Beyond “low tone”. What do the General Movements Assessment and Motor Optimality Score tell us about infants with developmental central hypotonia? A scoping review

Early Human Development 2026 Open access

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Authors: Álvaro Hidalgo-Robles, Daniele Soares‐Marangoni, Olena Chorna, Pragashnie Govender, Roslyn Livingstone, Ginny Paleg, Riclef Schomerus, Javier Merino‐Andrés, Andrea Guzzetta
DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2026.106583
Cited by: 1
References: 45

Abstract

Developmental central hypotonia is a broad clinical term describing low muscle tone secondary to non-degenerative brain impairment. Because there is no widely implemented, standardized way to quantify hypotonia in young children, and low tone is still judged largely through subjective clinical examination, early motor phenotyping remains challenging. We conducted a scoping review to map how Prechtl's General Movements Assessment (GMA) and the Motor Optimality Score–Revised (MOS-R) have been used in infants with developmental central hypotonia aged

Fields of Study & Subjects

Neurogenetic and Muscular Disorders Research Genomics and Rare Diseases Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders

Publication details

Journal / source
Early Human Development
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
221
Pages
106583–106583
Publication date
14 May 2026
Language
EN