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Visual habituation and dishabituation in preterm infants: a review and meta-analysis
Michael Kavsek1, Marc H Bornstein
1University of Bonn, Institute for Psychology, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111 Bonn, Germany. kavsek@uni-bonn.de
Insights
Preterm infants show weaker cognitive encoding and memory skills compared to full-term infants. These differences, termed habituation and dishabituation, are significant and influenced by various factors.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neonatal Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Infant habituation (cognitive encoding) and dishabituation (discrimination/memory) are basic information-processing skills.
- Preterm infants often experience cognitive disadvantages compared to term-born infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review comparative studies on infant habituation and dishabituation performance.
- To assess cognitive processing in preterm infants relative to term infants.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of comparative studies.
- Analysis of habituation and dishabituation performance data.
Main Results:
- Preterm infants demonstrate significantly impoverished habituation and dishabituation performance compared to term infants.
- Effect sizes indicate medium magnitude differences.
- Preterm performance is moderated by risk factors, stimuli, procedures, and age.
Conclusions:
- The habituation-dishabituation paradigm is a promising tool for diagnosing cognitive status in preterm infants.
- Factors influencing performance must be considered for accurate assessment.
Abstract:
We review comparative studies of infant habituation and dishabituation performance focusing on preterm infants. Habituation refers to cognitive encoding, and dishabituation refers to discrimination and memory. If habituation and dishabituation constitute basic information-processing skills, and preterm infants suffer cognitive disadvantages, then preterms should show diminished habituation and dishabituation performance. Our review provides evidence that preterm infants' habituation and dishabituation are impoverished relative to term infants. On the whole, effect sizes indicated that the differences between preterms and terms are of a medium magnitude. We also find that preterms' performance is moderated by risk factors, stimulus materials, procedural variables, and age. These factors need to be taken into account in the construction of tests in which habituation-dishabituation tasks are employed. Overall, the habituation-dishabituation paradigm presents a promising approach in the diagnosis of cognitive status and development in preterm infants.
