ONE, 8(6), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3688725/

Rönnqvist L, Hopkins B. Head position preference in the human newborn: a new look. Child Dev. 1998 Feb;69(1):13-23. PubMed PMID: 9499553.

Head position preference was studied in 20 awake newborns who differed in terms of delivery and sex. They were placed supine on a custom-built platform to reduce the effects of gravity and asymmetries in trunk posture and skull shape. A global and a specific scoring method were used, the infants being in State 3 (quiet wakefulness) or 4 (active wakefulness, excluding crying). Delivery and sex did not account for differences in head position. The head turned more often to the right and was maintained longer in this position during State 3, regardless of scoring method. The maintenance of the head in midline was comparable in duration to that reported for infants at 2-3 months when using the global scoring method. This suggests that the neural mechanisms responsible for attaining and maintaining a midline position are present at birth, but are not functionally expressed due to a lack of adequate power in the antigravity muscles of the neck.

Van der Meer, a L. (1997). Keeping the arm in the limelight: advanced visual control of arm movements in neonates. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology : EJPN : Official Journal of the European Paediatric Neurology Society, 1(4), 103–8. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10728203

Ververs IA, de Vries JI, van Geijn HP, Hopkins B. Prenatal head position from 12-38 weeks. I. Developmental aspects. Early Hum Dev. 1994 Oct 28;39(2):83-91. PubMed PMID: 7875103.

Fetal head position relative to the fetal body was studied longitudinally in 10 uncomplicated pregnancies by means of real-time ultrasound. Registrations were made at 4 weekly intervals from 12 to 36 weeks, and at 38 weeks. The percentage of assessments with optimal visualization of head position for analysis increased with age. The development of head position involved a change from a midline to a lateralized preference. It was only at 38 weeks that a clear lateralized head position was found with the head being held mainly to the right. The degree of intra- and inter-individual variability was considerable, a finding typical of motor behaviour in the healthy fetus. It is hypothesized that this bias is due to neural maturation. The implications of our findings for the subsequent development of hand preferenceare discussed.

von Hofsten C, Rönnqvist L. The structuring of neonatal arm movements. Child Dev. 1993 Aug;64(4):1046-57.  PDF