PMID: 11905008Mar 22, 2002Paper

Clinical significance of general movements

No to hattatsu. Brain and development
Hifumi Tsubokura

Abstract

Human fetuses and young infants have a repertoire of distinct patterns of spontaneous movements. A set of these movement patterns are known as general movements (GMs), which were defined by Prechtl as gross movements involving the whole body, and lasting from a few seconds to several minutes, or longer. GMs are characterized by the variable sequence of arm, leg, neck and trunk movements which begin gradually, wax and wane in intensity, force and speed, and end gradually. Extension and flexion movements of the arms and legs are mostly complex and variable because of superimposed rotations and frequent, slight changes in direction, which make the movements fluent and elegant. Initially GMs are complex, and then differentiate into single movements. GMs show no change during the fetal period, but change in early infancy into writhing, fidgety, oscillating, saccadic and swipes & swaps. Hadders-Algra indicated that on EMG, burst duration of phasic activity shortens, burst amplitude attenuates and tonic background decreases with development. In contrast to normal GMs that are smaller and monotonous in trajectory, abnormal GMs include poor repertoire of GMs, cramped-synchronized GMs, chaotic GMs, absent fidgety, and abnormal fidgety, t...Continue Reading

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