Synchrony Demonstrated between Movements of the Neonate and Adult Speech

Abstract

CONDON, WILLIAM S., and SANDER, Lours W. Synchrony Demonstrated between Movements of the Neonate and Adult Speech. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 456-462. The human neonate moves in precise and sustained synchronous organizations of change of movement with the articulated structure of adult speech as early as the first day of life. This complex and on-going dance of the neonate with human speech may necessitate conceptual revisions concerning the nature and functions of neonatal responsivity. In addition, present models of interaction may be found to be inadequate to account for entrainment and synchrony of this order. The present observations suggest a view of development in terms of the participation of the infant at the outset in multiple forms of interactional organization, rather than as an isolate.