title: Early assessment of visual function in full term newborns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The assessment of visual function is part of all the neonatal neurological examination but it is often limited to the evaluation of ocular movements and the ability to fix and follow a target.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop a simple battery of test items assessing different aspects of visual function that could be used as early as 48 h after birth.
  
  
  METHODS
  : The final battery, which has been used in 50 full term low risk neonates, includes 9 items assessing ocular motility, both spontaneous and with focus on a visual target, fixation and tracking (horizontal, vertical and in an arc), the ability to discriminate stripes of different spatial frequency, and attention at distance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The battery proved easy to perform and did not require long training. The testing did not require a specific setting and was easy to use even for infants in incubators. The equipment is small and cleanable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our paper suggests that a simple battery, which can be performed in 5/10 min, can be easily applied and provides useful information on various aspects of early neonatal visual function.
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cesarini
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Groppo
authors.forename: Agnese
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Carli
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gallini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serrao
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fumagalli
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cowan
authors.forename: Luca A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ramenghi
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anker
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mercuri
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mosca
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015588:Observer Variation; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000379:methods*