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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
How to Obtain Reliable Visual Event-related Potentials in Newborns
Published on: October 24, 2019
Application of a neonatal assessment of visual function in a population of low risk full-term newborn
Daniela Ricci1, Domenico M M Romeo, Francesca Serrao
1Paediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University, Rome, Italy. daniricciola@libero.it
Insights
This study assessed visual function in newborn infants using a 9-item test battery. Results establish normative data for visual abilities in low-risk term infants at 48 and 72 hours post-birth.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Ophthalmology
- Developmental pediatrics
Background:
- A validated 9-item test battery was previously developed to assess infant visual function.
- This battery evaluates diverse clinical aspects of visual performance in newborns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish normative data for a visual test battery in low-risk, term-born infants.
- To determine the impact of postnatal age (48 vs. 72 hours) on infant visual responses.
Main Methods:
- 124 low-risk, term-born infants were evaluated at 48 hours postpartum.
- 50 infants underwent a repeat assessment at 72 hours to evaluate changes in visual function.
Main Results:
- The visual test battery was successfully administered to 110 infants at 48 hours and all 50 at 72 hours.
- Similar results were observed for fixation, colored face tracking, and horizontal tracking at both ages.
- Significant differences in vertical/arc tracking (p<0.05) and stripe discrimination/attention (p<0.001) emerged between 48 and 72 hours.
Conclusions:
- The study provides normative visual response data for term-born infants using the developed test battery.
- These findings serve as crucial reference data for clinical and research applications of the infant visual test battery.
Background:
We have previously developed and described a battery of 9 items suitable for assessing different clinical aspects of visual function in newborn infants.
Aim Of The Study:
Application of the test battery to a cohort of low risk term-born infants at 48 and 72 h after birth 1) to define the normative distribution of results for each item and 2) to document any effect of postnatal age.
Study Design And Subjects:
124 term-born low risk infants were assessed at 48 h; fifty of them were re-assessed 24 h later at 72 h.
Results:
The visual test battery was successfully completed in 110 of the 124 infants assessed at 48 h and in all the 50 infants assessed at 72 h after birth. For 3 of the 9 items (fixation on a black/white target of concentric circles, on a coloured (red/yellow) face and horizontal tracking), the findings were very similar at both ages. For the remaining 6 items the range of findings was wider. There was a statistical difference in the responses obtained at 48 and 72 h for vertical and arc tracking (p<0.05) and the ability to discriminate stripes and attention at distance (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Our results provide information on the visual abilities in a low risk population of term-born infants and the distribution of frequency of their visual responses to our battery of visual tests. These findings may be used as reference data when using our visual test battery in both clinical and research settings.
