Relation between polysomnographic measures during nocturnal sleep and a quotient of behavioral development in infants with developmental disabilities

Polysomnographic features during nocturnal sleep were investigated in 27 infants with developmental disabilities. With the use of a multiple regression analysis, 78% of the variance of a Development Quotient (DQ) measured by a questionnaire on behavioral development for infants was explained by sleep measures. Of 14 sleep measures employed in the study, (1) cumulative awakening time during a nocturnal sleep time, (2) duration of REM stage, and (3) percentage of REM to total sleep time were important in association with the DQ. The findings are consistent with the sleep-cognition hypothesis proposed by Espie, et al.     

Development of eating behavior by Japanese toddlers in a nursery school: relation to independent walking

The eating behavior of 32 toddlers in a nursery school at 10, 12, and 14 months old was observed in relation to the age at onset of independent walking. With increasing age, the frequency at which the toddlers ate food given by a teacher decreased, and the frequency at which the toddlers ate by themselves increased. The toddlers who started walking earlier also advanced faster in the development of eating behavior. The time when the frequency of eating by oneself surpassed the frequency of passive eating coincided with the time when the toddlers started walking.