Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting
Abstract Background Motor milestones are not only indicators of developmental progress, but they also open up new opportunities for infants to interact with the environment and social partners, as the development of motor, social, and language skills is tightly interconnected in infancy. This study...
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BMC
2025-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02645-9 |
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| author | Zuzanna Laudańska Anna Malinowska-Korczak Karolina Babis Szymon Mąka Itziar Lozano Peter B. Marschik Dajie Zhang Katerina Patsis Magdalena Szmytke Monika Podstolak Weronika Araszkiewicz Przemysław Tomalski |
| author_facet | Zuzanna Laudańska Anna Malinowska-Korczak Karolina Babis Szymon Mąka Itziar Lozano Peter B. Marschik Dajie Zhang Katerina Patsis Magdalena Szmytke Monika Podstolak Weronika Araszkiewicz Przemysław Tomalski |
| author_sort | Zuzanna Laudańska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Motor milestones are not only indicators of developmental progress, but they also open up new opportunities for infants to interact with the environment and social partners, as the development of motor, social, and language skills is tightly interconnected in infancy. This study will investigate how the transition to independent sitting relates to key areas of socio-communicative development in infancy: vocal production and visual attention. Methods This study addresses the relationship between sitting acquisition and social cognition skills in infancy. It will allow for comparing if infant motor development, vocalizations, and visual attention undergo developmental changes in parallel or whether they have intertwined trajectories. We will conduct a longitudinal study using a milestone-based approach to account for individual differences in relation to the timing of motor milestone acquisition. We will invite parent-infant dyads to the lab when infants are at different stages of independent sitting acquisition: non-sitting, attempting-sitting and expert-sitting. Infants’ attention toward faces and toys will be measured with a wearable eye-tracker during free-flowing dyadic interactions with their caregivers. During the same interactions, infant vocalizations will also be recorded and analyzed. Additionally, screen-based eye-tracking will be used to precisely assess changes in infants’ attention to the mouth area of the speaker. Discussion Altogether, this study will provide a unique dataset that tracks the cross-dependence of motor, visual and vocal developmental trajectories. It will have the potential to inform future studies of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism that are characterized by socio-communicative challenges. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eebd8d6709b94ad29c58f796d052e72d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-eebd8d6709b94ad29c58f796d052e72d2025-08-20T04:01:47ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-04-0113111010.1186/s40359-025-02645-9Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sittingZuzanna Laudańska0Anna Malinowska-Korczak1Karolina Babis2Szymon Mąka3Itziar Lozano4Peter B. Marschik5Dajie Zhang6Katerina Patsis7Magdalena Szmytke8Monika Podstolak9Weronika Araszkiewicz10Przemysław Tomalski11Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, German Center for Mental Health (DZPG)Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, German Center for Mental Health (DZPG)Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, German Center for Mental Health (DZPG)Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University in ToruńInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesAbstract Background Motor milestones are not only indicators of developmental progress, but they also open up new opportunities for infants to interact with the environment and social partners, as the development of motor, social, and language skills is tightly interconnected in infancy. This study will investigate how the transition to independent sitting relates to key areas of socio-communicative development in infancy: vocal production and visual attention. Methods This study addresses the relationship between sitting acquisition and social cognition skills in infancy. It will allow for comparing if infant motor development, vocalizations, and visual attention undergo developmental changes in parallel or whether they have intertwined trajectories. We will conduct a longitudinal study using a milestone-based approach to account for individual differences in relation to the timing of motor milestone acquisition. We will invite parent-infant dyads to the lab when infants are at different stages of independent sitting acquisition: non-sitting, attempting-sitting and expert-sitting. Infants’ attention toward faces and toys will be measured with a wearable eye-tracker during free-flowing dyadic interactions with their caregivers. During the same interactions, infant vocalizations will also be recorded and analyzed. Additionally, screen-based eye-tracking will be used to precisely assess changes in infants’ attention to the mouth area of the speaker. Discussion Altogether, this study will provide a unique dataset that tracks the cross-dependence of motor, visual and vocal developmental trajectories. It will have the potential to inform future studies of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism that are characterized by socio-communicative challenges.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02645-9InfantsEye-trackingHead-mounted eye-trackingWearablesInertial motion unitsMotor development |
| spellingShingle | Zuzanna Laudańska Anna Malinowska-Korczak Karolina Babis Szymon Mąka Itziar Lozano Peter B. Marschik Dajie Zhang Katerina Patsis Magdalena Szmytke Monika Podstolak Weronika Araszkiewicz Przemysław Tomalski Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting BMC Psychology Infants Eye-tracking Head-mounted eye-tracking Wearables Inertial motion units Motor development |
| title | Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting |
| title_full | Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting |
| title_fullStr | Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting |
| title_short | Sit and face the world: ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting |
| title_sort | sit and face the world ontogenetic adaptation in infant vocal production and visual attention during the transition to independent sitting |
| topic | Infants Eye-tracking Head-mounted eye-tracking Wearables Inertial motion units Motor development |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02645-9 |
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