There has been a long-standing interest in the predictive validity of neonatal neurobehavioral assessments. From a scientific point of view, relations between neonatal neurobehavior and later behavioral outcome would support developmental theories that argue for the continuity and biological basis of later child outcome by “ruling out” the effects of the postnatal environment. From a practical point of view, the early detection of infants with poor developmental outcome would invite the study of preventive interventions that could ameliorate or reduce the severity of long-term developmental deficits