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Abstract
Previous work on the effects of prestimulus state on newborn auditory response is briefly reviewed. Subjectively assessed responses of nine newborns by five observers were studied as a function of (1) prestimulus activity level and (2) duration of prestimulus observation period. Response assessment was significantly affected by the former but not by the latter. For sounds which elicited a high proportion of responses, the prestimulus activity level had relatively little effect on judgment of response, whereas for sounds (and no-sound ‘control’ trials) to which few responses were ascribed, prestimulus activity tended to be associated with positive ratings of response