Despite considerable evidence in older populations that food intake can improve mental performance, little is known about the acute effects of feeding on cognition in the newborn period, a time when learning and memory are critical for discovering and adapting to everyday experiences. Feeding occurs well over 2500 times in the first year of life, raising the possibility that iterative effects on cognition may have cumulative effects over time. We recently demonstrated feeding enhancement of memory in two-to-three day old infants. Infants tested after a feed (versus before) displayed better memory for unfamiliar spoken words they previously habituated to and that were represented after a 100s delay. In this Doctoral Thesis, Studies 1 and 2 explore further the influence of feeding on short-term retention of spoken words. Memory was assessed using headturning and the Habituation-Recovery response. Study 1 extended the effect to older infants aged two-to-three weeks. Memory was enhanced after a feed over even longer delays, including 100s, 200s, 300s, 400s, and 500s. The overall gain in memory as measured by prefeed and postfeed differences at each delay was over two minutes long. Because newborn infants are more likely to hear recurrent words spoken by familiar voices, auditory experiences that they preferentially recognize, Study 2 looked at the separate effects of familiarity and feeding. Two day-old infants were assessed for either familiar speech-sound ("baby" spoken by the mother) or unfamiliar speech-sound from Study 1 ("beagle" spoken by a female stranger). The baby-mother sound stimulus was remembered better over a retention interval of 85 seconds than unfamiliar beagle-stranger, suggesting a strong influence of familiarity. To define the extent of the feeding effect, Study 3 examined sensorimotor processing of a reflex response. Three day-olds were assessed on habituation and retention of habituation of the glabella blink reflex over delays of 8s and l8s. No effect of feeding was found. Taken together, the implications of these findings are twofold. First, enhancement of memory for speech-sound by iterative feeding or recurrent exposure to familiar speech-sound stimuli may facilitate the acquisition of language. Second, feeding effects on cognition may depend on the nature of the task and previous experience with the stimulus. Further research is necessary for identifying what kinds of information and what processing abilities are more susceptible to the effects of feeding in early infancy.

The aim of this research was to examine differences in general nutrition knowledge and prenatal sources of infant feeding information among women planning to feed breast milk, breast-milk substitutes, or a combination of breast milk and breast-milk substitutes. Subjects completed a demographic survey, a test of nutrition knowledge, and a questionnaire on sources of infant feeding information. There were no statistical differences in age, education, and nutrition knowledge scores among women in the three groups. A significant relationship was observed between education and nutrition knowledge; women who had attended college courses scored higher.003) on the nutrition knowledge test than those who had not attended. Health care providers (82%) and reading materials (82%) were the most frequently cited sources of infant feeding information. While general nutrition knowledge appears to be positively related to education, it does not appear to influence the infant feeding decision. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Phonetic aspects of mother-infant interaction are discussed in light of a functionalist Mother-infant phonetic interaction (MIPhI) model. Adults addressing infants typically use a speech style (infant-directed speech, IDS) characterized by, for instance, extensive suprasegmental (prosodic) modulations. This type of speech seems to interest young infants whose active experience with the spoken language appears to focus their speech perception on the phonological properties of the ambient language during the first year of life. This thesis consists of four articles discussing phonetic modifications at the suprasegmental, segmental and phonological levels, based on data from six Swedish mothersí IDS to their 3-month-olds. The first study concerns the tonal word accent 2 in disyllabic words, and shows how the lexical, bimodal, tonal characteristics of this accent are enhanced in IDS as compared to adult-directed speech (ADS). The second is a cross-linguistic investigation of vowel formant frequencies in Swedish, Am. English and Russian IDS. It shows that vowels like /i/, /u/, and /a/ are more clearly separated in IDS than in ADS, in all three languages. The third study addresses the voiced /voiceless contrast in stop consonants as measured by voice onset time (VOT) and shows that stop consonants seem to be poorly separated in early IDS samples. The fourth study investigates the quantity distinction in V:C and VC: sequences and indicates that this phonological contrast is well maintained in the IDS. Adult data are discussed within the MIPhI model, assuming that suprasegmental and segmental specifications in IDS follow different phonetic specification paths adapted to the infantsí capacities as these develop over the first 18 months of life. The adultsí phonetic adaptations appear to reflect a selective strategy of presenting linguistic structure in a ìgift-wrappingî that is attractive and functional for the infant. / För att köpa boken skicka en beställning till exp@ling.su.se/ To order the book send an e-mail to exp@ling.su.se

The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the experiences of first-time mothers with colic infants. Based on the results, implications for clinical practice are described for the clinical psychologist with regards to providing psychological support for these mothers. The research design is qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual. Data was collected by means of in-depth, semi-structured, phenomenological interviews and a descriptive analysis was done. The results show that the real versus the imagined experience of having a baby does not meet mothers' expectations. Furthermore, a colic baby elicits numerous anxieties including anxiety about the baby being damaged/ill, the feeding and leaving the baby in the care of others. Mothers battle with feelings of failure, which may be compounded by a stressful labour/delivery. Multiple attempts to soothe the baby or find an effective treatment result in feelings of helplessness and inadequacy. In turn, hopelessness and depression result. Mothers also perceive others' making judgments about their ability as a mother, while anxiety about failure undermines their capacity to accept support. Furthermore, mothers require affirmation from their baby. Their continued search for a cure offers hope that understanding and control can be gained. However, conflicting information and advice leave them feeling anxious and overwhelmed. Moreover, mothers feel disillusioned with medical personnel and the profession. Both medical and psychological factors are perceived as possible causes of, or contributing factors to, colic, and mothers experience guilt that stressors during their pregnancy may have contributed to their babies' being colicky. In addition, colic is seen as a punishment for perceived wrongdoings during pregnancy. Given the above, mothers need a containing figure, a function fulfilled by some husbands. If their own mothers are unavailable to contain their anxieties, substitute figures are found. In addition, practical support is experienced as helpful. Regarding maternal grandmothers, mothers identify with them, resulting in a new understanding of them and of the mother-daughter relationship. They also draw on their mothers' perception of their childhood experiences as positive or negative role models of parenting. Mothers feel ambivalent regarding the baby. They exhibit empathy although they perceive the baby as demanding, intrinsically difficult or rejecting. Consequently, mothers experience feelings of rage, resulting in fears of losing control and harming or abandoning the baby. These negative feelings are perceived as impacting on empathy for and bonding with the baby and result in feelings of shame and guilt. A colic baby is a source of stress in the couple's relationship, resulting in strained marital relations. Lastly, mothers renegotiate their identity as women and mothers. Several psychological defence mechanisms are used as a means of resolving emotional conflict and anxiety, and maintaining self-esteem. Clinical implications include adopting parent-infant psychotherapy as a framework for providing psychological support for these mothers. The study concludes that the colic period is stressful, places strain on the marital relationship and may pose a risk to the parent-infant relationship and child development. Lastly, psychological based interventions should be included as a resource for these mothers. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Research shows the way adults communicate with children can be classified into two main categories: Adult Directed Speech (ADS) and Infant Directed speech (IDS) (Schachner & Hannon, 2011). Past research focused on the maternal use of IDS; however, the current study investigated differences in maternal and paternal use of IDS. We hypothesize that 1) there will be a difference in the amount of paternal caregiving depending on mothers’ work status, 2) the acoustic properties of IDS will be influenced by the amount of parental involvement in caregiving activities, and 3) infants will pay more attention to parents who use more exaggerated IDS. No changes were found for paternal involvement when mothers were employed compared to when mothers were not employed. No relationships were found between IDS, parental involvement, or infants’ attention. These findings provide a better understanding of fathers’ contributions in caregiving and their influences on infants’ cognitive development.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

An emergent qualitative design provided the scaffolding for the micro-analysis of video footage and subsequent video-cued discussion with four reviewers. The collated material was used to prepare thick descriptions which were annotated for infant and therapist behaviours. A further thematic analysis of these behaviours provided 14 sets of behaviours used by the medically fragile newborn infants to indicate availability for interplay and 20 sets of behaviours used by the therapist in response to the infant. The interaction of these categorised behaviours provided seven markers of interplay between the music therapist and the medically fragile newborn infant.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Univ., 2001. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-61). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1968.