This document is the compilation of 50 reviews of selected articles, published between 1966-1970, pertaining to the relationship between malnutrition and potential to learn. The materials represent a relatively complete cross-section of the information available on this subject. There are three recurring themes in the publications reviewed. (1) If…

D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (this issue) examine various technical issues related to six studies of perinatal PCB exposure and neurodevelopment and one study of adult PCB exposure and motor function. They raise questions about possible imperfections of the studies, but many of their assertions are unsupported or frankly…

Pediatric exposure to polychlorinated biphynels (PCBs) is a national health concern with significant implications for school psychologists. According to the healthcare collaboration model, the school psychologist plays a key role in the provision of services to children affected by environmental teratogens. To effectively function as healthcare…

This paper presents information on several complex aspects of the prenatal drug exposure problem faced by educators and other professionals. The paper examines the incidence of substance-abusing pregnant women and outlines the dimensions of family problems presented by these women in terms of family history, service needs, medical concerns, and…

Adverse health effects from exposure to lead are now recognized to be among industrialized society's most important health problems. This report, prepared by the National Research Council's Committee on Measuring Lead Exposure in Critical Populations, concurs with new findings issued by the Centers for Disease Control which state that lead…

A study of 211 children and adults with autism (n=81), other pervasive development disorders (PDD) (n=24), and conditions other than PDD (n=106) found the prevalence of medical conditions with suspected etiologic relationships with autism varies between 10 and 15%, depending on the diagnostic system employed. (Author/CR)

D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (this issue) use six criteria to evaluate the published findings from seven different studies of PCB exposure and neuropsychological function. They point out a number of weaknesses or flaws in each study and conclude that these weaknesses make the overall conclusion that PCB exposure negatively…

Neuromaturation is the functional development of the central nervous system (CNS). It is by its very nature a dynamic process, a continuous interaction between the genome and first the intrauterine environment, then the extrauterine environment. Understanding neuromaturation and being able to measure it is fundamental to infant neurodevelopmental…

The seven cohort studies of the relation between prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to cognitive, neuropsychological and behavioral development have suggested that exposure to PCBs can cause persistent changes in cognitive functioning. D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (this issue) apply six scientific…

In this paper we address the points raised by groups of scientists who were invited to respond to our initial critique of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) research in this special issue. In that article, we applied six objective criteria to more than two decades of published PCB research and concluded that much of the research was badly flawed. The…

A major synthesis of the latest research on early language acquisition, this book explores what gives infants the remarkable capacity to progress from babbling to meaningful sentences, and what inclines a child to speak. The book examines the neurological, perceptual, social, and linguistic aspects of language acquisition in young children, from…

The booklet summarizes proceedings from a conference on prenatal and perinatal factors associated with learning disabilities and neurological problems. Many of the papers report data from the Collaborative Perinatal Project of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, a longitudinal study of pregnancy…

Our purpose in this report is to evaluate scientifically that body of literature relating the effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) upon neurobehavioral, health-related, and cognitive deficits in neonates, developing infants, children, and adults. The data derive from seven cohorts: six cohorts of mothers…

This thesis discusses normal principles of infant development during the first 2 to 3 months of life and applies these principles to the provision of services to drug-exposed infants. Emphasis is on the infant as an active and interactive participant in his/her own development, the primacy of the body during this early developmental period, and…

Despite years of concern about the toxic effects of high lead exposure and recent knowledge about the less apparent effects of exposure to low doses of lead, a total of 3 to 4 million children in the United States are still being exposed to concentrations of lead that could compromise their cognitive and social development. This paper discusses:…