The meaning, mechanism, and function of imitation in early infancy have been actively discussed since Meltzoff and Moore's (1977) report of facial and manual imitation by human neonates. Oostenbroek et al. (2016) claim to challenge the existence of early imitation and to counter all interpretations so far offered. Such claims, if true, would have…

Background: Preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is designed to counteract adverse effects of separation of mothers and their preterm infants. Here, we evaluate effects of FNI on neurobehavioral outcomes. Methods: Data…

Increasing attention has been devoted to the maturation of sensory processing in the first year of life. While the development of cortical visual function has been thoroughly studied, much less information is available on auditory processing and its early disorders. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the assessment techniques for…

Argues for an interactionist model of the relation between cognition and motivation in early infancy. (Author/SS)

Two studies found infants' scores on the Range of State Cluster of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale with Kansas Supplements to correlate significantly with visual discrimination performance at three months of age. The correlation with behavioral state organization contradicted the prediction that orientation scores would predict visual…

Designed for use in the home and in professional child-care settings, this program presents developmentally appropriate activities to support growth and development of infants from birth to 1 year. Each of the six 2-month long units contains 24 sets of activities called Activity Plans, with the suggestion to use three activity plans per week. Each…

Rejects the neuronal fatigue, or selective adaptation, hypothesis of young infant habituation. Holds that studies cited by Dannemiller and Banks do not support the inferences of selective adaptation. Rejects the hypothetical neurophysiological mechanism of neuronal fatigue. Proposes that studies do not indicate that young infants' visual cortical…

A study examined rates of labor induction using pitocin in 41 boys with autism and 25 matched controls with either typical development or mental retardation. There were no differences in pitocin induction rates as a function of either diagnostic group (autism vs. control) or IQ level (average vs. subaverage range). (Contains references.)…

This paper presents a review of the literature concerning the infant Apgar scoring system and its relationship to later mental and motor development. Since 1952, the Apgar scoring system has provided a viable means of assessing the infant's immediate postnatal condition. Researchers have demonstrated that while the 1-minute Apgar score is a useful…

The book offers 14 papers presented at two conferences on assessment and intervention with handicapped infants, sponsored by the Western States Technical Assistance Resource. Titles and authors include: "Neonatal Diagnosis of the Neurologically Handicapped" (M. Coleman); "Principles of Infant Assessment" (J. Swanson); "Focus on the Parent-Infant…

Background: Previous empirical studies of the cognitive sequelae of failure to thrive in infancy have led to apparently inconsistent conclusions. Methods: Studies of cognitive abilities in failure to thrive were located through published bibliographies, supplemented by a search through MEDLINE. They were classified (a) into those in which the…

As our knowledge of young children grows, so does our awareness of the importance of the first few years of life. This book is written for students of child care at the college level, for those who work with children in the first three years of their lives, and for anyone who wants to understand more about what researchers and theorists have to…

In the Infant Development, Environment and Lifestyle (IDEAL) Study of methamphetamine (MA) effects on children, the authors screened approximately 27,000 newborn infants for MA exposure, and from that pool derived a sample of in utero MA-exposed children as well as a comparison group matched for other drug use and other factors. IDEAL measures…