Infants born prematurely may show less interest in others
Written by: Masahiro Imafuku & Myowa-Yamakoshi
I. New study conducted at Kyoto University to evaluate effects of premature birth with regards to social communication and autism.
A. The belief among doctors and scientists is that infants born prior to full term were at greater risk of autism.
B. Infants were evaluated at 6 months and 12 months to determine their social development.
II. Autism develops when infants are subjected to a mix of genetic and environmental conditions or factors.
A. Premature infants are exposed to higher stress levels at early stages of development than full term infants and scientists believe this