title: Pathways from prematurity and infant abilities to later cognition.
abstract: This study examined the relation of information processing in 7-month-old preterms (<1750 g at birth) and full-terms to Bayley Mental Development Indexes (MDIs) at 2 and 3 years. The infant measures were drawn from four cognitive domains: attention, speed, memory, and representational competence. Structural equation modeling showed that these measures of infant information processing mediated the effects of prematurity, and that there was a cascade of effects, with infant processing speed influencing memory and representational competence, which in turn influenced later MDI. This study shows that infant information processing mediates the effect of prematurity on later cognition, and delineates pathways whereby infant abilities relate to one another and to later outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. srose@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: Judith F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Jeffery J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jankowski
authors.forename: Ronan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van Rossem
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D012720:Severity of Illness Index