Infant Physical Development: Perceptions – Learning Infant Health

Exam 2 (Ch. 3-4) Results Mean = 16.40 Max = 20 Min = 8 Mode = 17.5 Median = 17

Perceptions: Building blocks of learning Perceptions: Body-Brain Development Visual, auditory, tactile, Linked to brain development Auditory Synaptic pathways begin prenatal period, complete by age 4 Tactile Synaptic pathways myelinated at birth Visual Synaptic pathways myelinated last, first five months of life Mechanisms for exploration Newborns able to recognize, distinguish, prefer specific Auditory, Visual, Tactile stimuli Start here on Monday

Auditory Perception Do newborns hear like we do? Auditory Localization Yes and No. Evidence that fetus can hear sounds Differentiate auditory intensity, frequency, duration and timing. However, newborns have a higher sensory threshold Auditory Localization Reflexive localization at birth, but very primitive 4-5 months localization is quite accurate Auditory recognition prenatal to neonatal DeCasper & Spence (1986) Cat in the Hat Study (Dog in the FoG) Maternal Recordings @ 7.5 mos gestation, Read 2X Day until Birth, 2 Day-olds Change Sucking rate to elicit Recording of Familiar Book Detection: ability to perceive differences in sounds Localization: ability to turn towards source of sounds Cat in Hat Study: DeCasper & Spence (1986) 16 pregnant women read either the Cat in the Hat or The King, the Mice and the Cheese to their fetuses twice a day for the last six weeks of pregnancy. Neonates were given choice of listening to two stories using sucking rates (e.g. slow suck = CnH, fast suck = KMnC) Newborns who heard CnH more frequently prenatally showed preference for it as newborns. Neonates also show preferences for their mother’s voice over other women’s voices only hours after birth indicating a recognition of their mothers voice from prenatal experience.

Visual Perception Do newborns see the way Adults do? No. Visual acuity Newborn 20/400 6 mos. 20/100 1 year 20/20 Color vision Newborn: Red/White 2 mos. Red/Green/Blue 4 mos. Adult-like color vision Visual learning Tracking: following object with eyes Scanning: scan features of object to get a complete picture How do we know what infants can and cannot perceive?

Dixon’s Review of Fantz (1961): The Eyes Have It Group 1 – Experiment 1 Group 2 – Experiment 2 Group 3 – Experiment 3 Group 4 – Experiment 4 Briefly describe the Method Briefly describe the results Explain why Fantz’s research (methods and/or results) was revolutionary, or “so cool,” as Dixon puts it. Start here Tuesday

Quiz on Supplemental Reading Dixon’s “The Eyes Have It” on Fanz’s research on infant perceptions

New variations to fantz’s methods Methods and Measures Observation behavioral response (head turn) visual response (looking time) physiological response sucking rate heart rate habituation/dishabituation technique Dishabituation: Reactive Response to stimuli (looking, sucking, head turn, heart rate) Habituation: reactive responses to familiar stimuli reduces or disappears

Intermodal Perception Auditory/Visual Localizing object making sound with shift in eye gaze and head turn Visual/touch (body movement) ex. Newborn imitation of facial movements Auditory/visual intermodal perception: ex. Localizing and following an object making sounds (like a rattle) Meltzoff & Moore (1989) found that infants less than 2 days old would mimic facial expressions of an adult researcher. This ability demonstrates a coordination of visual and motor skills, and suggest that such imitation is an early learning mechanism. This study has not been well replicated by others. Some argue that this ability is not true imitation but some sort of reflexive response triggered by the behavior of the other person. Meltzoff & Moore, 1989

Visual Perception and motor skills  Learning Depth perception: Do infants need motor experience? Visual cliff study (Gibson & Walk, 1960) Children 6-14 mos. reluctant to cross even with mom coaxing them Heart rate and visual cliff (Campos et al 1978) 9 mo. olds placed on deep side of visual cliff had faster heart rate (fear) 2-5 mo. olds placed on deep side had slower heart rate (interest) Depth perception may or may not be innate (as it is in many animal species) Concept of “long way down” as an experience to avoid - product of perceptual learning and experience Visual Cliff (Campos et al. 1970) The ability to respond to drop offs seem to appear around 7 monhts (around the same time that infants begin crawling). Most babies will avoid the deep side of the visual cliff even when their mothers coax them to cross to the other side. Seems to suggest that depth perception is developed fairly early, but is it innate? In another study, 2-4 month old infants placed on deep side of visual cliff did not show a fear response (accelerated heart rate), but rather showed interest or attentiveness (decelerated heart rate). Does this indicate depth perception? Perhaps the young infants show interest because they notice a difference is their visual field, but the development of depth perception, or at least the fear of falling off depths, is a learned response given experiences once locomotion is possible.

Dixon’s Review of Fantz (1961): The Eyes Have It Suggestion preparation for quiz on supplemental reading: 1. For each Experiment described in the Review (Experiment 1, Experiment 2, Experiment 3, Experiment 4): Briefly describe the Method Briefly describe the results 2. Explain why Fantz’s research (methods and/or results) was revolutionary, or “so cool,” as Dixon puts it.

Infant Health

Infant Mortality Good news? Rates have Fallen Bad News? Causes Preventable

Causes of Infant Mortality World Wide Poverty Infectious Diseases Low Quality and limited accessibility of health care

Causes: Poverty infant mortality rates with per capita GDP in 178 of the world's 193 countries

Poverty and Infant Mortality across nations img.tripatlas.com

Infectious Diseases Good News? Bad News? 2 Million child deaths prevented in 2003 70-78% children under 2 yrs immunized worldwide 90% U.S. and European Children Bad News? All Children are not immunized is the infectious (intestinal) form of botulism, which results when swallowed spores of a particular bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) colonize the baby's large intestine and produce botulinum toxin in it. Botulinum toxin causes weakness and loss of muscle tone because it blocks the nerve ending's ability to signal the linked muscle to contract. The illness often begins with constipation but is usually first noticed as difficulty feeding (sucking and swallowing), a weak and altered cry and diminished facial expression.

Infant Mortality How Do U.S. babies compare? creativedestruction.wordpress.com/ www.savethechildren.org

creativedestruction.wordpress.com/ www.savethechildren.org

Causes of Infant Mortality in U.S. Poverty - differential impact Infectious Diseases - differential impact Low Quality and limited accessibility of health care - differential impact puzzling case of SIDS Tragedy of abusive Parenting Behaviors

Differential Impact in U.S. cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus05.pdf

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Leading cause of post neonatal death in u.s. Causes? Puzzling. Not completely clear, probably combination of causes Smoking parents/family members Sleeping position - stomach sleeping Brain disturbance that relates to breathing, brain’s use of serotonin Genetic mutation - heart rhythms

SIDS over 15 Years in U.S.

SIDS Vulnerability 0-6 Mos. www.dhs.ca.gov/

Special Guest Speaker Natalie lujan- Silva, RN Infant Health and Nutrition