The development of visual attention in early infancy: Insights from a free-viewing paradigm.

Theories of visual attention suggest a cascading development of subfunctions such as alertness, spatial orientation, attention to object features, and endogenous control. Here, we aimed to track infants' visual developmental steps from a primarily exogenously to more endogenously controlled processing style during their first months of life. In this repeated measures study, 51 infants participated in seven fortnightly assessments at postterm ages of 4-16 weeks. Infants were presented with the same set of static and dynamic paired comparison stimuli in each assessment. Visual behavior was evaluated by a newly introduced scoring scheme. Our results confirmed the suggested visual developmental hierarchy and clearly demonstrated the suitability of our scoring scheme for documenting developmental changes in visual attention during early infancy. Besides the general ontogenetic course of development, we also discuss intra- and interindividual differences which may affect single assessments, and highlight the importance of repeated measurements for reliable evaluation of developmental changes.

Identifying Atypical Development: A Role of Day-Care Workers?

Identifying the early signs of developmental disability is important for ensuring timely diagnosis and early intervention. Day-care workers may be in a prime position to notice potential developmental deviations, but it is unclear if they can accurately recognize subtle early signs of atypical development. Sixty day-care workers examined home-videos of very young children with fragile X syndrome and typically developing children. Results indicated that most day-care workers can distinguish typical and atypical development in general and might therefore have an important role in early identification. Special work experience and advanced pedagogical training appeared to boost day-care workers' sensitivity to detect atypical features in early development and to provide effective daily surveillance.

On the lighter side: Medicine or etiquette? Rethinking a lecturer's teaching assignment.

Purpose: To investigate the extent to which medical students demonstrate politeness. With respect to patient-physician interactions, politeness appears to be a factor in therapeutic success, perhaps because it might induce greater patient compliance. Method: We assessed 354 third-semester medical students on one type of politeness, that is the percentage of students who greeted the teacher upon entering the lecture room. Results: Overall, 47% of the students initiated a greeting and this percentage did not change when the lecturers wore white coats. Females were less likely to initiate a greeting (35%) than males (55%). Conclusion: The results lead us to question whether university lecturers should strictly stick to their content of the curriculum or should they also teach their students about etiquette related to good clinician-patient relationships?

The general movement assessment in non-European low- and middle-income countries.

Abnormal general movements are among the most reliable markers for cerebral palsy. General movements are part of the spontaneous motor repertoire and are present from early fetal life until the end of the first half year after term. In addition to its high sensitivity (98%) and specificity (91%), the assessment of general movements is non-invasive and time- and cost-efficient. It is therefore ideal for assessing the integrity of the young nervous system, most notably in lowresource settings. Studies on the general movements assessment in low- and middle-income countries such as China, India, Iran, or South Africa are still rare but increasing. In Brazil, too, researchers have demonstrated that the evaluation of general movements adds to the functional assessment of the young nervous system. Applying general movements assessment in vulnerable populations in Brazil is therefore highly recommended.

The general movement assessment in non-European low- and middle-income countries

ABSTRACT Abnormal general movements are among the most reliable markers for cerebral palsy. General movements are part of the spontaneous motor repertoire and are present from early fetal life until the end of the first half year after term. In addition to its high sensitivity (98%) and specificity (91%), the assessment of general movements is non-invasive and time- and cost-efficient. It is therefore ideal for assessing the integrity of the young nervous system, most notably in lowresource settings. Studies on the general movements assessment in low- and middle-income countries such as China, India, Iran, or South Africa are still rare but increasing. In Brazil, too, researchers have demonstrated that the evaluation of general movements adds to the functional assessment of the young nervous system. Applying general movements assessment in vulnerable populations in Brazil is therefore highly recommended.

A Novel Way to Measure and Predict Development: A Heuristic Approach to Facilitate the Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Substantial research exists focusing on the various aspects and domains of early human development. However, there is a clear blind spot in early postnatal development when dealing with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially those that manifest themselves clinically only in late infancy or even in childhood. RECENT FINDINGS: This early developmental period may represent an important timeframe to study these disorders but has historically received far less research attention. We believe that only a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach will enable us to detect and delineate specific parameters for specific neurodevelopmental disorders at a very early age to improve early detection/diagnosis, enable prospective studies and eventually facilitate randomised trials of early intervention. In this article, we propose a dynamic framework for characterising neurofunctional biomarkers associated with specific disorders in the development of infants and children. We have named this automated detection 'Fingerprint Model', suggesting one possible approach to accurately and early identify neurodevelopmental disorders.

Very low birth weight infants in China: the predictive value of the motor repertoire at 3 to 5months for the motor performance at 12months.

BACKGROUND: Studies on motor performance and its early markers are rare in China, especially in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. OBJECTIVE: Apart from the assessment of the inter-scorer agreement, we aimed to analyze to what extent the motor repertoire at 10 to 18weeks postterm was related to neonatal complications, and gross and fine motor performance at 12months after term. STUDY DESIGN: Exploratory prospective study. SUBJECTS: Seventy-four VLBW infants (58 males; mean gestational age=29weeks; mean birth weight=1252g). METHOD: Five-minute video recordings were performed at 10 to 18weeks after term; fidgety movements and the concurrent motor patterns (resulting in a motor optimality score) were assessed according to the Prechtl general movements assessment (GMA). The gross and fine motor performance was assessed by means of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, second edition, at 12months. RESULTS: Reliability was excellent. Pneumonia was associated with absent fidgety movements; the motor optimality score was lower in infants with pneumonia and/or bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Both absent fidgety movements and a lower motor optimality score were associated with a poor or very poor gross and fine motor performance at the 12-month-assessment. CONCLUSION: Both the assessment of fidgety movements and the evaluation of the concurrent motor repertoire contribute significantly to an identification of VLBW children with a poor gross and fine motor outcome at 12months. The results of this study document the need for an early identification of infants at high risk for a poor motor performance.