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Abstract
During the perinatal period in mammals when active sleep predominates, skeletal muscles
twitch throughout the body. We have hypothesized that myoclonic twitches provide unique
insight into the functional status of the human infant's nervous system. However,
assessments of the rate and patterning of twitching have largely been restricted to
infant rodents. Thus, here we analyze twitching in human infants over the first seven
postnatal months. Using videography and behavioral measures of twitching during bouts
of daytime sleep, we find at all ages that twitching across the body occurs predominantly
in bursts at intervals of 10 s or less. We also find that twitching is expressed differentially
across the body and with age. For example, twitching of the face and head is most
prevalent shortly after birth and decreases over the first several months. In addition,
twitching of the hands and feet occurs at a consistently higher rate than does twitching
elsewhere in the body. Finally, the patterning of twitching becomes more structured
with age, with twitches of the left and right hands and feet exhibiting the strongest
coupling. Altogether, these findings support the notion that twitches can provide
a unique source of information about typical and atypical sensorimotor development.