Beschreibung:
<jats:sec><jats:label /><jats:p>The purpose of the study is to assess the relation between visual information processing (VIP) and growth in a sample of 61 breast‐fed infants at age 3 months. The VIP paradigm measured novelty quotient (short‐term memory) and longest look (encoding speed). Growth measurements were converted to z‐scores using WHO Anthro software (v 3.01). Birth weight, current weight, length and head circumference z‐scores did not predict longest look (p = .50). However, novelty quotient was predicted by the infant anthropometric variables (R = .396, p = .05). Specifically at 3 mo, weight (partial r = .297, p = .03) and head circumference (partial r = −.311, p = .02) accounted for 9.5% of the variance in novelty quotient. Weight for age z‐scores were positively associated with short term memory, while head circumference was negatively associated with memory. Anthropometric measurements were not associated with encoding speed. There was no gender difference in novelty quotient (p = .69) or longest look (p = .42). Results suggest measures of growth in infants are associated with performance on specific cognitive tests such as memory.</jats:p><jats:p>This project was supported by National Research Initiative Grant 2008‐35200‐18779 from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture.</jats:p></jats:sec>