Growth and visual information processing in infants in Southern Ethiopia

Speed of information processing and recognition memory can be assessed in infants using a visual information processing (VIP) paradigm. In a sample of 100 infants 6-8 months of age from Southern Ethiopia, we assessed relations between growth and VIP. The 69 infants who completed the VIP protocol had a mean weight z score of -1.12 ± 1.19 SD, and length z score of -1.05 ± 1.31. The age-appropriate novelty preference was shown by only 12 infants. When age was controlled, longest look duration during familiarization was predicted by weight (sr(2) = .16, p = .001) and length (sr(2) = .05, p =.058), and mean look duration during test phases was predicted by head circumference (sr(2) = .08, p = .018) implying that growth is associated with development of VIP. These data support the validity of VIP as a measure of infant cognitive development that is sensitive to nutritional factors and flexible enough to be adapted to individual cultures.