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The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Research and Theory on Human Development Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vgnt20
Some Developmental Aspects of Infant Cry a
C. N. Wilder & R. J. Baken
a
a
Teachers College, Columbia University , USA Published online: 04 Sep 2012.
To cite this article: C. N. Wilder & R. J. Baken (1978) Some Developmental Aspects of Infant Cry, The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Research and Theory on Human Development, 132:2, 225-230, DOI: 10.1080/00221325.1978.10533334 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1978.10533334
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1978, 132, 225-230
SOME DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS O F INFANT CRY* Teachers College, Columbia University
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
c. N. WILDER AND R. J. BAKEN SUMMARY Respiratory activity during crying was measured in a semilongitudinal study of 10normal infants aged two days to eight months. Temporal aspects of respiration during crying showed marked change with age: the duration of the expiratory phase steadily increased, while the duration of the inspiratory phase remained remarkably constant, producing an ever-lower I-fraction. A previous study reported no developmental changes in the temporal aspects of the acoustic cry signal from one to seven months of age. Reasons for the divergent findings of the present study are presented, and it is suggested that respiratory behavior may be a better indicator of developmental changes in the crying act than the acoustic signal. A. INTRODUCTION
It is obvious that the act of crying requires a high degree of coordination between the respiratory and phonatory mechanisms. In apparent agreement with Parmalee’s (10)description of crying as a maximal type of response reflecting the capacity of the nervous system to inhibit or modulate high levels of activation, several studies have proceeded on the assumption that there is a relationship between phonatory patterns and the neurophysiological status of the infant. Some studies have shown that the acoustic pattern of the cry signal of the brain-damaged infant differs from that of the normal child (3,6, 7,8, 1 l),while others have attempted to identify physiological responses to pain or hunger through analysis of cries (9, 13, 14).No attempts were made in these studies to relate the acoustic analyses to specific neuromotor functioning of the infant. If the assumption of a relationship between neurophysiological status and infant cry is correct, it is reasonable to assume that neuromotor maturation
* Received in the Editorial Office, Provincetown, Massachusetts, on October 19, 1976. Copyright, 1978, by the Journal Press. 225
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
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will be reflected in developmental changes in the cry. Indeed, Karelitz ( 5 ) suggested that the cry pattern may be a reliable indicator of the infant’s level of development. Yet there is a paucity of studies investigating crying behavior after the neonatal period, probably because of the difficulties in gaining access to the population in settings permitting appropriate instrumentation. Of the few studies reporting on older infants, none used a longitudinal or semilongitudinal experimental model. Two of the classic studies in infant cry investigated respiratory activity during crying for infants from 1 day to 13 weeks (2) and from 2 to 22 weeks of age (4). However, these studies did not address the issue of developmental changes over the age range under investigation, and presented data only in terms of grouped information covering the entire age range. In a more recent study, Wasz-Hockert et aE. (13)analyzed the acoustic attributes of pain and hunger cries of infants from birth to seven months of age. With a cross-sectional experimental model (including only a single cry expiration from any S),they analyzed 120 pain cries and 150 hunger cries along a number of acoustic dimensions, including duration of signal. They stated that except for some modification during the neonatal period, there were no significant developmental changes in the acoustic attributes of the cry signal during the other seven months for which they collected data. Accordingly, they presented one set of data for the first month of life, and another set averaging all data obtained from infants one to seven months of age. Recent studies of infant respiration at the Teachers College, Columbia University, Speech Research Laboratory have included analysis of respiratory activity during crying in infants from birth through 12 months of age. The present paper discusses certain developmental changes in the crying act, as reflected in respiratory activity during crying, observed during the first eight months of life. B.
METHOD
The population and the means of gathering respiratory information have been described previously (16) and will only be briefly summarized here. Four sets of respiratory data were gathered at regular intervals from each of 10 normal infants, using an overlapping semilongitudinal model; the age range was from 2 to 2 5 5 days. Data-gathering sessions took place in the infants’ homes or in the newborn nursery. It was deemed preferable to observe cry behavior which was not pain-elicited, thereby eliminating possible ambiguities resulting from nonrespiratory reflex responses to a painful stimulus. The crying behavior analyzed was spontaneous, and apparently reflected hunger, since it occurred at the infant’s habitual feeding time and was, in fact, stilled by feeding.
227
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C. N . WILDER AND R. J. BAKEN
Respiration during crying was evaluated as a motor activity observable as circumferential changes in the thorax and abdomen. The data were obtained with the use of the portable multichannel impedance pneumograph described by Baken and Matz (1). The pneumographic output was fed'to one channel of a stereo tape recorder; simultaneous recording of cry sounds was done on the other channel. The vocal signal was used in defining respiratory markers during crying, but its quality was not evaluated. One thousand respiratory cycles during crying were analyzed, 2 5 from each of the 40 data-recording sessions. The samples selected were free from contamination by extraneous physical movements and were taken from a midpoint of the crying activity. Temporal data were analyzed in terms of duration of inspiratory and expiratory phases, which were compared to each other in terms of the I-fraction (the ratio of inspiratory duration to the total duration of the respiratory cycle). Measurable expansions and contractions of the abdominal and/or thoracic wall during the course of a continuously voiced expiration (referred to as expiratory subcycles) were also enumerated.
C. RESULTS The temporal patterns of respiration during crying showed marked changes as a function of age. Over the first eight months of life, there was a steady increase in the mean duration of respiratory cycles which was reflected in a more than 50 percent decrease in the mean respiratory rate (BPM) during crying. The decrease in BPM was accounted for entirely by increased duration of the expiratory phase, which more thandoubled. In the face of this increased expiratory duration, the duration of inspiration remained remarkably stable, fluctuating minimally around .28 sec. This resulted in a reduction of the I-fraction from 19 percent to 11 percent over the age range in question. TABLE 1 TEMPORAL MEASURES OF CRYING RESPIRATION Duration (sec) Age (months)
Total Cycle Mean SD 1.20 1.50 1.62 1.70 1.74 1.91 2.07 2.57
.13 .35 .41
.SO .83 .40 .38 .58
Inspiration Mean SD .23 .28 .26 .27 .28 .28 .29 .29
.01 .05 .06
.04 .05 .06
.04 .05
Expiration Mean SD .97 1.22 1.35 1.42 1.45 1.62 1.79 2.26
.14 .33 .37 .52 .78 .36 .39
.55
Mean rate (BPM)
Mean I-fraction
50.0 40.0 37.0 35.3 34.5 31.4 29.0 23.4
19.1 18.4 16.0 15.8 15.8 14.8 12.7 11.3
(96)
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30E n a I
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.-. . -.-.-.
.
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U
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FIGURE 1 MEANDURATION AND RATE OF RESPIRATORY CYCLES (CIRCLES, LEFTINDEX)AND MEANI-FRACTION (TRIANGLES, RIGHTINDEX)AS A FUNCTIONOF AGE
Furthermore, increases in expiratory duration were very highly correlated (Y = .99)with increases in the number of expiratory subcycles. A possible explanation for this correlation is that the fluctuations within an expiratory movement reflect the infants unskilled attempts to control the elastic recoil forces of expiration during prolonged voiced egressions of air. D.
DISCUSSION
Truby, Bosma, and Lind (12) suggested that infant cry should be considered as a compound phenomenon-act plus sound. They further stated that “the crying act comprises motor activity, singularly involving the respiratory tract” (12, p. 9). Seen from this viewpoint, as in the present study, there appear to be developmental changes in the crying act during the first eight months of life. During this period, the infant increases his ability to accomplish the rather complex motor coordinations required for the repeated negotiation of rapid inspiration, coupled with prolonged, mostly voiced expiration-an ability which is necessary for normal speech production. These developmental changes in respiration during crying do not a m e a r
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
C. N . WILDER AND R. J. BAKEN
229
consistent with the findings of Wasz-Hockert et al. (13) regarding a lack of developmental changes in the acoustic patterns of hunger cries from one to seven months of age, particularly with respect to the duration of the cry signal. This discrepancy may be explained by the fact that they analyzed cry strictly as an acoustic phenomenon, essentially divorced from the underlying motor act. However, it has been demonstrated that both acoustic and respiratory markers are required for accurate measurement of the duration of a single cry egression, one reason being that the acoustic duration of the cry signal is not always an accurate reflection of the underlying motor activity (15). Truby et al. (12, pp. 16-17), who investigated both respiratory and acoustic aspects of neonatal cries, noted that a single egression might have “interjected silences,” adding that in such instances, “silence does not indicate muscular inactivity but precisely the reverse: maximal physical effort apparently can have its counterpart in minimal acoustic intensity.” When this occurs, the duration of the acoustic signal will be less than the duration of the expiratory phase, even if all phonatory activity during the egression is summed. Wasz-Hockert et al. were aware of this phenomenon and noted that hunger cries, in particular, were characterized by short, plosive phonatory bursts, with interjected silent intervals. However, they felt that measuring all the phonation during any expiration “would make analysis so time-consuming as to be impossible” (13, p. 9). They also rejected the notion of measuring the time between the first and last vocalization during a single expiration. Rather, they developed an arbitrary definition of the length of the cry signal as “the time between the first and last vocalizations of more than .4 sec” (13, p. 9), and excluded shorter vocalizations before and after the “main” signal, as well as any silent intervals between vocalizations. This definition may have served to exacerbate any differences between the durations of the acoustic signal and the underlying expiratory event, and consequently may have masked developmental changes in the duration of the egressive phase of the hunger cry. This paper presents the results of a preliminary investigation. Although no normative inferences can be drawn because of the small number of Ss, the data suggest that (a)further investigation of developmental changes in infant cry may be fruitful, (6) the crying act may be a more sensitive developmental indicator than the crying s o u n d , and (c) respiratory measures may present a practical means of assessing the motor activity underlying infant cry. In spite of the fact that they are limited to one aspect of respiratory behavior, pneumographic measures of crying respiration offer certain advantages. The instrumentation is portable and relatively inexpensive. Dabgathering procedures are innocuous to the S and do not interfere with the behavior under
230
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observation. And finally, simple, quantifiable measures may be made in a wide variety of settings without undue concern for ambient noise. These factors should make possible the eventual elaboration of developmental norms. If such norms are established, respiratory measures during crying may provide a new, objective measure of the developmental status of the infant.
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
REFERENCES 1. 2.
BAKEN,R. J., & MATZ,B. J. A portable impedance pneumograph. Hum. Communic., 1973, 2, 28-38. DEMING,J., & WASHBURN, A. Respiration in infancy. Amer. J. Dis. in Child., 1935,49, 108- 124.
3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9.
10. 11.
12. 13.
FISICHELLI, V., & KARELITZ,S. The cry latencies of normal infants and those with brain damage. J. Pediat., 1963, 62, 724-734. HALVERSON, H. M. Variations in pulse and respiration during different phases of infant behavior. J . Genet. Psychol., 1941, 59, 259-330. KARELITZ,S. Infant vocalizations. J. Ind. Paediat. S o c . , 1963, 2, 1-3. KARELITZ,S., & FISICHELLI, V. The cry thresholds of normal infants and those with brain damage. J. Pediat., 1962, 61, 679-685. LIND,J . , WASZ-HOCKERT, O., VUORENKOSKI, V., & VALANNE, E. The vocalization of a new-born, brain-damaged child. Ann. Paediat. Fennae, 1965, 11, 32-37. LIND, J . , VUORENKOSKI, V., WASZ-HOCKERT, O., PARTANEN, T . , LEJEUNE,J., & LAFOURCADE, J. Spectrographic analysis of cries from children with maladie de cri du chat. Ann. Paediat. Fennae, 1966, 12, 174-180. LIND, J . , WASZ-HOCKERT, O., VUORENKOSKI, V., PARTANEN,T . , THEORELL,K., & VALANNE,E., Vocal response to painful stimuli in newborn and young infants. Ann. Paediat. Fennae, 1966, 12, 55-63. PARMALEE, A . H. Infant crying and neurological diagnosis.1. P e d i a t . , 1962,61,802-803. PARTANEN, T . , WAS-HOCKERT,O . ,VUORENKOSKI, V., THEORELL, K., VALANNE, E., & LIND, J. Auditory identification of pain cry signals of young infants in pathological conditions and its sound spectrographic basis. Ann. Paediat. Fennue, 1967, 13,56-63. TRUBY, H., BOSMA,J . , & LIND,J. Newborn Infant Cry. Uppsala, Sweden: Almqvist & Wiksells, 1965. WASZ-HOCKERT, O., LIND,J., VUORENKOSKI,V., PARTANEN, T . , & VALANNE,E., The Infant Cry: A Spectrographicand Auditory Analysis. Suffolk, England: Lavenham Press, 1968.
WASZ-HOCKERT, O . , PARTANEN, T., VUORENKOSKI, V., MICHAELSSON, K., VALANNE, E. The identification of some specific meanings in infant vocalizations. Ezperientia, 1964, 20, p. 154. 15. WILDER,C. N. Respiratory patterns in infants: Birth to eight months of age. Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, New York, 1972. 16. WILDER,C. N., & BAKEN,R. J. Respiratory patterns in infant cry. Hum. Communic., 1974, 3, 18-34.
14.
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology Teachers College, Columbia University Box 191 525 West 120th Street New York, New York 10027
The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Research and Theory on Human Development Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vgnt20
Some Developmental Aspects of Infant Cry a
C. N. Wilder & R. J. Baken
a
a
Teachers College, Columbia University , USA Published online: 04 Sep 2012.
To cite this article: C. N. Wilder & R. J. Baken (1978) Some Developmental Aspects of Infant Cry, The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Research and Theory on Human Development, 132:2, 225-230, DOI: 10.1080/00221325.1978.10533334 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1978.10533334
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1978, 132, 225-230
SOME DEVELOPMENTAL ASPECTS O F INFANT CRY* Teachers College, Columbia University
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
c. N. WILDER AND R. J. BAKEN SUMMARY Respiratory activity during crying was measured in a semilongitudinal study of 10normal infants aged two days to eight months. Temporal aspects of respiration during crying showed marked change with age: the duration of the expiratory phase steadily increased, while the duration of the inspiratory phase remained remarkably constant, producing an ever-lower I-fraction. A previous study reported no developmental changes in the temporal aspects of the acoustic cry signal from one to seven months of age. Reasons for the divergent findings of the present study are presented, and it is suggested that respiratory behavior may be a better indicator of developmental changes in the crying act than the acoustic signal. A. INTRODUCTION
It is obvious that the act of crying requires a high degree of coordination between the respiratory and phonatory mechanisms. In apparent agreement with Parmalee’s (10)description of crying as a maximal type of response reflecting the capacity of the nervous system to inhibit or modulate high levels of activation, several studies have proceeded on the assumption that there is a relationship between phonatory patterns and the neurophysiological status of the infant. Some studies have shown that the acoustic pattern of the cry signal of the brain-damaged infant differs from that of the normal child (3,6, 7,8, 1 l),while others have attempted to identify physiological responses to pain or hunger through analysis of cries (9, 13, 14).No attempts were made in these studies to relate the acoustic analyses to specific neuromotor functioning of the infant. If the assumption of a relationship between neurophysiological status and infant cry is correct, it is reasonable to assume that neuromotor maturation
* Received in the Editorial Office, Provincetown, Massachusetts, on October 19, 1976. Copyright, 1978, by the Journal Press. 225
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
226
JOURNAL OF GENETIC PSYCHOLOGY
will be reflected in developmental changes in the cry. Indeed, Karelitz ( 5 ) suggested that the cry pattern may be a reliable indicator of the infant’s level of development. Yet there is a paucity of studies investigating crying behavior after the neonatal period, probably because of the difficulties in gaining access to the population in settings permitting appropriate instrumentation. Of the few studies reporting on older infants, none used a longitudinal or semilongitudinal experimental model. Two of the classic studies in infant cry investigated respiratory activity during crying for infants from 1 day to 13 weeks (2) and from 2 to 22 weeks of age (4). However, these studies did not address the issue of developmental changes over the age range under investigation, and presented data only in terms of grouped information covering the entire age range. In a more recent study, Wasz-Hockert et aE. (13)analyzed the acoustic attributes of pain and hunger cries of infants from birth to seven months of age. With a cross-sectional experimental model (including only a single cry expiration from any S),they analyzed 120 pain cries and 150 hunger cries along a number of acoustic dimensions, including duration of signal. They stated that except for some modification during the neonatal period, there were no significant developmental changes in the acoustic attributes of the cry signal during the other seven months for which they collected data. Accordingly, they presented one set of data for the first month of life, and another set averaging all data obtained from infants one to seven months of age. Recent studies of infant respiration at the Teachers College, Columbia University, Speech Research Laboratory have included analysis of respiratory activity during crying in infants from birth through 12 months of age. The present paper discusses certain developmental changes in the crying act, as reflected in respiratory activity during crying, observed during the first eight months of life. B.
METHOD
The population and the means of gathering respiratory information have been described previously (16) and will only be briefly summarized here. Four sets of respiratory data were gathered at regular intervals from each of 10 normal infants, using an overlapping semilongitudinal model; the age range was from 2 to 2 5 5 days. Data-gathering sessions took place in the infants’ homes or in the newborn nursery. It was deemed preferable to observe cry behavior which was not pain-elicited, thereby eliminating possible ambiguities resulting from nonrespiratory reflex responses to a painful stimulus. The crying behavior analyzed was spontaneous, and apparently reflected hunger, since it occurred at the infant’s habitual feeding time and was, in fact, stilled by feeding.
227
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
C. N . WILDER AND R. J. BAKEN
Respiration during crying was evaluated as a motor activity observable as circumferential changes in the thorax and abdomen. The data were obtained with the use of the portable multichannel impedance pneumograph described by Baken and Matz (1). The pneumographic output was fed'to one channel of a stereo tape recorder; simultaneous recording of cry sounds was done on the other channel. The vocal signal was used in defining respiratory markers during crying, but its quality was not evaluated. One thousand respiratory cycles during crying were analyzed, 2 5 from each of the 40 data-recording sessions. The samples selected were free from contamination by extraneous physical movements and were taken from a midpoint of the crying activity. Temporal data were analyzed in terms of duration of inspiratory and expiratory phases, which were compared to each other in terms of the I-fraction (the ratio of inspiratory duration to the total duration of the respiratory cycle). Measurable expansions and contractions of the abdominal and/or thoracic wall during the course of a continuously voiced expiration (referred to as expiratory subcycles) were also enumerated.
C. RESULTS The temporal patterns of respiration during crying showed marked changes as a function of age. Over the first eight months of life, there was a steady increase in the mean duration of respiratory cycles which was reflected in a more than 50 percent decrease in the mean respiratory rate (BPM) during crying. The decrease in BPM was accounted for entirely by increased duration of the expiratory phase, which more thandoubled. In the face of this increased expiratory duration, the duration of inspiration remained remarkably stable, fluctuating minimally around .28 sec. This resulted in a reduction of the I-fraction from 19 percent to 11 percent over the age range in question. TABLE 1 TEMPORAL MEASURES OF CRYING RESPIRATION Duration (sec) Age (months)
Total Cycle Mean SD 1.20 1.50 1.62 1.70 1.74 1.91 2.07 2.57
.13 .35 .41
.SO .83 .40 .38 .58
Inspiration Mean SD .23 .28 .26 .27 .28 .28 .29 .29
.01 .05 .06
.04 .05 .06
.04 .05
Expiration Mean SD .97 1.22 1.35 1.42 1.45 1.62 1.79 2.26
.14 .33 .37 .52 .78 .36 .39
.55
Mean rate (BPM)
Mean I-fraction
50.0 40.0 37.0 35.3 34.5 31.4 29.0 23.4
19.1 18.4 16.0 15.8 15.8 14.8 12.7 11.3
(96)
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30E n a I
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YI
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.-. . -.-.-.
.
0.5-
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U
v
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-
. o
mos
FIGURE 1 MEANDURATION AND RATE OF RESPIRATORY CYCLES (CIRCLES, LEFTINDEX)AND MEANI-FRACTION (TRIANGLES, RIGHTINDEX)AS A FUNCTIONOF AGE
Furthermore, increases in expiratory duration were very highly correlated (Y = .99)with increases in the number of expiratory subcycles. A possible explanation for this correlation is that the fluctuations within an expiratory movement reflect the infants unskilled attempts to control the elastic recoil forces of expiration during prolonged voiced egressions of air. D.
DISCUSSION
Truby, Bosma, and Lind (12) suggested that infant cry should be considered as a compound phenomenon-act plus sound. They further stated that “the crying act comprises motor activity, singularly involving the respiratory tract” (12, p. 9). Seen from this viewpoint, as in the present study, there appear to be developmental changes in the crying act during the first eight months of life. During this period, the infant increases his ability to accomplish the rather complex motor coordinations required for the repeated negotiation of rapid inspiration, coupled with prolonged, mostly voiced expiration-an ability which is necessary for normal speech production. These developmental changes in respiration during crying do not a m e a r
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
C. N . WILDER AND R. J. BAKEN
229
consistent with the findings of Wasz-Hockert et al. (13) regarding a lack of developmental changes in the acoustic patterns of hunger cries from one to seven months of age, particularly with respect to the duration of the cry signal. This discrepancy may be explained by the fact that they analyzed cry strictly as an acoustic phenomenon, essentially divorced from the underlying motor act. However, it has been demonstrated that both acoustic and respiratory markers are required for accurate measurement of the duration of a single cry egression, one reason being that the acoustic duration of the cry signal is not always an accurate reflection of the underlying motor activity (15). Truby et al. (12, pp. 16-17), who investigated both respiratory and acoustic aspects of neonatal cries, noted that a single egression might have “interjected silences,” adding that in such instances, “silence does not indicate muscular inactivity but precisely the reverse: maximal physical effort apparently can have its counterpart in minimal acoustic intensity.” When this occurs, the duration of the acoustic signal will be less than the duration of the expiratory phase, even if all phonatory activity during the egression is summed. Wasz-Hockert et al. were aware of this phenomenon and noted that hunger cries, in particular, were characterized by short, plosive phonatory bursts, with interjected silent intervals. However, they felt that measuring all the phonation during any expiration “would make analysis so time-consuming as to be impossible” (13, p. 9). They also rejected the notion of measuring the time between the first and last vocalization during a single expiration. Rather, they developed an arbitrary definition of the length of the cry signal as “the time between the first and last vocalizations of more than .4 sec” (13, p. 9), and excluded shorter vocalizations before and after the “main” signal, as well as any silent intervals between vocalizations. This definition may have served to exacerbate any differences between the durations of the acoustic signal and the underlying expiratory event, and consequently may have masked developmental changes in the duration of the egressive phase of the hunger cry. This paper presents the results of a preliminary investigation. Although no normative inferences can be drawn because of the small number of Ss, the data suggest that (a)further investigation of developmental changes in infant cry may be fruitful, (6) the crying act may be a more sensitive developmental indicator than the crying s o u n d , and (c) respiratory measures may present a practical means of assessing the motor activity underlying infant cry. In spite of the fact that they are limited to one aspect of respiratory behavior, pneumographic measures of crying respiration offer certain advantages. The instrumentation is portable and relatively inexpensive. Dabgathering procedures are innocuous to the S and do not interfere with the behavior under
230
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observation. And finally, simple, quantifiable measures may be made in a wide variety of settings without undue concern for ambient noise. These factors should make possible the eventual elaboration of developmental norms. If such norms are established, respiratory measures during crying may provide a new, objective measure of the developmental status of the infant.
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 11:13 12 April 2015
REFERENCES 1. 2.
BAKEN,R. J., & MATZ,B. J. A portable impedance pneumograph. Hum. Communic., 1973, 2, 28-38. DEMING,J., & WASHBURN, A. Respiration in infancy. Amer. J. Dis. in Child., 1935,49, 108- 124.
3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
9.
10. 11.
12. 13.
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