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Title
Cardiac and behavioral responsivity to repeated auditory stimulation in the human preterm neonate.
Access Type
Open Access
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Psychology
Degree Name
Thesis (M.S.)
Year Degree Awarded
1981
Keywords
Newborn infants, Premature infants
Abstract
The effects of perinatal risk and gestational age on sensory responsiveness and the ability to habituate were evaluated in three groups of preterm newborns designated as at high-, moderate-, and low-risk for developmental disability. Two major hypotheses were investigated: 1) that preterm infants have an elevated sensory threshold leaving them relatively unavailable to stimulation and 2) that once the preterm is stimulated sufficiently to respond, he/she is largely unable to habituate to repeated stimulus presentations. Additionally, the reliability of responsiveness and habituation over a 24-hour period was assessed.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/27p2-7b46