Intellectual consequences of perinatal anoxia

Critically reviews research investigating the relationship between perinatal anoxia and intellectual functioning in humans. It is suggested that inconsistent findings are due to methodological differences varying on 3 research dimensions: assessment of anoxia, type of experimental design, and control variables. It is concluded that (a) intellectual impairment resulting from anoxia is more often found in infants and preschoolers than in older children and adolescents, (b) anoxic Ss as a group are not mentally retarded, (c) anoxia may increase the probability of being mentally retarded, and (d) deficits in specific intellectual abilities in anoxic Ss are not known as yet. Studies using matched-group designs are criticized. Future perinatal anoxia research using predictive models such as multiple regression are suggested and briefly discussed. (47 ref.)