Neurobehavioral performance of low-birthweight infants at 40 weeks conceptional age: comparison with normal fullterm infants.

This study compares the neurobehavioral status of 118 low-birthweight infants tested at 40 weeks conceptional age with that of 76 normal fullterm infants. A neonatal neurobehavioral examination comprising 21 test and four summary items was used. The most striking differences between the groups were found in visual and auditory orienting, with approximately two-thirds of the low-birthweight infants falling below the range of performance of the fullterm group. Items testing motor performance showed a lower incidence of deviant performance among the low-birthweight infants. Of the 21 test items, 19 could be assigned cut-off scores, below which infants can be considered deviant on the specific items.