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Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Infant Information Processing Ability
Author(s) -
Jacobson Sandra W.,
Jacobson Joseph L.,
Sokol Robert J.,
Martier Susan S.,
Ager Joel W.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1993.tb04208.x
Subject(s) - prenatal alcohol exposure , psychology , infant development , developmental psychology , prenatal exposure , child development , alcohol , information processing , pregnancy , cognitive psychology , gestation , biochemistry , chemistry , biology , genetics
403 black, inner‐city infants born to women recruited prenatally on the basis of their alcohol consumption during pregnancy were assessed on a battery focusing on information processing and complexity of play. Prenatal alcohol exposure was not related to visual recognition memory or cross‐modal transfer of information but was associated with longer fixation duration, a measure indicative of slower, less efficient information processing; lower scores on elicited play; and longer periods of toy exploration, possibly also due to slower cognitive processing. The effects on processing speed and elicited play were dose‐dependent and not attributable to maternal depression, parental intellectual stimulation, other prenatal drug exposure, or postpartum maternal drinking. The processing speed deficit is consistent with deficits in older children prenatally exposed to alcohol; the present study is the first to identify slower cognitive processing in infancy and in tasks not dependent on motoric proficiency.