Abstract:
The relationship between the child's cogni tive development and
neurological maturation has been of theoretical interest for many
year s. Due to diff iculties such as the lack of sophisticated
techniques for measur ing neurolog ical changes and a paucity of
normative data, few studies exist that have attempted to
correlate the two factors. Recent theory on intellectual
development has proposed that neurological maturation may be a
factor in the increase of short-term memory storage space.
Improved technology has allowed reliable recordings of
neurolog ical maturation.. In an attempt to correlate cogni tive
development and neurological maturation, this study tested 3-and
II-year old children. Fine motor and gross motor short-term
memory tests were used to index cogni tive development.
Somatosensory evoked potentials elici ted by median nerve
stimulation were used to measure the time required for the
sensation to pass along the nerve to specific points on the
somatosensory pathway. Times were recorded for N14, N20, and P22
interpeak latencies. Maturation of the central nervous system
(brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system
(outside the brain and spinal cord) was indi~ated by the
recorded times. Signif icant developmental di fferences occurred
between 3-and ll-year-olds in memory levels, per ipheral
conduction velocity and central conduction times. Linear
regression analyses showed that as age increased, memory levels
increased and central conduction times decreased. Between the
ll-year-old groups, there were no significant differences in
central or peripheral nervous system maturation between subjects
who achieved a 12 plus score on the digit span test of the WISC-R
and those who scored 7 or lower on the same test. Levels
achieved on the experimental gross and fine motor short-term
memory tests differed significantly within the ll-year-old group.
