Cry analysis of infants with karyotype abnormality.

Sound spectrography was used to analyze 135 pain cries from 14 infants with a karyotype abnormality. At the time of the cry recording the children were from one day to seven months old, except for one child who was 2 years 10 months at the second recording. The cries were compared with 30 pain cries from 15 healthy infants of corresponding age. The children with an abnormality of chromosome 4 or 5 had cries with a significantly higher fundamental frequency than the control infants. Additionally, the cry in the "Cri-du-Chat" syndrome had a flat, monotonous melody type. The cries of infants with 13- or 18-trisomy were hoarse, low-pitched, with the shift parts absent. The cries in karyotype abnormalities were also different from pain cries of infants with other disorders involving the central nervous system. This study suggests that cry analysis can provide a valuable indication of the presence of a chromosome anomaly.