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Infant performance on a behavioral memory task is not sensitive to variations in iron status in 4‐6 month‐old infants, even after accounting for attention
Author(s) -
Orsillo Maisie,
Nevins Julie,
Canfield Richard,
Haas Jere
Publication year - 2015
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.29.1_supplement.900.10
Subject(s) - novelty , cognition , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , iron deficiency anemia , developmental psychology , iron deficiency , working memory , psychology , task (project management) , analysis of variance , audiology , anemia , pediatrics , medicine , neuroscience , psychiatry , social psychology , management , economics
Iron is essential for early brain and cognitive development, yet there is no clinical definition of deficiency for infants <12 mo. Non‐specific cognitive tests may explain the disputed relationship between iron status and cognition. Few studies relate memory to iron levels, and none control for infant attention with heart rate (HR), which slows during attentive periods. This study examines infant performance on a behavioral memory task (4‐6 mo, n=27) and controls for infant attention via HR. We assessed iron status with Hb, sFt and TfR and calculated memory (percent novelty [nov%]) as the percent of total time infants looked at novel stimuli, with correction for HR. We used Student's t‐tests and linear regression models to test the association between iron levels and nov%. Preliminary analyses of a data subset show no difference in nov% by anemia (Hb <11.0 g/dL, p=0.68) or iron depletion (sFt <57 ug/L, p=0.43) status. This suggests the behavioral memory task is insensitive to iron status, and may explain null results in other studies. Future analyses will focus on nov% by trial and account for other covariates such as age and mother‐child interactions. Funded by USDA/CUAES; JEHN supported by a NSFGRF.