RUI: Development of Executive Function in Pre-Crawling Infants: The Effect of Robotic-Assisted Locomotor Experience

执行功能指的是集中和保持注意力以及计划行动以实现目标的一系列能力。对这些能力的掌握影响着儿童的认知和社会成功。研究表明，婴儿的动作，如伸手、爬行和行走，可能对执行功能的发展很重要。本研究的目的是探讨运动经验对正常发育的前爬行婴儿执行功能发展的影响。这项研究使用了一种新技术，让婴儿通过向婴儿想要移动的方向倾斜来“驾驶”机器人。这给了婴儿一个早期发展增强运动经验的机会，这可能会加速执行功能的发展。如果增强的运动体验也能增强执行功能，这可能为患有运动障碍的个体提供重要的支持途径，如唐氏综合症、发育协调障碍、脊柱裂和脑瘫，这些患者通常表现出较差的执行功能。五个月大的婴儿将被随机分配到一个实验组，在每次会话中驱动机器人，或到一个对照组，不驱动机器人。婴儿将完成12个20分钟的会话，随后是一系列的任务，包括视觉悬崖、手段-目的、a -非- b和切换任务，这些任务使用眼睛注视技术评估执行功能的各个方面。假设是，有使用机器人独立运动经验的婴儿比没有这种经验的婴儿表现出更高水平的执行功能。这项研究的发现将为理解执行功能发展的基本机制提供见解。这项研究的结果也可能为重新考虑活动经验对非常年幼的儿童延迟或有限的独立运动的作用提供理论依据。由于这项研究是在一所面向本科生的机构进行的，因此该项目将为众多本科生提供重要的实践研究经验。

Executive function refers to a range of abilities involved in focusing and maintaining attention, and planning actions to achieve goals. The mastery of these abilities influences children's cognitive and social success. Research suggests that infants' movements, such as reaching, crawling and walking, may be important for the development of executive function. The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of locomotor experience on the development of executive function in typically developing, pre-crawling infants. The research uses new technology that lets a baby "drive" a robot by leaning in the direction that the baby wants to travel. This gives babies an early opportunity to develop enhanced locomotor experience which may accelerate the development of executive function. If enhanced locomotor experience also enhances executive function, this may provide an important avenue of support for individuals with conditions that involve motor impairment, such as Down syndrome, developmental coordination disorder, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy, who often exhibit poor executive function. Five-month old infants will be randomly assigned to an experimental group that drives the robot during each session or to a control group that does not. Infants will complete twelve 20-minute sessions, followed by a battery of tasks including versions of a Visual Cliff, Means-End, A-not-B, and Switch Task that assess aspects of executive function using eye gaze technology. The hypothesis is that infants who have experience with independent locomotion using the robot will show higher levels of executive function than those without this experience.Findings from this research will provide insight for understanding basic mechanisms involved in the development of executive function. The outcome of this research may also provide a rationale for reconsidering the role of mobility experience for very young children with delayed or limited independent locomotion. Because the research is being conducted at an undergraduate-oriented institution, the project will provide significant hands-on research experiences for numerous undergraduate students.