Chapter 14 Locomotor Coordination in Infancy: The Transition from Walking to Running

Abstract In this chapter we discuss the development of infant locomotor coordination from a dynamical systems perspective. Specifically, the organization of the lower limbs during walking and running is modeled after coupled, nonlinear limit cycle oscillator behavior. Using coordination measures of relative phase between component oscillators, evidence is presented to suggest that infants achieve adult-like coordination in both gait modes. Moreover, there is evidence that walking and running can be characterized as having the same patterns of inter- and intralimb coordination, based on relative phase data. If coordination is not fundamentally altered to enable the transition from walking to running, we may ask what precludes an earlier appearance of running in the developmental sequence. Given that each gait has distinctive energetic qualities, we raise the possibility that the infant faces an energy management task rather than a re-coordination task. Mechanical energy analyses are discussed as a means to probe the control features within the common coordination, as well as to identify the source of limitation.

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