La capacidad de los neonatos de regular sus estados de conciencia y la habituación ¿marcadores tempranos de dificultades en el desarrollo? / Neonatal capacity of regulation of behavioral states and habituation ¿Early markers of neurodevelopment impairment?

Desde la etapa neonatal, la detección temprana de marcadores conductuales de alteraciones sutiles en el neurodesarrollo, es un campo todavía en crecimiento. El objetivo de esta revisión es describir los mecanismos que subyacen a la conducta del neonato durante la aplicación de la subescala de habituación que forma parte de la Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS), con especial énfasis en la vía visual. Se destacan el papel de la habituación y la regulación de los estados de conciencia como los mecanismos fundamentales durante el primer estímulo y del segundo al décimo estímulo, en dicha escala. Estos procesos representan una capacidad fundamental para la adaptación del recién nacido y se discuten sus posibles implicaciones en el desempeño cognitivo posterior.

Since the neonatal stage, early detection of behavioral markers of subtle impairments in neurodevelopment is a field still under growth. The objective of this review is to describe the mechanisms underlying neonatal behavior during the habituation scale of NBAS, that emphasizes the visual pathway. The role of habituation and the regulation of behavioral states are highlighted during the first stimuli and the second to ten stimuli, during performance of NBAS. Those processes represent a fundamental capacity for newborns´ adaptation and are discussed in line to later cognitive performance.

The Effects of Kangaroo Care on Body Weight, Physiologic Responses and Behavioral States in Premature Infants / 간호학회지

This study was performed to investigate the effect of kangaroo care on body weight, physiological responses and behavioral states in premature infants. The subjects were 32 premature infants, fifteen for the kangaroo care group and seventeen for the control group, who hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit at a university-affiliated hospital. The kangaroo care was applied 8 times during the twenty five days with 40 minutes for each session. The kangaroo care provides the skin-to-skin contact during which a premature infant wearing a diaper and a hat is placed on its mother's chest. As for the measures, body weight was measured everyday. The levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine and 17-OHCS were measured twice, before beginning the first intervention and after finishing the last intervention. While each session of the care is undergoing, such physiological responses were measured periodically as heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen saturation, core temperature and skin temperature. The results were as follows : 1. The weight gain was significantly greater in the kangaroo care group than that in the control group during the period of performing the kangaroo care. 2. No significant difference was revealed between the two groups in heart rate, respiration rate, oxygen saturation and core temperature. The kangaroo care group also showed significant increases in the skin temperature. 3. The differences in the levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine and 17-OHCS were not significant between the kangaroo care and the control groups. The level of norepinephrine in the two groups was significantly increased over time. 4. Sleep pattern changed significantly in the kangaroo group from a very restless sleep to a very quiet sleep. These results suggest that kangaroo care is an effective nursing intervention for premature infants in gaining weight, achieving stable physiological responses and facilitating a quiet sleep.