Studied were the responses of infants to new toys presented with either positive, negative, or neutral affective displays by mothers. Responses to stimulus toys were compared with responses to free play toys. Maternal displays influenced responses only to stimulus toys. (PCB)

Examines the relation between aspects of the fundamental frequency (basic pitch) of 16 infant newborn cries and 28 multiparous mothers' perceptions of those cries. Results support the hypothesis that increases in fundamental frequency are related to increases in maternal perceptions of the intensity of the infant's cry. (Author/RWB)

The behavioral dynamics of three different types of early mother-infant interactions were examined. Mothers were instructed to play with, imitate, and hold the attention of their infants. Frequency of vocalization, gaze direction, and smiling by both interactants, tactile play by the mother, and crying by the infant were recorded. (PCB)

Habituation to single female faces and to single geometric patterns was observed separately in two groups of infants who participated in two sessions separated by 10 days. Habituation was found to be distributed into three patterns and showed moderate but significant reliability between assessment sessions. (Author/RH)

Full-term and preterm infants who had participated in studies of cross-modal and intramodal transfer at 12 months of age were seen at older ages to assess the predictive validity of these early measures for later cognition. (Author)

Analysis of computerized linked birth and death record information found that maternal age and education are inversely related to infant mortality, while mother's parity is directly related. Accident mortality rate differentials by educational level were more evident for certain categories of accident (suffocation, death by fire). (Author/GC)

Examined whether an infant's reaction to a stranger would be indirectly influenced by the infant observing a stranger-third party interaction. Subjects were 45 15-month-old infants. Results suggest indirect effects influence social interactions and show that significant others can play an important role in mediating these effects. (Author/RH)

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Examined seven-month-old infants' perceptions of happy and fearful facial expressions. Infants could generalize discrimination of expressions across male and female faces if first familiarized with happy faces. Infants tended to look longer at fear faces than at happy faces. Preferential responding was not specific to any individual face.…

This brochure, one of a series of publications on recommended feeding and dietary practices to improve nutritional status at various points in the life cycle, focuses on childbirth, the initiation of breastfeeding, and breastfeeding concerns during the first week after birth. Addressed to health care providers working with mothers and newborns,…

This study explored the relation between mother-infant coordinated interpersonal timing, an automated microanalytic measure of dyadic vocal coordination, and maternal sensitivity. Thirty-four mothers and their developmentally normal 4-month-old infants were audio recorded during a 20-minute laboratory vocal interaction session, which was later…

The brains of 16 premature infants who died within their first month of life were studied microscopically. Journal Availability: See EC 152 470. (Author/CL)

Infants 9 to 10 months of age were presented with a series of visible displacement hiding trials at two locations. Infants had to choose among three, five, or six alternative locations on each trial. Search attempts tended to cluster around the currently correct location during both trials on all apparati, providing evidence for a memory…