The continuous 5-day observation of 4 neonates suggests that certain aspects of neonatal behavior are globally organized at birth, while others should probably be considered as undifferentiated. The observed types of behavior patterns were classified as: (1) Motor activity initiated by spontaneous activity of the nervous system -analogous to epileptic seizures in later life; (2) diffuse motor activity initiated by need tension (hunger) and external stimuli - such as random kicking and arm waving; (3) reflex organized executive functions motivated by need tension - such as hand sucking and rooting; (4) need motivated expressive movements - such as smiling and different types of crying; (5) reflex organized practice behaviors (in the sense of Piaget), initiated by "functional pleasure"; (6) reflex organized "voluntary activities" which are the precursors of later truly voluntary activities - such as visual and auditory pursuit movements.