A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF VISUAL-ATTENTION AND PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN PRETERM AND FULL-TERM INFANTS DURING THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF LIFE

Developmental changes in measures of visual attention and psychomotor development were studied in 34 healthy preterm and 36 full-term infant s. They were assessed with infant-control habituation and recognition memory procedures, as well as with the Bayley Scales (1969), at 2, 4, and 6 months (corrected age for preterms). The development of visual a ttention measures in preterms did not differ from that of full-terms. Duration measures and magnitude of habituation decreased with age, and proportion of exposure time in the recognition memory procedure incre ased with age. Novelty scores in both procedures did not change across ages. Preterms' uncorrected, but not corrected, mental and motor scor es were tower than full-terms' scores. At conceptional age, on specifi c measures of visual attention and psychomotor development, healthy pr eterm infants do not appear to be impaired by their premature birth du ring the first six months of life.