1. Chapter 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy

2.  “A great blooming, buzzing confusion”  -William James  “A lively squirmingt bit of flesh capable of making a few simple responses.”  -John Watson

3. The Design of the Newborn  Neonates have little physical or motor control.  Does the newborn have ideas?  What does the newborn feel?  Does it feel sadness when it cries?

4. Neonatal Tests  APGAR (appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, respiration)  1-5 minutes after birth  Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale  Given several days after birth (day 3), then a few days later  Assess neurological dvmt, reflexes, reactions to people  Looks at 20 reflexes and reactions to circumstances  Rate newborn on 26 items, each has specific measurements  4 major categories  Physio, motoric, state, interaction  Global terms: worrisome, normal, superior

5. Reflexes  Development occurs in physical, social, and cognitive ways  Neonate has the primitive reflexes that allow it to survive (with assistance)  Sucking reflex (disappears 3-4 mos)  Babinski reflex (diminishes 1 mo, gone by 5-6)  Rooting reflex (becomes voluntary during 1st year)  Moro or startle (disappears 3-4 mos)  Grasping (gone by 9 mos. -1 year)  Others

6.  Orienting response  Habituation  Non-nutritive sucking

7. Nutrition and Brain Development  Newborn’s central nervous system is immature at birth  Activity in association areas of the brain – cortex – increases rapidly as child experiences the world  Optimal brain development is influenced by sensory/cognitive stimulation & nutrition  Got breastmilk?

8. Figure 5.1 Percentage of mothers breast-feeding in the world. Source: Based on Bellamy (1999a), page 101.

9. Brain & Behavior in Newborns  At birth infant brain weighs 25% of adult weight  Brainstem is most highly developed at birth (necessary for survival – heart rate and breathing)  Major early development involves the interconnections in the brain – forming of new connections among and between neurons

10. Brain Development  Brain reaches 75% of adult weight by age 2 years  Development of protective coatings on neurons (myelin sheaths) occurs rapidly  Brain proliferation – 2 year old has an enormous number of potential connections among neurons – allows for rapid learning, especially language

11. Figure 5.6 The main structures of the brain. The various substructures of the cerebrum are intimately involved in “higher” mental functions. In particular, the frontal lobe is associated with speech and reasoning. The cerebrum’s 1/8-inch-thick covering, the cerebral cortex, is so convoluted that its surface area is actually much larger than the space it occupies.

12. Infant States  Six distinct infant states:  Regular sleep  Irregular sleep  Drowsiness  Alert inactivity  Alert activity  Crying

13. Figure 5.8 The infant’s state reflects level of alertness or responsiveness to the environment. States are closely related to the infant’s level of brain activity (arousal). Source: Based on Wolff (1966).

14. Physical Growth  Average infant 20 inches long, 7.5 lbs  Babies lose 5-7% of weight as newborn  Then, gain 5-6 oz. Per week for the first mo.  Doubled weight by 4 mos, 3x at 1 yr  Grow 2 inches per month, 1.5x length at 1 yr  Almost 3 ft by 2 yrs, 26-32 lbs.

15. Figure 5.2 Height at the 50th percentile for U.S. infants, birth to 24 months. Source: Adapted from Health Department, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; based on data by H. C. Stuart and H. V. Meredith, prepared for use in the Children’s Medical Center, Boston. Used by permission of the Milwaukee Health Department.

16. Figure 5.3 Weight at the 50th percentile for U.S. infants, birth to 24 months. Source: Adapted from Health Department, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; based on data by H. C. Stuart and H. V. Meredith, prepared for use in the Children’s Medical Center, Boston. Used by permission of the Milwaukee Health Department.

17. Figure 5.4 Manifestations of malnutrition in non-industrialized countries. Source: Based on data from Bellamy (1999a), p. 101.

18. Figure 5.5a Decline in infant mortality rates from all causes and from SIDS for infants under 1 year, 1980–1995. Source: Based on U.S. Bureau of the Census (1998), p. 99.

19. Figure 5.5b Decline in infant mortality rates in Canada from all causes, 1975–1995. Source: Based on Canada Yearbook, 1999.

20. Motor Development  As brain develops, so do motor skills  Some reflexes become more controlled  Moro disappears  Sucking  Rooting

21. Perceptual Development  Sensation – physical stimuli converted into neural impulses  Perception – brain’s interpretation of sensation  Conceptualization – intellectually understanding what is perceived

22. From Infant Perception…Infant visual preferences  Prefer patterns of faces to colors/brightness  Even at 2 days, prefer mother’s face  Newborn vision 20/200 or 20/600 vs our 20/20  1 day old, prefer stripes vs. gray patch if stripes are 1/10th inch thick  At 2 mos, 1/20 inch  At 8 mos. 1/80 inch  6 yr old/adult can see stripes at 1/300 inch thick

23. More infant vision  Color vision well developed by 2-4 mos.  At 4 mos, red/blues preferred  Depth Perception  Visual cliff (Gibson & Walk, 1960)  Experienced crawlers afraid of cliff  Others not

24. Infant Hearing  Prefer mother’s voice  At 3 days can discriminate among voices

25. Figure 5.9 Relative percentage of time infants looked at six circular visual stimuli. The graph depicts infants’ preference for the human face and for more complex stimuli. Source: Based on data in Robert L. Fantz (1963). Pattern vision in newborn infants. Science 40: 296–297. Copyright 1963 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Used by permission of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the author.

26. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome  An infant death attributed to an unknown cause  Some common characteristics are associated with SIDS  Age – peaks between age 2 and 4 months  Gender – males account for 60% of cases  Maternal smoking  Paternal smoking (less predictive than maternal)  Sleeping in a face down position

27. Preventing SIDS  SIDS is most common under 3 simultaneous conditions  A vulnerable infant (poor lung development, etc.)  A critical developmental period (2-4 months of age)  An external stressor (parental smoking, temperature changes, infant infection, sleeping in a prone position)