Infant temperament and the brainstem auditory evoked response in later childhood.
Brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs) were evaluated on 10-12-year-old children (N = 56) who had been classified as high or low reactive to unfamiliar stimuli at 4 months of age. BAER measurement was selected because high reactive infants tend to become inhibited or fearful young children, and adult introverts have a faster latency to wave V of the BAER than do extroverts. Children previously classified as high reactive at 4 months had larger wave V components than did low reactive children, a finding that possibly suggests greater excitability in projections to the inferior colliculus. The fact that a fundamental feature of brainstem activity differentiated preadolescent children belonging to two early temperamental groups supports the value of gathering physiological data in temperament research.
Woodward
S A
SA
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. sawt@wjh.harvard.edu
McManis
M H
MH
Kagan
J
J
Deldin
P
P
Snidman
N
N
Lewis
M
M
Kahn
V
V
D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D013694:Temperament; D013997:Time Factors