Older infants' social learning behavior under uncertainty is modulated by the interaction of face and speech processing.

The origin of face or language influences infants' perceptual processing and social learning behavior. However, it remains unclear how infants' social learning behavior is affected when both information are provided simultaneously. Hence, the current study investigated whether and how infants' social learning in terms of gaze following is influenced by face race and language origin of an interaction partner in an uncertain situation. Our sample consisted of 91 Caucasian infants from German speaking families. They were divided into 2 age groups: Younger infants were 5- to 8-month-old (n = 46) and the older infants 11- to 20-month-old (n = 45). We used a modified online version of the gaze following paradigm by Xiao and colleagues by varying face race (Caucasian, and Asian faces) and language (German and French) of a female actor. We recorded infants looking behavior via webcam and coded it offline. Our results revealed that older but not younger infants were biased to follow the gaze of own-race adults speaking their native language. Our findings show that older infants are clearly influenced by adults' ethnicity and language in social learning situations of uncertainty.

Motor and Visual-spatial Cognitive Abilities in Children Treated for Infantile Esotropia.

While many studies have investigated links between motor and visual spatial cognitive abilities in typically developing children, only a few studies have tested this link among children with innate handicaps. Therefore, we assessed motor abilities (using the M-ABC-2) and visual spatial cognitive skills (using the Block Design subtest of the WPPSI-III and a picture mental rotation task, PRT) of 5-7 year old typically developing children (n= 17) and same-aged children with severe deficits in stereopsis due to infantile esotropia (n= 17). Compared to the typically developing children, children with esotropia showed significantly poorer motor performances, especially in manual dexterity and ball skills, and significantly poorer and slower performance on the visual spatial cognitive tasks. Especially the girls treated for infantile esotropia needed more time to mentally rotate the pictures of the PRT correctly. Overall, this study showed that perceptual, motor and cognitive processes are interconnected and that children treated for infantile esotropia had an increased risk of motor and visual spatial cognitive deficits.

Motor and cognitive functioning in children treated for idiopathic clubfoot at the age of 3 years.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have investigated motor and cognitive skills in infants as well as gross motor abilities in schoolchildren treated for congenital idiopathic clubfoot, mostly indicating specific impairments in those children. However, until now, little is known about the motor and cognitive abilities of preschool children treated for idiopathic clubfoot. Thus, it was the aim of this study to examine gross motor, fine motor and cognitive skills of 3-year-old-children treated for idiopathic clubfoot. METHOD: We tested gross motor, fine motor and cognitive functioning of 10 children treated for idiopathic clubfoot and 10 typically developing children at the age of 40 months (SD = 1) with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. RESULTS: The children treated for idiopathic clubfoot showed a slight delay in gross motor development. In particular, they demonstrated difficulties in tiptoeing, walking upstairs and walking downstairs. Moreover, we found some slight deficits in cognitive development, particularly in visual-spatial memory. DISCUSSION: Children treated for idiopathic clubfoot appear to have an increased risk of gross motor and spatial cognitive deficits. Orthopedic pediatrics should incorporate measures of gross motor functioning, for example tiptoeing, in their orthopedic setting. Moreover, future studies are needed to clarify whether the observed deficits persist through childhood. If so, some kind of a motor training for children with idiopathic clubfoot might be required.

[The Motor Development of Children with Infantile Esotropia]. / Die motorische Entwicklung von Kindern mit frühkindlichem Innenschielen.

Background Until now, many studies have investigated the link between motor development and visual-spatial abilities in infancy and childhood. Most of these studies found evidence that there is such a link in typically developing children or children with locomotor delay. Only a few studies have tested the consequences of this link in children with abnormal visual development because of infantile esotropia. Moreover, little is known about the effects of late surgery on motor development. Patients and Methods We assessed the motor abilities of 3- to 7-year old children with severe deficits in stereopsis due to infantile esotropia (angle ≥ 12°) and typically developing children prior to and 12 to 16 months after surgery. We used the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC-2). Results Prior to and one year after surgery, the strabismic children showed significantly lower global motor scores than normal children. Moreover, in the strabismic children, we found significant differences relative to the healthy children in the subscales assessing manual dexterity and balance prior to and significant differences in the subscales assessing manual dexterity and ball skills after surgery. Overall, the strabismic group did not demonstrate improvements in motor development after surgery. However, the children with a positive Bagolini striated glass test following surgery performed better in the subscale assessing balance than children with a negative Bagolini striated glass test. Conclusions Motor skills were poorer in children with infantile esotropia, both prior to and following surgery. Moreover, the children with improved binocular vision after surgery demonstrated better balance skills. Possible explanations and practical implications are discussed.