Brian Hopkins

Motor asymmetries in preterm infants at 18 weeks corrected age and outcomes at 1 year.

Persisting asymmetries in the motility and posture of preterm infants after term age is a common finding, but their diagnostic and prognostic significance has proved to be difficult to interpret. It has been claimed that if an asymmetry is of central origin, then it should be most prominently detectable in infantile reactions that persist beyond the age when they should have disappeared. We hypothesis that motor asymmetries in preterm infants without a major risk for neurological problems may stem from a high degree of active muscle power in the trunk that continues to be present after 12 weeks corrected age. In order to test this hypothesis, 34 preterm infants with a low risk for neurological complications were compared to a group of 17 fullterm infants at 18 weeks of (corrected) age for the presence or absence of motor asymmetries. None of the full-term infants showed asymmetrical motor behaviour, while within the preterm group a significant number did, in particular those who were small for gestational age. A significant relationship between motor asymmetries and a high degree of muscle power in the trunk at this age was found in the preterm group. Asymmetrical active muscle power at 18 weeks had a good predictive value for asymmetrical locomotor, hand and eye functions at 52 weeks.

Muscle power, sitting unsupported and trunk rotation in pre-term infants

Discrepancies between active and passive muscle power are often seen in pre-term infants over the first year. Generally of a transient nature, they are most obvious in the extensor muscles of the trunk where there is a high active muscle power relative to the passive component. While high active muscle power may not be a sign of cerebral palsy, it is our contention that it will impair functions such as unsupported sitting and the ability to rotate in this position. In this study, 20 full-term and 37 healthy pre-term infants were assessed at the (corrected) ages of 39 and 52 weeks for muscle power in the trunk, sitting unsupported and rotation around the body axis while seated. At the age of 39 weeks, all full-term infants could sit without support. In contrast half of the pre-term infants could not sit without support and the majority of them could not rotate the trunk in this position. At 52 weeks the majority of pre-term infants could sit without support, despite having higher active muscle power in the trunk. However this deviant muscle power prevented rotatory movements of the trunk during sitting. The origin of this deviance may reside in the positioning to which pre-term infants are subjected after birth and thus postural management should be directed towards avoidance of extensor positions.

Lateral biases in head turning and the moro response in the human newborn: Are they both vestibular in origin?

Head turning after release from the midline and the Moro response to a full-body drop in 15 full-term newborns lying supine on a custom-built platform was studied. While the lateral bias for head turning was not as pronounced as for the Moro response, it was still assumed in the ratio of 2 (right):1 (left) as predicted by Previc (1991). Onset latency and time-to-peak acceleration were both significantly shorter in the right arm during the initial phase of the Moro response. For both measures, this right arm bias persisted over four consecutive elicitations in most infants. Vaginally delivered infants and those born by Caesarean section did not differ in terms of head preference and the two measures of arm advantage. Our main finding was that infants with a right-sided head preference had a consistently shorter onset latency for the right arm. We interpret this association as stemming from a common labyrinthine asymmetry that involves different vestibulospinal pathways for the neck and arm muscles. In general, our findings are discussed in the context of Prevics (1991) left-otolithic dominance hypothesis and Grattan, De Vos, Levy, and McClintocks (1992) model of newborn functional asymmetries.

Lateralisation of Infant Holding in Chimpanzees: New Data Do Not Confirm Previous Findings

About 80% of human females cradle their infants on the left side of the body. XIANNING & CHAMBERLAIN (1990) found a similar left-side bias for chimpanzees and two other ape species. In the present paper, however, only a slight bias was found which was in contrast - right-sided. The combined results of the two studies do not differ from an homogeneous distribution between 0 and 100% right-sided. When data for 3 ape species and 3 studies are pooled, a significant bias is also absent. Even if a left-side bias were present in apes, comparability with humans is limited. The possible functions of a left-side bias in humans (better hearing of the mothers soothing heartbeat and better visual contact with the left side of the mothers face) might not apply to chimpanzees. For there are relevant behaviour differences between chimpanzees and humans. These concern different ways of holding and carrying, rare crying by ape infants, and rare facial orientation in apes. Moreover, most of the ape infants involved were older than the age at which the human bias is found. For the time being, no convincing evidence for a bias in apes exists.

Effects of Birthweight Status and Gestational Age on the Quality of General Movements in Preterm Newborns

It is hypothesised that individual differences in nervous system functioning, undetected by a neurological examination, are reflected in the quality of spontaneous movements of preterm newborns. Given this hypothesis it is expected that a short pregnancy duration and IUGR will be related to an abnormal movement quality. These expectations were confirmed in a group of 37 small-for-gestational-age and appropriate-for-gestational-age preterm newborns with gestational ages ranging from 27 to 34 weeks without serious perinatal complications and for whom no overt neurological abnormalities could be detected based on the evaluation of elicited responses and tonus at the postmenstrual age of 35 weeks. The quality of general movements was adversely affected by both IUGR and a pregnancy duration below 32 weeks. Newborns with an abnormal movement quality also had significantly lower obstetrical optimality scores. Previous research has shown these scores to be related to the neurological condition of the newborn. We conclude that observations of movement quality, being neither intrusive nor time consuming, may constitute a useful addition to the neurological assessment of preterm newborns without serious perinatal complications.

GAMES AND SPORTS : MISSING ITEMS IN CROSS‐CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract Assez curieusement, le jeu et le sport ont ete grandement negliges en tant que variables dans les recherches de psychologie interculturelle. Cette lacune surprend car le jeu et le sport sont intimement imbriques dans la structure fondamentale de la culture et se manifestent sous la forme de comportements universels, spontanes, aisement observables et utilisables. Dans le but de reparer cette omission et de rejoindre les efforts des anthropologues et des sociologues, les auteurs suggerent differents moyens dutiliser le jeu et le sport dans la recherche interculturelle et plus specialement dans quatre domaines: (1) etude de la perception et des processus cognitifs; (2) etude des changements sociaux; (3) theorie des jeux; (4) examen des aptitudes.

Severity of Growth Retardation and Physical Condition at Birth in Small for Gestational Age Infants

Ponderal index divides small for gestational age (SGA) infants into two categories, based upon proportional and disproportional growth retardation. The latter group supposedly suffered from unfavorable intrauterine conditions. The aim of the study was investigation of the value of the ponderal index in the discrimination of underlying fetal disorders and its dependency upon the severity of the intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). In a cohort of 142 SGA infants we found 12 newborns with congenital anomalies; most of the newborns were disproportionally small. Fourteen newborns expired in the Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit for various reasons, in general not directly related with the IUGR. All of them were disproportionally small. The newborns were divided into two groups according to the severity of IUGR. Proportionality was independent of this severity, indicating that most SGA fetuses remain disproportionally small during long-standing IUGR. It is likely, however, that the proportionally small ones adjust better to the poor intrauterine conditions, since they all survived.

TREATMENT OF FACIAL PARALYSIS OF CNS-ORIGIN: INITIAL STUDIES

Abstract Many hemiplegic patients suffer a chronic (central) facial paralysis. Usually the patients have lost voluntary control of the involved muscles, while their ability to produce spontaneous emotional expression remains intact. Electromyographical (EMG) biofeedback and Neuro Developmental Treatment (NDT) are well-documented methods for the rehabilitation of these patients. EMG biofeedback has been described and evaluated by Huffman (1978). This technique and Huffmans findings will be briefly reviewed in the current paper. The NDT method, as well as our own pilot study, are also described. Huffman found that a combination of myofeedback and mirror-feedback led to more progress than treatment with mirror-feedback alone. From the NDT study, it is clear that improvements in orofacial functioning can be achieved. In the discussion, some principles from the neurosciences are put forward to explain the results.

Introduction. Infancy and education: The ups and downs of a neglected relationship

This introductory paper considers the historical changes that have taken place in society’s views of infacy and education. Since the 18th century these views have alternated between Lockean and Rousseaun visions of childhood and child care, particularly in the United States. The post-Darwinian revolution gave Rousseau’s vision its biological roots although they were nearly uprooted by the intrusion of Watson’s behaviourism. Today, in both Europe and America, Rousseau’s child has been restored as an object of scientific interest and as a subject of parental education. However, Watson’s influence lingers on in misguided and potentially harmful attempts to train «super-babies». While much is now known about infant developement, this knowledge is not matched by an understanding of human parenting. Papousek’s concept of intuitive parenting offers important insights into understanding the role of parents as educators during infancy. On this basis, education during infacy is defined as the psychology of intuitively-assisted development. The paper concludes with a brief overview of the contents of this special issue.RésuméCette introduction traite des changements de perspective intervenus, au cours de l’histoire, sur la toute petite enfance et son éducation. Depuis le 18ème siècle, en particulier aux Etats-Unis, la vision de l’enfance et de la prise en charge éducative est passée de celle de Locke à celle de Rousseau. Bien que la révolution post-darwinienne ait donné aux conceptions de Rousseau leurs fondements biologiques, l’intérêt pour ces derniers c’est trouvé éclipsé par le behaviorisme de Watson. Actuellement, en Europe comme aux États-Unis, la vision rousseauiste a repris de l’importance, aussi bien à propos des études scientifiques sur l’enfant que des pratiques parentales. Cependant, l’influence de Watson subsiste dans certaines tentatives peu judicieuses et potenciellement dangereuses de former des «super bébés». Bien que l’on sache maintenant beaucoup de choses sur le développement de l’enfant, notre compréhension des pratiques parentales demeure insuffisante. Le concept d’«intuitive parenting» proposé par Papousek permet un renouvellement fécond dans la compréhension du rôle éducatif des parents pendant la toute petite enfance. Sur cette base, on considère actuellement l’éducation du nourrisson dans la perspective d’une psychologie de l’assistance intuitive des parents au développement de l’enfant. Le texte introductif s’achève par une brève présentation du contenu du numéro spécial.

Culture, infancy and education

The English word infant is derived from the Latin infans meaning «without speech». In German (Saugling) and Duch (zuigeling), an infant is somebody who sucks (at the breast). The French equivalent (nourrisson) reflects that it is an organism which has to be fed. In Czech (kojenec) it is derived from the verb kojit meaning to nurse. Thus, when speech is acquired and feeding can be carried out independently, the period of infancy begins to give way to early childhood. In some non-Western cultures, other sorts of markers may be used to denote this transition which rely more on social phenomena than on maturational or chronological indicators. For example, the Kipsigis of western Kenya define the transition primarily in relation to the birth of the next child (Harkness & Super, 1983). Cultures also differ in terms of defining what are the critical features of development during infancy (LeVine, 1977) and thereby what behaviours are preferentially encouraged (or discouraged) by the caretakers (Super, 1981). It is important to appreciate differences in the culturally-constructed meaning of infancy as they provide a better understanding of the variations that manifest themselves in panhuman forms of early educational practice. The crucial, and largely unanswered, question relates to the functional significance of these variations: in what ways do they share common concerns and in what ways do they constitute adaptations to the local environment of the culture? The answers have important consequences for the acceptability and efficacy of any international programs of aid concerned with parental and child health. While there are some notable exceptions, most research concerned with cultural comparisons of infant behaviour and development is simply not up to providing appropriate answers. Understanding the nature of the initjal phase of human nurture has suffered from a neglect of the early environment of education in such comparisons. Various justifications have been offered for carrying out cross-cultural research on infancy (or what Leiderman, Tulkin & Rosenfeld, 1977, prefer to term comparative child development studies). For the present purposes, four reasons or aims can be identified.