asphyxia at birth, it was quickly assumed that this was the cause of what was then known as "minimal brain dysfunction". After early delay in motor development, the monkeys appeared to "catch up", however Windle commented:
dexterity and a reduced level of spontaneous activity. . . They simply do not engage in all the activities of normal rhesus monkeys." [69, p83]
brainstem lesions caused by asphyxia at birth.
structures to become myelinated (and mature) in the human brain [70]. Damage to mature brain tissue is permanent. Repair did not occur in the brainstem of monkeys asphyxiated at birth, and growth of the cerebral cortex was disrupted. Synapse formation in the cortex appears to be dependent upon trophic transmitters in brainstem structures like the inferior colliculi [71]. Early brainstem impairments cannot be considered minimal. Every effort needs to be made to prevent even the briefest lapse in respiration at birth. |
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