Coordination dynamics of abdomen and chest during infant breathing: A comparison of full-term and preterm infants at 38 weeks postconceptional age

Coordination of chest and abdominal breathing movements was examined in 30 full-term and preterm infants at 38 weeks postconceptional age. Relative phase, a measure of chest-abdomen coordination, distinguished a group of preterm infants from older infants and also predicted scores on a neurobehavioral examination. For the preterm infants, the coordination of breathing movements was less stable and exhibited a larger relative phase lag. Coupled oscillator model predictions about the existence of stable attractors and the relation between attractor strength and phase lag were confirmed. Modeling coordination of infant breathing may provide new insights into the role of attractors in development and into the recovery of motor systems from the effects of premature birth.