Vocal-Motor and Speech-Gesture Coordinations in Infancy

本研究通过关注婴儿发声和运动系统发展的动态特性来探索手势和言语之间联系的起源。 这项研究解决了特定的假设来自一个模型的婴儿声乐和运动系统的耦合振荡器，可以相互夹带对方。 为了检查组成系统中行为的相对强度和稳定性影响夹带并导致发声-运动协调的强度和特异性的发育变化的方式，将在2至19个月的婴儿中每两周观察一次发声、有节奏的肢体运动、言语、手势以及发声-运动和言语-手势协调。 30名足月正常发育的婴儿将在家中进行45分钟的自然和半结构化游戏录像。 所有婴儿的发声、有节奏的肢体运动、单词和手势都将被编码。 数据分析将集中在这些现象的规范性和里程碑相关的发展变化，声乐和运动行为之间的共同发生模式作为年龄的函数，以及早期沟通里程碑的成就和声乐运动协调的性质和时间组织之间的关系。 这项研究还将评估婴儿在发声-手动协调模式方面的个体差异及其与以后交流的潜在关系。 事实上，手势使用的变化已被证明与沟通延迟有关，这表明早期语音-手动协调的个体差异可能对后来的沟通障碍具有诊断意义。 识别早期声手协调的典型模式和正常范围的变化将提供未来诊断研究所需的规范性信息。

This research explores the origins of the link between gesture and speech by focusing on the dynamic properties of the development of infant vocal and motor systems. The study addresses specific hypotheses derived from a model of infant vocal and motor system as coupled oscillators that can mutually entrain one another. To examine the ways in which the relative strength and stability of behaviors in the component systems influence entrainment and lead to developmental changes in the strength and specificity of vocal-motor coordination, vocalizations, rhythmic limb movements, speech, gestures, and vocal- motor and speech-gesture coordinations will be observed in infants biweekly between the ages of 2 and 19 months. Thirty full-term, normally-developing infants will be videotaped at home for 45 minutes in naturalistic and semistructured play contexts. All infant vocalizations, rhythmic limb movements, words, and gestures will be coded. Data analyses will focus on normative and milestone-related developmental change in these phenomena, patterns of co-occurrence between vocal and motor behaviors as a function of age, and the relationship between early communicative milestone achievement and the nature and temporal organization of vocal-motor coordination. This research will also assess individual differences among infants in vocal- manual coordination patterns and their potential relationship to later communication. The fact that variation in gesture use has been shown to relate to communicative delay suggests the possibility that individual variability in early vocal-manual coordination may have diagnostic significance for later communication disorders. Identification of the typical pattern and normal range of variation in early vocal-manual coordination will provide normative information required for future diagnostic research.