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Object exploration in extremely preterm infants between 6 and 9 months and relation to cognitive and language

Mariagrazia Zuccarini1, Annalisa Guarini1, Silvia Savini1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Via Berti Pichat, 5-40127 Bologna, Italy.

Research in Developmental Disabilities
|August 6, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Extremely low gestational age infants show developmental changes in object exploration skills by 9 months. Early oral and manual exploration at 6 months predict later language and cognitive abilities.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental psychology
  • Pediatrics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Early object exploration is crucial for development but understudied in extremely low gestational age (ELGA) infants due to motor delays.
  • No prior research has linked ELGA infants' early object exploration to later cognitive and language skills.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine developmental changes in Motor Object Exploration (MOE) in ELGA and full-term (FT) infants.
  • To investigate the relationship between specific MOE types and later cognitive and language abilities in ELGA infants.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study observing 20 ELGA and 20 FT infants during play at 6 and 9 months.
  • Assessed MOE duration and types (Holding, Oral, Manual, Manual Rhythmic Exploration).
  • Correlated 6-month MOE with 24-month cognitive and language scores (GMDS-R).

Main Results:

  • ELGA infants' MOE duration increased from 6 to 9 months, matching FT infants.
  • ELGA infants exhibited a distinct oral exploration pattern, with no increase at 6 months and a decrease at 9 months.
  • Six-month oral and manual exploration durations predicted 24-month language and cognitive scores, respectively.

Conclusions:

  • ELGA infants demonstrate developmental catch-up in overall MOE by 9 months.
  • Specific early MOE patterns in ELGA infants are linked to later developmental outcomes.
  • Assessing early exploratory skills in ELGA infants is vital for targeted interventions.

Keywords:
Fine motor abilitiesFirst year of lifeObject explorationPrecursors of cognitive and language developmentPreterm infants

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