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Fragility of haptic memory in human full-term newborns
Fleur Lejeune1, Cristina Borradori Tolsa2, Edouard Gentaz3
1Child Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, FPSE, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Sensorimotor, Affective and Social Development Unit, FPSE, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Infant Behavior & Development
|June 4, 2018
Summary
Full-term newborns can discern object shapes by touch but struggle with recognition after interference. Haptic memory development in newborns is not linear and is influenced by gestational age.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Newborns possess tactile memory, enabling them to memorize object features and differentiate objects using their hands.
- Previous research explored haptic memory robustness in preterm newborns and infants, but not in full-term newborns.
- Understanding haptic memory at birth is crucial for developmental insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the robustness of haptic memory abilities in full-term newborns at birth.
- To examine the influence of object temperature changes and haptic interference on newborn haptic memory.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-eight full-term newborns (mean age: 2.5 days) participated.
- Two experiments involved habituation (familiar object), discrimination (novel object), and recognition (familiar object) phases.
- Experiment 1 controlled for object temperature changes across phases.
Main Results:
- Newborns successfully memorized and discriminated between prism and cylinder shapes by touch.
- No evidence of recognition was found after haptic interference.
- Object temperature did not significantly affect habituation, discrimination, or recognition abilities.
Conclusions:
- Newborn discrimination abilities appear primarily driven by the detection of shape differences.
- Haptic recognition memory ontogenesis in newborns is not linear and may depend on developmental timing (34-40 weeks of gestation).
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