Article

AIM: To investigate how vision relates to early development by studying vision
and cognition in a national cohort of 1-year-old infants with congenital
disorders of the peripheral visual system and visual impairment. This was a cross-sectional observational investigation of a nationally recruited cohort of
infants with 'simple' and 'complex' congenital disorders of the peripheral visual
system. Entry age was 8 to 16 months. Vision level (Near Detection Scale) and
non-verbal cognition (sensorimotor understanding, Reynell Zinkin Scales) were
assessed. Parents completed demographic questionnaires. RESULTS: Of 90 infants
(49 males, 41 females; mean 13mo, standard deviation [SD] 2.5mo; range 7-17mo);
25 (28%) had profound visual impairment (light perception at best) and 65 (72%)
had severe visual impairment (basic 'form' vision). The Near Detection Scale
correlated significantly with sensorimotor understanding developmental quotients
in the 'total', 'simple', and 'complex' groups (all p<0.001). Age and vision
accounted for 48% of sensorimotor understanding variance. Infants with profound
visual impairment, especially in the 'complex' group with congenital disorders of
the peripheral visual system with known brain involvement, showed the greatest
cognitive delay. INTERPRETATION: Lack of vision is associated with delayed
early-object manipulative abilities and concepts; 'form' vision appeared to
support early developmental advance. This paper provides baseline characteristics
for cross-sectional and longitudinal follow-up investigations in progress. A
methodological strength of the study was the representativeness of the cohort
according to national epidemiological and population census data.
CI - (c) 2017 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS