Preferred head turn and lateral arm movements in newborns.

Abstract

One of the most common lateral asymmetries investigated in newborns is the direction of their spontaneous head turn (HT). HT has also been linked to later hand preference. However few studies have examined whether such spontaneous HT asymmetries at birth were already associated with similar asymmetries in newborns’ arm movements. This study aimed (i) to investigate the direction and maintenance consistency of newborns’ HT preference at birth, and (ii) to assess whether the observed preferred HT was associated with distinct amounts of movements between arms. Twenty-three healthy infants were videotaped for 2 consecutive minutes shortly after birth while resting in supine position. The direction of their HT and number of arm movements were coded. As in prior studies, we found that most newborns preferred turning their head to the right. However, such HT preference did not appear to be linked to differential numbers of movements or activity levels between arms.