Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T22:28:54.025Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Motor Contingency Learning and Infants with Spina Bifida

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2013

Heather B. Taylor ,
Marcia A. Barnes ,
Susan H. Landry ,
Paul Swank ,
Jack M. Fletcher  and
Furong Huang
Heather B. Taylor*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas TIRR Memorial Hermann, Houston, Texas
Marcia A. Barnes
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
Susan H. Landry
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
Paul Swank
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
Jack M. Fletcher
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
Furong Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Heather B. Taylor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, Suite 2300, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: heather.taylor@uth.tmc.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Infants with Spina Bifida (SB) were compared to typically developing infants (TD) using a conjugate reinforcement paradigm at 6 months-of-age (n = 98) to evaluate learning, and retention of a sensory-motor contingency. Analyses evaluated infant arm-waving rates at baseline (wrist not tethered to mobile), during acquisition of the sensory-motor contingency (wrist tethered), and immediately after the acquisition phase and then after a delay (wrist not tethered), controlling for arm reaching ability, gestational age, and socioeconomic status. Although both groups responded to the contingency with increased arm-waving from baseline to acquisition, 15% to 29% fewer infants with SB than TD were found to learn the contingency depending on the criterion used to determine contingency learning. In addition, infants with SB who had learned the contingency had more difficulty retaining the contingency over time when sensory feedback was absent. The findings suggest that infants with SB do not learn motor contingencies as easily or at the same rate as TD infants, and are more likely to decrease motor responses when sensory feedback is absent. Results are discussed with reference to research on contingency learning in infants with and without neurodevelopmental disorders, and with reference to motor learning in school-age children with SB. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–10)

Keywords

Sensory-motorNeurodevelopmentDisabilityEarly learningMemoryDevelopment
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , February 2013 , pp. 206 - 215
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Angulo-Kinsler, R.M. (1997). Exploration and control of leg movements in infants. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University.Google Scholar
Bayley, N. (1993). Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Bhatt, R.S., Rovee-Collier, C., Weiner, S. (1994). Developmental changes in the interface between perception and memory retrieval. Developmental Psychology, 30, 151–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brennan, R.L. (1983). Elements of generalizability theory. Iowa City, IA: ACT Publications.Google Scholar
Brewer, V.B., Fletcher, J.M., Hiscock, M., Davidson, K.C. (2001). Attention processes in children with shunted hydrocephalus versus attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychology, 15(2), 185–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chakraborty, A., Crimmins, D., Hayward, D., Thompson, D. (2008). Toward reducing shunt placement rates in patients with myelomeningocele. Journal of Neurosurgery. Pediatrics, 1, 361–365.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chandler, L.S., Andrews, M.S., Swanson, M.W. (1980). Movement assessment of infants: A manual. Rolling Bay, WA: Chandler, Andrews, and Swanson.Google Scholar
Chen, Y., Fetters, L., Holt, K.G., Saltzman, E. (2002). Making the mobile move: Constraining task and environment. Infant Behavior and Development, 25, 195–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colombo, J. (2001). The development of visual attention in infancy. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 337–367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colvin, A.N., Yeates, K.O., Enrile, B.G., Coury, D.L. (2003). Motor adaptation in children with myelomeningocele: Comparison to children with ADHD and healthy siblings. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 642–652.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cronbach, L.J., Gleser, G.C., Nanda, H., Rajaratnam, N. (1972). The dependability of behavioral measurement: Theory of generalizability for scores and profiles. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.Google Scholar
Davis, B.E., Daley, C.M., Shurtleff, D.B., Duguay, S., Seidel, K., Loeser, J.D., Ellenbogan, R.G. (2005). Long-term survival of individuals with myelomeningocele. Pediatric Neurosurgery, 41, 186–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Del Bigio, M.R. (2010). Neuropathology and structureal changes in hydrocephalus. Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 16, 16–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, M., Barnes, H. (2010). The cognitive phenotype of spina bifida meningomyelocele. Developmental Disabilities Research Review, 16(1), 31–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dennis, M., Edelstein, K., Copeland, K., Frederick, J., Francis, D.J., Hetherington, R., Fletcher, J.M. (2005a). Covert orienting to exogenous and endogenous cues in children with spina bifida. Neuropsychologia, 43, 976–987.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dennis, M., Edelstein, K., Copeland, K., Frederick, J.A., Francis, D.J., Hetherington, R., Fletcher, J.M. (2005b). Space-based inhibition of return in children with spina bifida. Neuropsychology, 19(4), 456–465.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dennis, M., Edelstein, K., Hetherington, R., Copeland, K., Frederick, J., Blaser, S.E., Fletcher, J.M. (2004). Neurobiology of perceptual and motor timing in children with spina bifida in relation to cerebellar volume. Brain, 127, 1292–1301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dennis, M., Jewell, D., Edelstein, K., Brandt, M., Hetherington, R., Blaser, S.E., Fletcher, J.M. (2006). Motor learning in children with spina bifida: Intact learning and performance on a ballistic task. Journal of International Neuropsychological Society, 12, 598–608.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dennis, M., Landry, S.H., Barnes, M., Fletcher, J.M. (2006). A model of neurocognitive function in spina bifida over the lifespan. Journal of International Neuropsychological Society, 12(2), 285–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, M., Salman, M.S., Juranek, J., Fletcher, J.M. (2010). Cerebellar motor function in spina bifida meningomyelocele. Cerebellum, 9, 484–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edelstein, K., Dennis, M., Copeland, K., Frederick, J., Francis, D., Hetherington, R., Fletcher, J.M. (2004). Motor learning in children with spina bifida: Dissociation between performance level and acquisition rate. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 10(6), 877–887.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fletcher, J.M., Northrup, H., Landry, S.H., Dennis, M., Barnes, M.A., Blaser, S.E., Francis, D.J. (2004). Spina bifida: Genes, brain, and development. International Review of Research in Mental Retardation, 29, 63–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gekoski, M.J., Fagen, J.W., Pearlman, M.A. (1984). Early learning and memory in the preterm infant. Infant Behavior & Development, 7, 267–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haley, D.W., Grunau, R.E., Oberlander, T.F., Weinberg, J. (2008). Contingency learning and reactivity in preterm and full-term infants at 3 months. Infancy, 13(6), 570–595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haley, D.W., Weinberg, J., Grunau, R.E. (2006). Cortisol, contingency learning, and memory in preterm and fullterm infants. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 31, 108–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartshorn, K., Rovee-Collier, C. (2003). Does infant memory expression reflect age at encoding or age at retrieval? Developmental Psychobiology, 41, 281–291.Google Scholar
Heathcock, J.C., Bhat, A.N., Lobo, M.A., Galloway, J.C. (2004). The performance of infants born preterm and full-term in the mobile paradigm: Learning and memory. Physical Therapy, 84, 808–821.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heathcock, J.C., Bhat, A.N., Lobo, M.A., Galloway, J.C. (2005). The relative kicking frequency of infants born full-term and preterm during learning and short-term and long-term memory periods of the mobile paradigm. Physical Therapy, 85, 8–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollingshead, A.B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. New Haven, CT: Department of Sociology, Yale University.Google Scholar
Liptak, G.S., Batshaw, M.L. (2002). Neural tube defects children with disabilities (Vol. 5, pp. 467–492). Washington, DC: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Lomax-Bream, L., Barnes, M., Copeland, K., Taylor, H.B., Landry, S.H. (2007). The impact of spina bifida on development across the first three years. Developmental Neuropsychology, 31(1), 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lomax-Bream, L., Taylor, H.B., Landry, S.H., Barnes, M., Fletcher, J.M., Swank, P. (2007). Role of early parenting and motor skills on development in children with spina bifida. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 28(3), 250–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohr, P.S., Fagan, J.W. (1991). Conditioning and long-term memory in three-month-old infants with Down syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 96(2), 151–162.Google ScholarPubMed
Ramey, C.T., Heiger, L., Klisz, D. (1972). Synchronous reinforcement of vocal responses in failure-to-thrive infants. Child Development, 43, 1449–1455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rovee, C.K., Rovee, D.T. (1969). Conjugate reinforcement of infant exploratory behavior. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 8, 33–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rovee-Collier, C. (1997). Dissociations in infant memory: Rethinking the development of implicit and explicit memory. Psychological Review, 104, 467–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rovee-Collier, C. (1999). The development of infant memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 80–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rovee-Collier, C., Giles, A. (2010). Why a neuromaturational model of memory fails: Exuberant learning in early infancy. Behavioral Processes, 83(2), 197–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rovee-Collier, C., Sullivan, M.W., Enright, M., Lucas, D., Fagan, J.W. (1980). Reactivation of infant memory. Science, 208, 1159–1161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shavelson, R.J., Webb, N.M. (1991). Generalizability theory: A primer. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Sullivan, M.W., Lewis, M. (2003). Contextual determinants of anger and other negative expressions in young infants. Developmental Psychology, 39, 693–705.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Talamonti, G., D'Aliberti, G., Collice, M. (2007). Myelomeningocele: Long-term neurosurgical treatment and follow-up in 202 patients. Journal of Neurosurgery, 107(5 Suppl), 368–386.Google ScholarPubMed
Taylor, H.B., Landry, S., Barnes, M., Swank, P.R., Cohen, L., Fletcher, J.M. (2010). Early information processing among infants with and without Spina Bifida. Infant Behavior and Development, 33(4), 365–372. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2010.03.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thelen, E. (1994). Three-month-old infants can learn task-specific patterns of interlimb coordination. Psychological Science, 5, 280–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thelen, E., Smith, L.B. (1995). A dynamic systems approach to the development of cognition and action. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.Google Scholar
Thelen, E., Ulrich, B.D. (1991). Hidden skills. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 56(223), 59–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Timmons, C.R. (1994). Associative links between discrete memories in infancy. Infant Behavior and Development, 17, 431–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Hofsten, C. (2004). An action perspective on motor development. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8, 266–272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wantanabe, H., Taga, G. (2009). Flexibility in infant actions during arm- and leg-based learning in a mobile paradigm. Infant Behavior and Development, 32, 79–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watanabe, H., Taga, G. (2006). General to specific development of movement patterns and memory for contingency between actions and events in young infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 29, 402–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wills, K.E. (1993). Neuropsychological functioning in children with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus. Journal of Clinical and Child Psychology, 22(2), 247–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar