title: The neurobehavioral organization of Efe (pygmy) infants.
abstract: The neurobehavioral organization of 16 Efe Mbuti (pygmy) infants was examined over the first weeks of life using the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. Mbuti infants are the smallest well-grown, full-term infants in the world, i.e., length and weight below the 10th percentile but ponderal index above the 50th percentile. The Efe infants are a relatively isolated population that allows for an evaluation of ethnic differences in newborn behavior; their small stature permits the examination of the relations among size, neurobehavioral organization, and morbid processes. The neurobehavioral organization of the Efe was compared with three groups of full-term infants: two full-statured, well-grown groups of infants, one African, one United States; and a group of symmetrically growth-retarded infants whose weight and length were proportionally compromised in utero. The behavioral organization of the Efe infants was found to be similar to the neurobehavior of the well-grown infants and superior to the group of growth-retarded infants. No unique neurobehavioral features were found compared with the other groups. These findings suggest that neurobehavioral organization has a universal form and that expected small size per se does not compromise infant behavior.
authors: Child Development Unit, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
authors: E Z
authors: EZ
authors: Tronick
authors: S A
authors: SA
authors: Winn
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D044469:Racial Groups; D012016:Reference Values