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The effects of perinatal hypoxic risk on developmental outcome in early and middle childhood: a twin study
S Raz1, B Glogowski-Kawamoto, A W Yu
1Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, Tennessee 38152, USA. s.raz@mail.psyc.memphis.edu
Insights
Perinatal hypoxic risk impacts motor skills in children. Twins with lower risk showed better motor performance, especially in visually guided arm movements, persisting into childhood.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Previous research indicated that perinatal hypoxic risk was associated with developmental discrepancies in infancy.
- Intrapair differences in cognitive and motor development were observed in twins with varying hypoxic risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of perinatal hypoxic risk on motor and cognitive functions in early and middle childhood.
- To determine if developmental gaps identified in infancy persist as children age.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study involving 66 twin pairs.
- Assessment of motor and cognitive functions in preschool and school-aged children.
- Analysis of intrapair performance differences in relation to perinatal hypoxic risk.
Main Results:
- Significant intrapair differences in motor performance were found, despite moderate disparities in hypoxic risk.
- Visually guided ballistic arm movements were identified as particularly vulnerable to perinatal risk.
- Cognitive function measures did not show significant intrapair differences in this age group.
Conclusions:
- Perinatal hypoxic risk can lead to persistent deficits in motor development, particularly in fine motor skills.
- Early identification and intervention for motor skill development may be crucial for children with perinatal risk factors.
- Further research is needed to explore the neurobiological underpinnings of these motor deficits.
Abstract:
The goal of this study of 66 twins was to determine whether motor and cognitive functions assessed in early and middle childhood are vulnerable to perinatal hypoxic risk. In an earlier study of 76 infant and toddler twins (S. Raz, F. Shah, & C. Sander, 1996), the authors found that intrapair discrepancy on the Mental Developmental Index, but not on the Psychomotor Developmental Index, of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development was associated with discordance for perinatal hypoxic risk. The twins at lower risk outperformed their higher risk co-twins. In the present study the authors sought to establish in a new sample of preschool and school-age twins whether gaps in performance persist into early and middle childhood. Although the disparity in hypoxic risk between the co-twins was typically moderate, significant intrapair differences were observed on the measure of motor performance. Among the motor abilities examined, skills involving visually guided ballistic arm movements appeared to be the most vulnerable to perinatal risk.