Infant Roots of Later Cognition

描述（由申请人提供）：婴儿认知研究的一个基本问题是婴儿能力对成熟智力的影响。这项研究的目的之一是研究婴儿时期的核心认知能力，即记忆、处理速度、注意力和表征能力是否持续存在，并为以后的智力和成就提供基础。第二个目标是检查有风险的孩子（早产）在多大程度上表现出这些核心认知能力的缺陷，不仅在婴儿期，而且在童年时期，以及早期缺陷对后来结果的影响。在儿童时期的早产儿缺陷也将检查三个重叠但不同的方面的执行功能，一个认知领域没有研究在婴儿期。为了解决这些问题，我们将在11岁和13岁时随访一个大型队列（N = 203）足月和早产儿（出生体重<1750 g），最初在5、7和12个月时进行测试，并在2岁和3岁时进行观察，以评估发育状况（Bayley MDI）。婴儿测试包括来自相同四个领域的大量测量。11岁和13岁时的测试将包括来自同一领域的大量任务，以及更广泛的结果测量，包括智力、阅读和数学成绩以及语言能力。这些结果将填补以下知识方面的重要空白：(1)核心能力从婴儿期到儿童期后期的连续性，(2)婴儿能力形成后期结果的根源的可能性，(3)早产儿特定认知缺陷的持久性（以及“追赶”和“睡眠者效应”），(4)婴儿期和儿童期特定缺陷在解释更广泛结果中的作用，以及(5)核心能力与更广泛结果相关的途径。识别后期缺陷的早期前兆对干预、评估和补救以及理解婴儿心智的本质具有深远的意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A fundamental issue in research on infant cognition concerns the consequences of infant abilities for mature intellect. One goal of this proposal is to examine the possibility that core cognitive abilities from infancy, namely, memory, speed of processing, attention, and representation competence persist, and provide the foundation for later intelligence and achievement. A second goal is to examine the extent to which children born at risk (preterms) show deficits in these core cognitive abilities, not only in infancy, but childhood, and the import of early deficits for later outcome. Preterm deficits in childhood will also be examined for three overlapping but distinct aspects of executive function, a cognitive domain not studied in infancy. To address these issues we will follow-up, at ages 11 and 13 years, a large cohort (N = 203) of full-terms and preterms (<1750 g birthweight) that were originally tested at 5, 7, and 12 months, and seen at 2 and 3 years to gauge developmental standing (Bayley MDI). The infant tests consisted of a large battery of measures from the same four domains. The battery at 11 and 13 years will include a large number of tasks from the same domains, along with measures of broader outcome, including intelligence, achievement in reading and mathematics, and verbal ability. The results will fill important gaps in knowledge about (1) continuity in core abilities from infancy to later childhood, (2) the possibility that infant abilities form the roots of later outcome, (3) the persistence of specific cognitive deficits in preterms (as well as 'catch-up' and 'sleeper effects'), (4) the role of specific deficits from infancy and childhood in accounting for broader outcomes, and (5) the pathways relating core abilities to broader outcomes. Identifying early antecedents of later deficits has profound implications for intervention, assessment, and remediation, as well as for understanding the nature of the infant mind.