Abstract
In this article, I describe the emergence of movement in the embryo and its development throughout pregnancy; I examine the mechanisms that may underlie sensorimotor advances in utero; and I suggest that the cognitive concepts observed in children and adults have their origins in the sensorimotor experience acquired during the fetal period.
Until the end of the 5th week, the embryo appears motionless. Movements first appear as jerks or brief head movements. These initial movements are of endogenous motor origin, as the sensory pathways develop slightly later than the motor pathways in the spinal cord. But very quickly, the first sensorimotor reflexes and the first spontaneous general movements appear, and we must then speak of sensorimotor development. At the beginning of the fetal phase, isolated movements of the limbs begin to appear. The maturation of the central and peripheral nervous systems accounts for the emergence of motor behavior and the early stages of sensorimotor development. However, it can be hypothesized that other mechanisms reinforce and modulate motor activity: for example, the motivation to move, the motivation to repeat movements that elicit more intense or new sensations, or the anticipation of the results of movements. Through its sensorimotor fetal experience, the fetus learns about itself and discovers its environment, including the presence of other living beings. In accordance with the concept of embodiment derived from the enaction theory, we can hypothesize that cognition likely originates in these bodily experiences in utero (in the case of the fetus, we can speak of “co-embodiment”).
In conclusion, the interaction between several factors—genetic endowment, the fetus’s sensory-motor experiences, pregnancy conditions, and the specific characteristics and commonalities of the environment—accounts for early development, during which motor, sensory, and cognitive aspects are closely intertwined.