A Neurobehavioural Study in Pre-School Children The focus in this study is on relationships between neurological findings and free-field behavior in preschool children. The study was triggered by the problem of learning and behavior disorders in children, which are supposed to be related to a non-optimal condition of the nervous system and which are described in the literature under headings such as "minimal brain dysfunction (M.B.D.)" or "special learning disorders." There is much confusion and controversy as to the exact kinds of neurobehavioral relationships and their etiology. The study addresses the answer to this question: What are the relationships between neurological findings and "free-field" behavior, directly observed in variously structured environments, in a group of preschool aged children with a variety of minor neurological dysfunctions but without serious neurological handicaps and not selected because of behavioral problems? Additionally, direct observation and quantitative analyses of free-field behavior has not been used previously in relation to the M.B.D. problem nor on such a large scale in other human studies, but is promising as it can be applied in a variety of clinical and developmental problems. |