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Characteristics of mother-infant interactions in nonorganic failure to thrive.

Nonorganic failure to thrive (NOFTT) is characterized by physical and developmental retardation and a disturbed mother-infant relationship. This study sought to quantify differences in interactions between mother-NOFTT infant pairs and control mother-thriving infant pairs. Eleven mother-NOFTT infant dyads and 11 control mother-infant dyads were videotaped for 30 minutes through a one-way mirror. Mother and infant behaviors were evaluated for 21 behavioral categories: 12 maternal, 7 infant, and 2 mutual. Statistically significant differences were noted in five (24 percent) categories. The quantity of maternal and infant vocalizations and the responsiveness of the mother to the infant's vocal cues were strikingly reduced in the NOFTT dyads.

Adult↗

Cultural differences in maternal beliefs and behaviors: a study of middle-class Anglo and Puerto Rican mother-infant pairs in four everyday situations.

This study examines cultural patterning in situational variability in mother-infant interactions among middle-class Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers and their 12 to 15-month-old firstborn children. Forty mothers were interviewed regarding their long-term socialization goals and childrearing strategies, and videotaped interacting with their infants in four everyday settings: feeding, social play, teaching, and free play. Results suggest that: (1) Anglo mothers place greater emphasis on socialization goals and childrearing strategies consonant with a more individualistic orientation, whereas Puerto Rican mothers place greater focus on goals and strategies consistent with a more sociocentric orientation; (2) coherence was found between mothers' childrearing beliefs and practices, with Puerto Rican mothers more likely to directly structure their infants' behaviors; and (3) situational variability arose in mother-infant interactions, but this variability showed a cultural patterning consistent with mothers' long-term socialization goals and childrearing beliefs.

Adult↗

Schedule-controlled behavior in infant and juvenile monkeys exposed to lead from birth.

Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were dosed orally from birth with 0 or 2000 micrograms/kg/day of lead as lead acetate. Blood lead concentrations of treated monkeys peaked at an average of 115 micrograms/dl by 100 days of age, and decreased to a steady state level of 33 micrograms/dl after withdrawal from infant formula at 270 days of age. No overt signs of toxicity were observed. Beginning at 60 days of age, monkeys were tested on a fixed ratio (FR) schedule of reinforcement, followed by a fixed interval (FI) schedule. Infants were tested in their home cages for 16 hours each day. When these monkeys reached three years of age, performance on a multiple fixed interval-fixed ratio schedule was evaluated. Infant performance was characterized by increased FR pause and decreased FI pause in the treated monkeys. Juvenile performance of lead-treated monkeys was characterized by increased Fl run rate, pause time, and index of curvature. Treated monkeys exhibited increased variability of performance both within and between sessions on several measures of Fl and FR performance.

Animals↗

Sibling effects on the behavior of infant mouse litters (Mus domesticus).

We investigated whether the number of same- or other-sex littermates had a graded effect on the occurrence of early solitary play and social play by mouse (Mus domesticus) family units. Sixty litters, reduced at birth to 5 different sex ratios (6 males, 5 males and 1 female, 3 males and 3 females, 1 male and 5 females, and 6 females) were scored in 15-min sessions on postnatal Days 18 and 21. An increasing trend with age was found for run, pounce, popcorn, self-groom, and explore episodes. Type of family unit influenced the occurrence of specific social interactions: One male-5 female and 6 female litters showed more social play than similar male litters. Litters with a balanced sex ratio showed higher exploration than isosexual litters. The results extend previous reports of both social and solitary play in developing laboratory mice and, in contrast with rat data, indicate a marked female primacy in playful social behavior.

Aging↗

Longitudinal neurodevelopmental study of Seychellois children following in utero exposure to methylmercury from maternal fish ingestion: outcomes at 19 and 29 months.

UNLABELLED: Despite the importance of defining developmental consequences for humans of in utero exposure to low levels of methylmercury, it is not yet clear if there are postnatal effects in fish-eating populations. The Seychelles Child Development Study (SCDS), now underway in the Republic of Seychelles, is following children to test the hypothesis that prenatal exposure to low concentrations of MeHg through maternal ingestion of fish is related to child development outcomes. In this study, children were evaluated with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) at 19 mos. of age (N = 738). The cohort was evaluated again at 29 mos. (N = 736) with the BSID and the Bayley Infant Behavior Record. Mercury exposure determined by cold vapor atomic absorption analysis of maternal hair segments corresponding to pregnancy revealed a median exposure of 5.9 ppm (Range 0.5 - 26.7 ppm). The association between maternal hair mercury concentrations and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 19 and 29 mo. of age was examined by multiple regression analysis with adjustment for confounding variables. RESULTS: BSID Intertester reliability was ascertained by the Kappa statistic and was high. The mean BSID Mental Scale Indexes at both 19 and 29 mo. were comparable to the mean performance of US children. The mean BSID Psychomotor Scale Indexes at 19 and 29 mo. were 2 SD units above US norms, but consistent with previous findings of motoric precocity in children reared in African countries. No effect of mercury was detected on BSID scores at either age. On the Bayley Infant Behavior Record, activity level in boys, but not girls, decreased with increasing mercury exposure. Only one subjective endpoint was correlated with prenatal exposure to mercury. This study may have implications for environmental health policies concerning mercury in fish or fish consumption during pregnancy. Follow-up data are needed to determine if adverse effects occur at older ages and if such effects are determined to be related to mercury.

Adult↗

Infants' responses to facial and vocal emotional signals in a social referencing paradigm.

The independent effects of facial and vocal emotional signals and of positive and negative signals on infant behavior were investigated in a novel toy social referencing paradigm. 90 12-month-old infants and their mothers were assigned to an expression condition (neutral, happy, or fear) nested within a modality condition (face-only or voice-only). Each infant participated in 3 trials: a baseline trial, an expression trial, and a final positive trial. We found that fearful vocal emotional signals, when presented without facial signals, were sufficient to elicit appropriate behavior regulation. Infants in the fear-voice condition looked at their mothers longer, showed less toy proximity, and tended to show more negative affect than infants in the neutral-voice condition. Happy vocal signals did not elicit differential responding. The infants' sex was a factor in the few effects that were found for infants' responses to facial emotional signals.

Affect↗

Opioid-dependent behaviors in infant rats: effects of prenatal exposure to ethanol.

Pregnant rats were given diets containing either 5% ethanol, an isocaloric (pair-fed) diet, or casein pellets. Offspring were tested at postnatal day 10 for isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations and subsequent stress-induced analgesia. Rats prenatally exposed to ethanol vocalized significantly less in the five minutes during isolation. The opiate, morphine, caused a greater suppression of vocalizations in alcohol-exposed pups compared to controls, while the increased calling normally seen with the opiate antagonist, naltrexone, was attenuated. In a test in which the pup withdraws a paw from a hot plate (48 degrees C), prenatal alcohol offspring demonstrated baseline latencies (no isolation) similar to controls but had greatly attenuated responses in their isolation-induced analgesia. Since both vocalization and analgesia responses have been determined to be modulated by the endogenous opioid system, the aberrant responses of the prenatal-ethanol-exposed offspring can be interpreted as failures to respond by opioid release/secretion to appropriate stimuli.

Aging↗

The role of person and object in eliciting early imitation.

The role of person and object in eliciting early imitation was examined in this study. Twenty-seven infants, between 5 and 8 weeks old were assigned randomly to two conditions. In the person condition (N = 12) they were presented with tongue protrusions and mouth openings modeled by an adult, whereas in the object condition (N = 15) they were presented with these gestures simulated by two objects. Two infant behaviors were coded; mouth openings and tongue protrusions. Infants in the person condition selectively reproduced the mouth open and tongue protrusion gestures at significant levels, infants in the object condition did not. Instead of reproducing the congruent gestures (mouth openings and tongue protrusions when they were modeled) infants in the object condition reproduced the incongruent gestures at significant levels. Together, the findings indicate that imitation is a social response, which has implications for the development of nonverbal communication and speech.

Attention↗

Mothers' insightfulness regarding their infants' internal experience: relations with maternal sensitivity and infant attachment.

This study examined the associations among mothers' insightfulness into their infants' internal experience, mothers' sensitivity to their infants' signals, and infants' security of attachment to their mothers. The insightfulness of 129 mothers of 12-month-old infants was assessed by showing mothers 3 videotaped segments of observations of their infants and themselves and interviewing them regarding their infants' and their own thoughts and feelings. Interviews were classified into 1 insightful and 3 noninsightful categories. Mothers' sensitivity was assessed during play sessions at home and at the laboratory, and infant-mother attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation. Mothers classified as positively insightful were rated as more sensitive and were more likely to have securely attached children than were mothers not classified as positively insightful. Insightfulness also accounted for variance in attachment beyond the variance explained by maternal sensitivity. These findings add an important dimension to research on caregiving, suggesting that mothers' seeking of explanations for the motives underlying their infants' behavior is related to both maternal sensitivity and infant attachment.

Attitude↗

Inheritance of behavior in infants.

Mental and motor abilities and personality development were studied in 20 pairs of infant twins of the same sex on a monthly basis in their first year, that is, before mutual imitation becomes a factor. Blood group determinations, made after the study was completed, revealed an N(1) of 11 fraternal and N(2) of 9 identical pairs. Within-pair differences were significantly greater within fraternal pairs on all tests and rating scales.

Female↗