Language asymmetry and auditory attention in young adulthood after being born small-for-gestational age or with cardio-pulmonary resuscitation at birth.

A dichotic listening test with consonant-vowel syllables was used to assess language asymmetry and shift of attention in 42 young adults who had been in need of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation at birth, with a mild or moderate clinical course during the neonatal period (n = 31), or were born small-for-gestational age (SGA; n = 11) and compared with healthy controls (n = 17). All the participants were followed up prospectively and displayed no neurological or developmental deficits at 18 months of age. All the groups had an expected right-ear advantage during a baseline condition with no instructions to shift attention. The SGA group and the moderate resuscitated group displayed clear signs of an attenuation of the right-ear advantage and they were also less able to modify the ear preference in forced-attention conditions, compared with the control group. The main finding was that the groups with the most severe pre- and perinatal complications were also most affected on the dichotic listening test at adult age.     

Infant birth weight among women with or at high risk for HIV infection: the impact of clinical, behavioral, psychosocial, and demographic factors.

The purpose of these analyses was to provide a prospective examination of the impact of HIV on birth weight using clinical, behavioral, psychosocial, and demographic correlates. HIV-positive (n = 319) and HIV-negative (n = 220) pregnant women matched for HIV risk factors (i.e., drug use and sexual risk behaviors) were interviewed during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum. Medical chart reviews were also conducted for the HIV-seropositive pregnant women to verify pregnancy-related and birth outcome data. In a logistic regression analysis, model chi2(9, N = 518) = 124.8, p < .001, controlling for parity and gestational age, women who were HIV seropositive were 2.6 times more likely to have an infant with low birth weight. In addition, Black women and those who did not live with their partners were more than 2 times as likely to have infants with low birth weight, and those who smoked were 3.2 times more likely to have infants with low birth weight. Knowing that women with HIV, those who are Black, and those not living with a partner are at highest risk for adverse birth outcomes can help those in prenatal clinics and HIV specialty clinics to target resources and develop prevention interventions. This is particularly important for women with HIV because birth weight is associated with risk of HIV transmission from mother to child.     

Attentional Skills in the Acute Phase Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Only a limited number of studies have investigated attention following pediatric head-injury. The present study examined sustained attention and processing speed in a group of children who had sustained a mild (n = 27), moderate (n = 33) or severe (n = 16) traumatic brain injury (TBI). No significant differences were evident between the TBI groups on reaction time measures. Results did show that the severe TBI group exhibited greater deficits in the area of sustained attention, in comparison to children with mild and moderate injuries, in the acute stage following traumatic brain injury. This difficulty may impact on the future development of skills dependent on intact attentional capacity.     

Attentional skills in the acute phase following pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Only a limited number of studies have investigated attention following pediatric head-injury. The present study examined sustained attention and processing speed in a group of children who had sustained a mild (n = 27), moderate (n = 33) or severe (n = 16) traumatic brain injury (TBI). No significant differences were evident between the TBI groups on reaction time measures. Results did show that the severe TBI group exhibited greater deficits in the area of sustained attention, in comparison to children with mild and moderate injuries, in the acute stage following traumatic brain injury. This difficulty may impact on the future development of skills dependent on intact attentional capacity.     

Visual and auditory orienting responses in preterm infants: a comparison of three cohorts over time.

Visual and auditory orienting responses were compared in three cohorts of preterm infants (N = 351) born between 1977 and 1987. The infants were divided into one group born between 25 and 34 weeks gestational age (n = 140) and one group born between 35 and 37 weeks gestational age (n = 211). Ratings were made of the infants' best orienting responses to a bull's-eye, rattle, bell, voice, and face plus voice combined. Analyses of covariance were computed to adjust for changes in perinatal variables between 1977 and 1987. For both groups, there were significant differences between cohorts on orienting to the bull's-eye, with a trend for the 25- to 34-week group on orienting to the rattle. Behavioral outcome for preterm infants has improved with changes in neonatal intensive care.     

Correlates of neonatal morbidity: maternal characteristics and family resources

The association of mental characteristics, family resources, and receipt of prenatal care with infant birth weight, gestational age, and Apgar scores was assessed in a retrospective review of an extant computerized data base of admissions to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU; n = 3,818). Prediction variables included mother's age, marital status, health insurance, parity, prenatal health problems, and prenatal drug use. Less favorable infant birth status was associated with prenatal health problems, being single, not having private insurance, obtaining a prior elective abortion, prenatal drug use, and not receiving prenatal care. Stepwise multiple regressions of predictor variables to birth weight and lack of prenatal care were performed. Low birth weight was associated with being single, receiving no prenatal care, and being Black. Lack of prenatal care was associated with mother's age, high parity, prenatal health problems, and prenatal illicit drug use. Pediatric interventions assessing maternal social and behavioral characteristics are proposed.     

Prenatal cocaine exposure and infants' preference for novelty and distractibility

The authors used the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (J. F. Fagan, L. T. Singer, J. E. Montie, & P. A. Shepherd, 1986) to examine preferences for novelty and to evaluate several indicators of attention (off- and on-task indexes and durations) in 6- and 9-month-old infants who had been prenatally exposed to cigarette smoke only or to cocaine plus other substances. The infants were matched for socioeconomic status. The authors found no group differences in preference for novelty, but the off-task distractibility index and duration were affected by exposure history and showed effects of dosage at the 9-month test time. Infants exposed to cocaine had a higher off-task index and a shorter average off-task look duration than did infants in the other groups. The authors interpreted this pattern of behavior as an indicator of distractibility or stimulation seeking. There were no group differences in measures involving on-task looks or duration at either test time. Correlations between the off-task look index and duration and teratogen use produced moderate correlations at 9 months of age. The authors calculated partial correlations between teratogen exposure and the off-task index at each trimester. Cocaine use during the 1st and 2nd trimesters was significantly correlated with the off-task index at 9 months of age, even when the authors controlled for neonatal measures (e.g., gestational age, birth weight) and during the 1st trimester when they controlled for alcohol and cigarette exposure.     

Individual differences in resultant achievement motivation and latency to and persistence at an achievement task

Alternative hypotheses generated from the Atkinson (1957) and Atkinson and Feather (1966) risk-taking model of achievement motivation and the Atkinson and Birch (1970) dynamics of action theory comparing groups high and low in resultant achievement motivation (RAM) on latency to and persistence at an achievement task were tested. Subjects who had made two or more atypical shifts (choice of an easier task following success and choice of a more difficult task following failure) during 21 trials of a target-shooting game the first week were classified as low RAM (n=154), and subjects who had made 0 or 1 atypical shift were classified as high RAM (n=155). In week 2 subjects divided their time among two nonachievement tasks and the very easy, easy, intermediate, difficult, or most difficult levels of the achievement task. No main effects or interactions were found when latency to the achievement task was analyzed in a RAM by Difficulty level × Gender individual difference design. High-RAM subjects persisted significantly longer than low-RAM subjects across all conditions. Results are explained using the dynamic concepts of instigation, inhibition, and consummation. Analyses of sequential choices (week 1) among five difficulty levels did not support the Atkinson (1957) explanation of atypical shifts as avoidance of intermediate challenges for low-RAM subjects. Subjects who avoided the target-shooting game the second week more often persisted at the very easy task following success but not at the most difficult task following failure, results that are partially supportive of Feather's (1961) analysis of persistence.I wish to thank Dr. David Reuman, who suggested the research topic; the 24 undergraduate research assistants who ran subjects for this experiment; Rochelle Breitenbach, Laurie Colisanti, Kevin Kurkowski, Lee Ann McHenry, and Brenda Yee, who assisted with the data preparation and analyses; Ann Beck and Randi Gilbert, who provided editorial assistance; and Dr. Tilly Houtmans, who commented on an earlier version of this paper. A paper based on the dynamics of action research was presented at the Nags Head Conference on Motivation and Emotion on June 17, 1990. A paper based on the level of aspiration/achievement motivation results was presented at the Third International Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Field Theory on September 16, 1988. A copy of the BASIC program for the Apple IIe computer is available to anyone who sends a 5 1/4-inch diskette.     

The impact of prenatal maternal stress and optimistic disposition on birth outcomes in medically high-risk women.

A sizable body of evidence indicates that prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) has an adverse impact on birth outcomes, including birth weight and gestational age at delivery. The authors hypothesized that effects of PNMS are attributable in part to dispositions such as pessimism that lead women to view their lives as stressful and that effects of PNMS and disposition on birth outcome are mediated by prenatal health behaviors. Using structural equations modeling procedures, the authors examined prospective impact of PNMS and dispositional optimism on birth weight and gestational age in a medically high-risk sample (N = 129), controlling for effects of risk and ethnicity. After its strong inverse association with optimism was accounted for, PNMS had no impact on birth outcomes. Women who were least optimistic delivered infants who weighed significantly less, controlling for gestational age. Optimists were more likely to exercise, and exercise was associated with lower risk of preterm delivery. Results suggest that chronic stress in pregnancy may be a reflection of underlying dispositions that contribute to adverse birth outcomes.     

The role of attention in one-handed catching

The present study investigated the contribution of attention to one-handed catching success. A group of skilled (n = 8) and less skilled (n = 9) male subjects were compared in their ability to process secondary task information while executing a primary one-handed catching task. On 40% of the trials, a secondary visual stimulus (SVS) was presented in the peripheral visual field at predetermined times during the flight of the ball. On these trials, the subject was required to complete the one-handed catch and immediately throw the ball at a stationary target. Less skilled subjects made significantly more catching errors under both normal viewing and dual-task processing conditions. The differences were due to errors of positioning rather than grasping. Positioning of the hand appears to require visual attention regardless of skill level, as both skill groups experienced increased difficulty processing secondary task information as the ball approached the catching hand.     

Interaction between mother and pre-term infant at 34 weeks post-conceptional age

The impact of premature birth and perinatal medical status on early mother–infant interaction was assessed in 75 dyads with pre-term infants divided into three groups. Infants' gestational age at birth and need for neonatal intensive care intervention differentiated the groups: group 1, 23–31 weeks with intensive care; group 2, 32–35 weeks with intensive care; group 3, 32–35 weeks with no intensive care. The methodological approach was based on observations of the dyads performed when the infant reached a post. conceptional age of 34 weeks (4 weeks before estimated due date of delivery). The observations were conducted in the neonatal nursery during cleaning, face-to-face and feeding interactions. Significant group differences were found in infant distress, maternal sensitivity to the infant and dyadic behaviours of positive interaction. Group 1 dyads showed higher scores or more desirable performance than dyads of group 3. Group 2 dyads usually achieved intermediate scores and performed better than dyads of group 3, especially during the feeding situation. We suggest that, in addition to a possible emergence of maternal compensatory mechanisms in the higher-risk groups, the amount of dyadic experience after birth affects the quality of mother–infant interaction at this early stage.     

Prenatal tobacco exposure: developmental outcomes in the neonatal period

Smoking during pregnancy is a persistent public health problem that has been linked to later adverse outcomes. The neonatal period--the first month of life--carries substantial developmental change in regulatory skills and is the period when tobacco metabolites are cleared physiologically. Studies to date mostly have used cross-sectional designs that limit characterizing potential impacts of prenatal tobacco exposure on the development of key self-regulatory processes and cannot disentangle short-term withdrawal effects from residual exposure-related impacts. In this study, pregnant participants (N = 304) were recruited prospectively during pregnancy, and smoking was measured at multiple time points, with both self-report and biochemical measures. Neonatal attention, irritable reactivity, and stress dysregulation were examined longitudinally at three time points during the first month of life, and physical growth indices were measured at birth. Tobacco-exposed infants showed significantly poorer attention skills after birth, and the magnitude of the difference between exposed and nonexposed groups attenuated across the neonatal period. In contrast, exposure-related differences in irritable reactivity largely were not evident across the 1st month of life, differing marginally at 4 weeks of age only. Third-trimester smoking was associated with pervasive, deleterious, dose–response impacts on physical growth measured at birth, whereas nearly all smoking indicators throughout pregnancy predicted level and growth rates of early attention. The observed neonatal pattern is consistent with the neurobiology of tobacco on the developing nervous system and fits with developmental vulnerabilities observed later in life.     

Late Preterm Birth: A Review of Medical and Neuropsychological Childhood Outcomes

Late preterm (LP) birth (34 0/7 - 36 6/7 weeks?? gestation) accounts for nearly three-fourths of all preterm births, making this population a sizeable public health concern. The immature fetal development associated with LP delivery increases the risk of mortality and short-term medical complications. Which combination of maternal, fetal, or neonatal risk factors may be most critical has only recently begun to be addressed, and whether LP birth??s disruptive impact on brain development will exert adverse effects on neuropsychological functioning in childhood and adolescence has been understudied. Early data have shown a graded response, with LP children often functioning better than very preterm children but worse than term children, and with subtle intellectual and neuropsychological deficits in LP children compared with healthy children born at term gestational age. Further characterization of the neuropsychological profile is required and would be best accomplished through prospective longitudinal studies. Moreover, since moderate and LP births result in disparate medical and psychological outcomes, the common methodology of combining these participants into a single research cohort to assess risk and outcome should be reconsidered. The rapidly growing LP outcomes literature reinforces a critical principle: fetal development occurs along a dynamic maturational continuum from conception to birth, with each successive gestational day likely to improve overall outcome.     

Attentional disengagement deficit in nondemented elderly over 75 years of age

Healthy older adults in the age range of 60-75 years are moderately deficient in visuospatial attention when central location cues are used to shift attention, but not when peripheral cues are used. In contrast, older adults with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) exhibit an attention shifting (disengagement) deficit for both central and peripheral cues. If the effects of dementia and normal aging on visuospatial attention differ qualitatively, then peripherally cued shifts of attention should be unaffected even in very old nondemented persons. to examine this possibility, subjects in six age groups (17-24, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and 75-85 years) were tested on a visuospatial attention task. Valid, invalid and neutral location cues preceded a letter target requiring, in separate conditions, either speeded detection or discrimination. Combined costs and benefits of cue validity on reaction time (RT) increased with age in the discrimination but not in the detection task. the oldest group (75-85) showed significantly larger RT costs and benefits than the next oldest group (65-74), for both central and peripheral cues. the 75-85 year-olds were significantly slower than the 65-75 year-olds on invalid trials (costs) but not on valid trials (benefits), pointing to a disengagement deficit, as reported previously for patients with either parietal lobe damage or DAT. the results suggest that in healthy nondemented subjects of advanced age (over 75 years), visuospatial attention is affected similarly to younger patients in the early, mild stages of Alzheimer's disease.     

Very Low Birth Weight and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

It is well recognized that reaction time performance of term-born children with a normal birth weight (NBW > 2500 g) who fulfill the DSM-IV criteria for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the primary school age is sensitive for the presentation rate of stimuli. They have been found to perform more poorly in conditions of relatively slow event rates as compared with fast event rates. The purpose of the current study was to explore whether reaction time performance of children with very low birth weight (VLBW < 1500 g) with or without ADHD showed the same sensitivity for the factor presentation rate of stimuli compared to children with a normal birth weight plus ADHD. To this end, reaction time performance of four groups of children was compared on a Go/No-Go test with a fast presentation rate of 1 second and a slow presentation rate of 6 seconds. Groups were: children with VLBW plus ADHD, children with VLBW only, children born full term with normal birth weight (NBW >2500 g) plus ADHD, and children born full term without ADHD (the control group). Findings indicated that, compared to the non-ADHD groups, the groups with ADHD (NBW and VLBW) showed a more dramatic decline in their reaction time performance in the slow condition: a state regulation deficit. In addition, both groups showed a response inhibition deficit. No difference was found in reaction time performance between the groups of children with VLBW only and the control group.     

The relationship of perinatal birth status to handedness: A prospective study

As part of a longitudinal study of the consequences of high risk birth, 66 infants born to right-handed parents were given two unimanual tasks at 24 months of age to assess their hand preference. The 66 infants had been assigned to one of four diagnostic categories at birth: Premature with no postnatal medical complications; premature and having experienced respiratory distress; term and having experienced birth asphyxia during labor and delivery; term with normal delivery and postnatal course. Results of the handedness tasks revealed an increased incidence of use of the left hand among the term infants who underwent birth asphyxia and among the healthy preterm infants. The data indicate that timing of birth stress may play an important role in the ontogeny of pathological left-handedness.     

FACILITATION OF SACCADES TOWARD A COVERTLY ATTENDED LOCATION IN EARLY INFANCY

Abstract— Covert shifts of visual attention may be demonstrated in both adult and infant subjects by facilitation of reaction times to make a saccade to a previously cued location However, this facilitation may be interpreted m terms of a direct effect on the eye movement system in the present experiment, we attempted to train 4-month-old infants to make a saccade in the location opposite from that in which a cue appeared Following such training, we examined the reaction lime to occasional probe targets that appeared in the same location as the cue Infants were faster to respond to a target in this location than they were to respond to it either in the training (expected) location or in baseline trials We interpret the results as providing further evidence for covert shifts of attention m 4-month-old infants, and suggest that the effects of covert shifts of attention on the eye movement system are independent of those from sequence learning     

Attaining and maintaining preparation: A comparison of attention in hyperactive,normal, and disturbed control children

The hypothesis that hyperactive children have a deficit in sustained attention was investigated. Eighteen children who had attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH), aged 7 to 11 years, were compared with children who had conduct disorder (n = 15), mixed conduct disorder and ADDH (n = 26), emotional disorder (n = 18), or learning disability (n = 22), and with normal controls (n = 15). The subjects were tested on three versions of the Continuous Performance Task. Sustained attention was assessed from performance with increasing time on task and from ability to prepare attention in response to a warning. Performance of all subjects deteriorated with increasing time and improved with the opportunity to prepare attention. Hyperactive subjects were not more adversely affected by increasing time, nor did they benefit less than controls from the opportunity to prepare attention. Data reanalysis after rediagnosis according to ICD-9 criteria did not change the results. This study did not confirm the hypothesis that hyperactive children have a unique sustained attention deficit.     

Premotor and motor reaction time of educable mentally retarded youths in a Taekwondo program

This study investigated the educational effect of a Taekwondo program on premotor and motor reaction time in high school students who were mentally retarded but educable. Subjects were voluntarily recruited from the Special High School for the Mentally Retarded in Busan, South Korea. Subjects were divided into a trained group (n = 10) and a control group (n = 10) with balanced ages, physical conditions, and IQ. Subjects took part in pretests after practicing a Taekwondo motion 10 times with a signal presented randomly between 2 and 8 sec. after "Ready!" The motion was raising the right knee powerfully enough to crush a pine board. Subjects in the trained group took a Taekwondo course three times a week for 7 mo. This program was designed for the cognitive and physical characteristics of mentally retarded persons. After 7 mo., all subjects underwent posttests like the pretests. A four-channel EMG analyzing device (LAXTHA Inc., 2001) recorded EMG activity. Analysis of co-variance analyzed the difference of mean pre- and posttests for the two groups. For premotor RT, mean performance of the groups showed no significant difference, but significant improvement in mean motor RT by the trained group (p <.01) was noted.     

方位维度视觉搜索的影响因素

Duncan等人认为,当目标和干扰子之间差异越大且干扰子彼此之间差异越小时,则目标搜索越快。他们的结论定性地描述了目标搜索斜率（反应时间对呈现项目数的函数）的决定因素。笔者从方位维度刺激关系方面进一步定量探究该问题,并提出决定因素为g(T, D, n)（目标方位和干扰子方位间的函数关系）。实验结果证实目标搜索斜率是由g(T,D,n)值决定,目标搜索斜率随g(T, D, n)值增大而减小,相同g(T, D, n)值条件的目标搜索斜率无显著差异