The Mystery of How Newborns Can Imitate Has Been Solved They don't! by Thomas Suddendorf Ph.D. SOURCE: Psychology Today

"Could it really be the case that the long-celebrated phenomenon is not real? Diverse other lines of evidence now bolster this conclusion. EMG studies now suggest that imitation first emerges not at birth but between four and seven months of age. A compelling analysis of human aero-digestive development concluded that human neonates do not even possess voluntary cortical control over facial actions that were supposed to have been imitated."