Lj. Groome et al., Fetuses and neonates have different heart rate responses to low-intensity stimulation in quiet sleep, INFANT BEH, 23(1), 2000, pp. 61-77
A sustained heart rate (HR) deceleration, elicited by low-intensity stimula
tion, is considered part of Sokolov's generalized orienting reflex and is a
useful measure of information processing in nonverbal subjects, This study
was undertaken to investigate developmental changes in the perinatal perio
d in information processing during quiet sleep (QS). Twenty-six infants wer
e tested as fetuses at 36-40 weeks and again as neonates at a postnatal age
of 2 weeks. Quiet sleep was defined in the same way for fetuses and neonat
es, and the same airborne sound was used for fetal and neonatal testing. We
found that stimulation elicited a sustained, monophasic HR deceleration in
the majority of fetuses. However, the response was more heterogenous when
these infants were tested after birth, with approximately half the 2-week-o
ld infants exhibiting a prolonged HR deceleration and half exhibiting a HR
acceleration. These data provide evidence that a developmental change may o
ccur, between the prenatal and postnatal periods, in information processing
during QS. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.