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Relationship between infant visual recognition memory and maternal anthropometry
Author(s) -
Sykova Vladimira,
Kennedy Tay,
Wogene Tesfaye,
Thomas David,
Abebe Yewelsew,
HubbsTait Laura,
Stoecker Barbara,
Krebs Nancy,
Hambidge Michael
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a1051-a
Subject(s) - novelty , anthropometry , preference , analysis of variance , head circumference , medicine , psychology , developmental psychology , audiology , birth weight , statistics , mathematics , pregnancy , social psychology , biology , genetics
Infant visual recognition memory, a measure of attention, memory and information processing speed, predicts IQ. This study examined relationship between infant visual recognition memory and maternal anthropometry. Visual memory was assessed using a videotaped novelty preference paradigm. One‐hundred infants 6–8 months of age in Ethiopia were presented with graphic stimuli. Look duration and shifts between stimuli were coded from the tape by two teams and novelty preference was determined. Sixty‐nine infants completed at least three novelty preference trials. Infants’ mothers were evaluated on weight, height, and BMI. Relationship between maternal anthropometry and infant novelty preference measures wee analyzed using ANOVA. Maternal height is positively correlated with infant weight‐for‐age z‐score (r=0.207, p=0.039), infant length‐for‐age z‐score (r=0.366, p=0.000), infant head circumference (r=0.199, p=0.048), and infant head circumference z‐score (r=0.225, p=0.025). Statistical analysis did not show any consistent relationship between maternal anthropometry and infant novelty preference variables. Although maternal height and infant anthropometric measures were correlated, maternal anthropometry cannot be used as a predictor of infant novelty preference. This study is a part of a project funded by NIH grant #NIH 5 R21 TW006729.