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Early working memory in children born with extremely low birth weight: assessed by object permanence

Jean Lowe1, Peggy C MacLean, Michele L Shaffer

  • 1Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico Children's Hospital, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. jrlowe@unm.edu

Journal of Child Neurology
|April 3, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Object permanence, an early working memory indicator, is positively linked to emotional and attention regulation in extremely low birth weight infants. This developmental assessment appears culturally fair, with girls outperforming boys.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Pediatric Health

Background:

  • Object permanence is a foundational milestone in cognitive development, often used to assess early working memory capabilities.
  • Infants born with extremely low birth weight (ELBW) face unique developmental challenges that may impact cognitive functions like object permanence.
  • Understanding factors influencing object permanence in ELBW infants is crucial for early identification of developmental trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine factors influencing object permanence performance in 18- to 22-month-old infants born with ELBW.
  • To investigate the relationship between object permanence, emotional regulation, and attention regulation in this vulnerable population.
  • To assess the potential cultural bias of the object permanence task and its relationship with birth weight and illness severity.

Main Methods:

  • A sample of 233 infants aged 18-22 months, born with ELBW, were assessed on object permanence tasks.
  • Data on emotional regulation, attention regulation, birth weight, illness severity, and socioeconomic factors were collected.
  • Statistical analyses were performed to determine associations between object permanence and the measured factors.

Main Results:

  • Attainment of object permanence showed a significant positive association with both emotional and attention regulation.
  • This association remained significant even after controlling for medical severity and socioeconomic status.
  • Female infants demonstrated higher performance on object permanence tasks compared to male infants; no ethnic or racial differences were observed.

Conclusions:

  • Object permanence appears to be a culturally fair method for assessing cognitive development in ELBW infants.
  • Emotional and attention regulation skills are significantly associated with object permanence attainment in this population.
  • Targeting emotional and attention regulation may offer a viable intervention strategy to support cognitive development in ELBW infants.

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