ABSTRACT
The newborn’s psychobiological status is a product of congenital, prenatal, and birth conditions. Hereditary factors interact with intra-uterine biochemical factors, and both sets of conditions can be further complicated by obstetrical circumstances. By capitalizing on clinical-pediatric and behavioral assessment procedures, we should be able to carry out psychophysiological assessments on the newborn that will clearly reflect the course of and hazards inherent in embryonic and fetal development. Because specific prenatal hazards often have enduring effects, the newborn should be able to tell us whether things have gone badly or well. The neonate could become our collaborator in helping to forecast future developmental problems, and under the best of such circumstances might provide information about the probable success of various remedial interventions. The behavior of the newborn, in short, might provide the best, most valid indices of the “condition of the organism” that can be obtained. This dream is possible because so many advances have been made over the past two decades in the recording and understanding of sensory functioning, central nervous system integrity, and behavioral plasticity.
