They adapt to cultural differences in the frequ of

“regressions.” They adapt to cultural differences in the frequency
of parental initiatives or directives ( Reddy et al., 2012 ). They
are products of the active system of “intent participation” in
the environment with companions that drive cultural learning
( Trevarthen, 2013 ).
SENSORI-MOTOR INTENTIONALITY BEFORE BIRTH: GENESIS OF
PRIMARY SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE FIRST INTERSUBJECTIVITY
Spontaneous movements develop in the late embryo and
fetus, showing increased sensory awareness of their purposes
( Delafield-Butt and Trevarthen, 2013 ). The first integrative
actions of the nervous system are to move the body, and the
first nerve tracts in the central nervous system are those that
will activate movements to express different orientations and
emotional states ( Trevarthen, 1986a ). After 8 weeks the core neu-
rochemical systems of the subcortical brain that will link motor
centers and select and evaluate experiences throughout life make
their appearance. At this stage the fetus makes the general move-
ments of Prechtl (2001) . These become increasingly differentiated
and controlled with the benefit of re-afference from sensory
systems that grow in the following weeks. Detailed studies of
by real-time ultrasonography demonstrate a fetus’s exploratory
sensation-testing to touch their own body, their face, the pla-
centa, umbilicus, and the uterine wall with their hands at 11
weeks. They make jaw movements and swallow amniotic fluid,
expressing pleasure or disapproval at tastes, sucking and smiling
or grimacing with disgust. Complex movements of trunk, arms,
and legs position the body, and may react to movements of the
mother’s body and to the contractions of the muscles of her uterus
( Lecanuet et al., 1995; Trevarthen et al., 2006; Piontelli, 2010 ).
In weeks 10–14 fetal movements become differentiated into indi-
vidual, isolate actions with increasing goal-direction to particular
parts of the body ( Prechtl, 2001; Piontelli, 2010 ). The arms and
hands “test” sensitive zones of the body, especially to the face and
head, exploring the border of sensory innervation on the top of
the head ( Piontelli, 2010 , p. 61–67).
In singleton pregnancies motor planning of action patterns
adapted for different goals is evident before 22 weeks gestational
age ( Zoia et al., 2007 ). In twin pregnancies, movements directed
by one twin to the other are “carefully” slowed, even by 18
weeks, which the researchers interpret as evidence of a primary
“social awareness” ( Castiello et al., 2010 ). At this time the motor
centers of the brain stem and spinal cord are directing the coor-
dinated behavior of the fetus ( Okado, 1980 ). Neocotical cells do
not develop dendrites until after 26 weeks of gestation ( Hevner,
2000 ).
This natural history of human movement at a stage of develop-
ment when the sensori-motor environment can only be the prop-
erties of an organized body itself appears to support Lashley’s con-
clusion that propositional thought may depend on, and indeed be
derived from, the spontaneous syntactic ordering of movement
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience
July 2013 | Volume 7 | Article 49
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Trevarthen and Delafield-Butt