Acoustic examination of preterm and full-term infant cries: The long-time average spectrum

The acoustic characteristics of crying behavior displayed in 2 groups of ne wborn infants are reported. The crying episodes of 10 full-term and 10 pret erm infants were audio recorded and analyzed with regard to the long-rime a verage spectrum (LTAS) characteristics. An LTAS display was created for eac h infant's non-partitioned crying episode, as well as For 3 equidurational partitions of the crying episode. Measures of first spectral peak, mean spe ctral energy, and spectral tilt were revealing of differences between full- term and preterm infants' non-partitioned crying episodes. In addition, the full-term infants demonstrated significant changes in their crying behavio r across partitions, whereas the preterm infants changed little across the crying episode. Discussion Focuses on possible differences between full-ter m and preterm infants in their neurophysiological maturity, and the subsequ ent impact on their speech development. The importance of examining entire crying episodes when evaluating the crying behavior of infants is also disc ussed.