Dynamic touch reduces physiological arousal in preterm infants: A role for c-tactile afferents?

Andrea Manzotti, Francesco Cerritelli, Jorge E Esteves, Gianluca Lista, Erica Lombardi, Simona La Rocca, Alberto Gallace, Francis P McGlone, Susannah C Walker, Andrea Manzotti, Francesco Cerritelli, Jorge E Esteves, Gianluca Lista, Erica Lombardi, Simona La Rocca, Alberto Gallace, Francis P McGlone, Susannah C Walker

Abstract

Preterm birth is a significant risk factor for a range of long-term health problems and developmental disabilities. Though touch plays a central role in many perinatal care strategies, the neurobiological basis of these approaches is seldom considered. C-Tactile afferents (CTs) are a class of unmyelinated nerve fibre activated by low force, dynamic touch. Consistent with an interoceptive function, touch specifically targeted to activate CTs activates posterior insular cortex and has been reported to reduce autonomic arousal. The present study compared the effect of 5 min of CT optimal velocity stroking touch to 5 min of static touch on the heart-rate and oxygen saturation levels of preterm infants between 28- & 37-weeks gestational age. CT touch produced a significant decrease in infants' heart-rates and increase in their blood oxygenation levels, which sustained throughout a 5-min post-touch period. In contrast, there was no significant change in heart-rate or blood oxygenation levels of infants receiving static touch. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that CTs signal the affective quality of nurturing touch, providing a neurobiological substrate for the apparent beneficial effects of neonatal tactile interventions and offering insight for their optimisation.

Keywords: Affective; C-tactile; Heart-rate; Infant; Preterm; Touch.

Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timeline of the experiment, showing the position of all infants throughout the intervention and representative positioning of the experimenter’s hand during the static touch condition.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A) The time course in seconds of heart-rate in response to Dynamic and Static touch during the 5-min-long Touch & Post-Touch periods. Data are presented as change in beats-per-minute from Baseline for 10*30-s-long epochs in each period. The shaded area represents +/− 1 S.E. B) Bar-chart displaying the mean heart-rate recorded in the Dynamic and Static touch conditions during the Touch and Post-Touch periods. Again, data are presented as change in beats per-minute from Baseline. Error bars show +/− 1 S.E. Black lines indicate the significant effect of Group. The grey line indicates the significant effect of Time. **p < 0.01.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
A) The time course in seconds of blood oxygen-saturation levels (%) in response to Dynamic and Static touch during the 5-min-long Touch & Post-Touch periods. Data are presented as change in percentage saturation from Baseline for 10*30-s-long epochs in each period. The shaded area represents +/− 1 S.E. B) Bar-chart displaying the mean blood oxygen-saturation level recorded in the Dynamic and Static touch conditions during the Touch and Post-Touch periods. Again, data are presented as change in percentage saturation from Baseline. Error bars show +/− 1 S.E. Black lines indicate the significant effect of Group. *p < 0.05.

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