title: Test of motor and neurological functions in high-risk infants: preliminary findings.
abstract: A 24-item Test of Motor and Neurological Functions (TMNF) was developed to measure automatic and equilibrium reactions, muscle tone, primitive reflexes, and qualitative movement findings in infants up to 12 months of age. A preliminary study was conducted with data gathered on 31 high-risk and 25 full-term infants ranging in age from 0 to 12 months. The psychometric quality of the test was investigated in terms of construct validity and interobserver reliability. It was determined that the most effective subtests were the automatic/equilibrium reactions and muscle tone subtests for the 7 to 12-month age group. The high-risk infant sample revealed significantly more qualitative findings at all age levels when compared to the full-term infants, particularly after 6 months of age. It was also found that the TMNF could be administered with a high degree of objectivity. These findings must be regarded as "tentative" until longitudinal cross-validation studies and research on decision-making reliability have been conducted.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D009129:Muscle Tonus; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods*; D012021:Reflex, Abnormal / Q000175:diagnosis; D012306:Risk