Spatiotemporal linkage in infant interlimb coordination

Timing and direction of movement of the arms and hands of 7- and 11-month-old infants were examined during bimanual reaching for a transparent cube. Videotape analysis of frames from release of the hands to initial contact of one hand with the cube revealed that hand movement was more often temporally linked for 7-month infants than for 11-month infants. Also, at 7 months, the hands moved toward the cube in the same direction, whereas at 11 months, they moved in opposite (complementary) directions. Thus, although both 7- and 11-month infants perform bimanual reaching, at 7 months the 2 hands are linked both in timing and direction of movement in a fashion different than at 11 months.