Autonomic Nervous System Maturation and Emotional Coordination in Interactions of Preterm and Full-Term Infants With Their Parents: Protocol for a Multimethod Study (original) (raw)
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2021
BACKGROUND There is limited knowledge on the physiological and behavioral pathways that may affect the developmental outcomes of preterm infants and particularly on the link between autonomic nervous system maturation and early social human behavior. Thus, this study attempts to investigate the way heart rate variability (HRV) parameters are related to emotional coordination in interactions of preterm and full-term infants with their parents in the first year of life and the possible correlation with the developmental outcomes of infants at 18 months. OBJECTIVE The first objective is to investigate the relationship between emotional coordination and HRV in dyadic full-term infant–parent (group 1) and preterm infant–parent (group 2) interactions during the first postpartum year. The second objective is to examine the relationship of emotional coordination and HRV in groups 1 and 2 in the first postpartum year with the developmental outcomes of infants at 18 months. The third objectiv...
Healthcare
Background: Preterm neonates show decreased HRV compared to those at full-term. We compared HRV metrics between preterm and full-term neonates in transfer periods from neonate rest state to neonate–parent interaction, and vice versa. Methods: Short-term recordings of the HRV parameters (time and frequency-domain indices and non-linear measurements) of 28 premature healthy neonates were compared with the metrics of 18 full-term neonates. HRV recordings were performed at home at term-equivalent age and HRV metrics were compared between the following transfer periods: from first rest state of the neonate (TI1) to a period in which the neonate interacted with the first parent (TI2), from TI2 to a second neonate rest state (TI3), and from TI3 to a period of neonate interaction with the second parent (TI4). Results: For the whole HRV recording period, PNN50, NN50 and HF (%) was lower for preterm neonates compared to full-terms. These findings support the reduced parasympathetic activity o...
Developmental Psychobiology, 2021
In this study we assessed whether physiological synchrony between infants and mothers contributes to infants' emotion regulation following a mild social stressor. Infants between 4to 6-months of age and their mothers were tested in the Face-to-Face-Still-Face paradigm, and were assessed for behavioral and physiological self-regulation during and following the stressor. Physiological synchrony was calculated from a continuous measure of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) enabling us to cross-correlate the infants' and mothers' RSA responses. Without considering physiological synchrony, the evidence suggested that infants' distress followed the prototypical pattern of increasing during the Still Face episode and then decreasing during the Reunion episode. Once physiological synchrony was added to the model, we observed that infants' emotion regulation improved if mother-infant synchrony was positive, but not if it was negative. This result was qualified further by whether or not infants suppressed their RSA response during the Still Face episode. In sum, these findings highlight how individual differences in infants' physiological responses contribute significantly to their self-regulation abilities.
2021
In this study we assessed whether physiological synchrony between infants and mothers contributes to infants' emotion regulation following a mild social stressor. Infants between 4to 6-months of age and their mothers were tested in the Face-to-Face-Still-Face paradigm, and were assessed for behavioral and physiological self-regulation during and following the stressor. Physiological synchrony was calculated from a continuous measure of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) enabling us to cross-correlate the infants' and mothers' RSA responses. Without considering physiological synchrony, the evidence suggested that infants' distress followed the prototypical pattern of increasing during the Still Face episode and then decreasing during the Reunion episode. Once physiological synchrony was added to the model, we observed that infants' emotion regulation improved if mother-infant synchrony was positive, but not if it was negative. This result was qualified further by whether or not infants suppressed their RSA response during the Still Face episode. In sum, these findings highlight how individual differences in infants' physiological responses contribute significantly to their self-regulation abilities.
Physiological and Relational Predictors of Mother-Infant Behavioral Coordination
Coordinated social behavior and positive affect shared between parent and child in early life provide a foundation for healthy social and emotional development. We examined physiological (cardiac vagal responses) and relational (attachment security) predictors of dyadic behavioral coordination in a sample of 13-month-old infants and their mothers (N = 64). We tested whether cardiac vagal responses moderated the association between attachment security and behavioral coordination. The main effect of attachment on coordination was moderated by infant cardiac vagal tone (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA] during rest). Securely attached infants with lower cardiac vagal tone were more behaviorally coordinated with their mothers; there was no association between attachment and coordination for infants with high cardiac vagal tone. Infants with greater increases in cardiac vagal reactivity (i.e., RSA during social engagement) exhibited greater behavioral coordination with their mothers regardless of attachment status. There were no effects for maternal cardiac vagal responses. These results illustrate how individual differences in physiological responses inform healthy early social-emotional functioning. Keywords Cardiac vagal tone. Cardiac vagal reactivity. RSA. Attachment. Dyad The building blocks for lifelong social-emotional functioning are established by the quality of early parent–child interactions. Regular experiences of shared positive affect Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology
Autonomic regulation of preterm infants is enhanced by Family Nurture Intervention
Developmental Psychobiology, 2019
Preterm infants have maturational delays in several neurobehavioral systems. This study assesses the impact of the Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on the maturation of autonomic regulation of preterm infants. Preterm infants born at 26–34 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) were assigned to groups receiving either standard care (SC) or SC plus FNI, using a randomized controlled trial design. At two collection time points, approximately 35 weeks and 41 weeks PMA, electrocardiograms (ECG) were monitored for approximately 1 hour during sleep. Heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were quantified from the ECG. Across the two time points, the FNI group exhibited greater increases in RSA (Cohen's d = 0.35) and slope between RSA and heart rate, as a measure of vagal efficiency (Cohen's d = 0.62). These results document that FNI resulted in enhanced autonomic regulation consistent with greater maturation of cardiac function. These a...
Cardiac interaction between mother and infant: enhancement of heart rate variability
Scientific Reports, 2019
The vagal activity of infants is represented by heart rate variability (HRV) and associated with both growth and socioemotional development. The enhancement of an infant’s vagal tone activity might be beneficial for development. This study explored whether HRV in infants aged 3–8 months can be enhanced by influencing HRV in mothers (40 dyads). The power of the low frequency (LF) component of maternal HRV was facilitated using slow-paced breathing. We investigated whether the change in maternal HRV affected the LF component in infants held by their mothers. In older infants (N = 14, 6–8 months) the LF power showed an increase during maternal paced breathing, whereas a delayed increase occurred after termination of maternal paced breathing in younger infants (N = 16, 3–5 months). These results show that the effects of maternal cardiac activity on the infant’s HRV are age-dependent. This age-dependent reactivity of the infant’s HRV could be due to the development of the inner model in infants which regulates physiological functions, including cardiac activity. This finding might help develop efficient methods for enhancing vagal nerve activity in infants.
Development and Psychopathology, 2016
This study examined whether risk status and cumulative risk were associated with autonomic nervous system reactivity and recovery, and emotion regulation in infants. The sample included 121 6-month-old infants. Classification of risk status was based on World Health Organization criteria (e.g., presence of maternal psychopathology, substance use, and social adversity). Heart rate, parasympathetic respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and sympathetic preejection period were examined at baseline and across the still face paradigm. Infant emotion regulation was coded during the still face paradigm. Infants in the high-risk group showed increased heart rate, parasympathetic withdrawal, and sympathetic activation during recovery from the still face episode. Higher levels of cumulative risk were associated with increased sympathetic nervous system activation. Moreover, increased heart rate during recovery in the high-risk group was mediated by both parasympathetic and sympathetic activity, indica...
Developmental Psychobiology, 2007
Relations between maternal postpartum behavior and the emergence of parent-infant relatedness as a function of infant autonomic maturity were examined in 56 premature infants (birthweight ¼ 1000-1500 g) and 52 full-term infants. Maternal behavior, mother depressive symptoms, and infant cardiac vagal tone were assessed in the neonatal period. Infant-mother and infant-father synchrony, maternal and paternal affectionate touch, and the home environment were observed at 3 months. Premature birth was associated with higher maternal depression, less maternal behaviors, decreased infant alertness, and lower coordination of maternal behavior with infant alertness in the neonatal period. At 3 months, interactions between premature infants with their mothers and fathers were less synchronous. Interaction effects of premature birth and autonomic maturity indicated that preterm infants with low vagal tone received the lowest amounts of maternal behavior in the postpartum and the least maternal touch at 3 months. Infant-mother and infant-father synchrony were each predicted by cardiac vagal tone and maternal postpartum behavior in both the preterm and full-term groups. Among preterm infants, additional predictors of parent-infant synchrony were maternal depression (mother only) and the home environment (mother and father). Findings are consistent with evolutionary perspectives on the higher susceptibility of dysregulated infants to rearing contexts and underscore the compensatory mechanisms required for social-emotional growth under risk conditions for parent-infant bonding.
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and social interaction patterns in preterm newborns
Infant Behav Develop, 1995
Recent evidence suggests that the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) may be a useful predictor of cognitive and affective development in high-risk infants. Stability and relations among RSA and behavioral measures were studied in healthy and sick (respiratory and/or central nervous system disorders) preterm newborns at approximately 35 and 42 weeks postconceptional age (PCA). The Hobel Neonatal Complications Factor score was used to measure the extent of neonatal illnesses potentially associated with subsequent developmental risk. At each age, an electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded for 10 min each during active sleep and social interaction. The amplitude of RSA was derived from ECG using the Porges (1986) method to estimate cardiac vagal tone (V). The study examined the relationship between neonatal RSA and simultaneous videotaped recordings of infants' focused attention, unfocused alertness, and distressed/avoidant behavior under two conditions: (a) during a standardized protocol for responsive social interaction with an examiner at 35 and 42 weeks; and (b) during an unstructured interaction session with their mothers at 42 weeks, At 35 weeks, RSA was related to neonatal behavior with an examiner. In addition, the 35.week RSA and behavioral measures were predictive of maternal and infant interaction behavior at 42 weeks. These preliminary findings suggest that an assessment protocol which includes social interaction behavior and RSA may be useful in identifying infants who are at greatest risk for developmental and relationship disturbances. respiratory sinus arrhythmia preterm infants infant risk attention interaction vogol tone social interaction neonotal risk Recent research suggests that the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reflects the influence of the parasympathetic nervous system on the heart via the vagus, as well as general nervous system integrity in the newborn (Porges, 1992). Studies have demonstrated that measures of RSA during early infancy are related to temperament and behavioral style (DeGangi, DiPietro, Greenspan, & Porges, 1991), as well as cognitive and affective outcomes in high-risk