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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
Published on: February 18, 2012
Spontaneous awakenings in preterm and term infants assessed throughout 24-h video-recordings
Fiorenza Giganti1, Gianluca Ficca, Giovanni Cioni
1Department of Psychology, University of Florence, Via S. Niccolò 93, 50125 Florence, Italy. fiorenza.giganti@unifi.it
Insights
Infant sleep development shows awakenings increase in duration before term age, indicating a gap in sustaining wakefulness versus prolonged sleep. This impacts preterm infant care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Sleep science
- Infant motility analysis
Background:
- Understanding infant sleep patterns is crucial for assessing neurodevelopment.
- Preterm infants exhibit distinct sleep-wake cycles compared to term infants.
- Early detection of developmental differences in sleep is vital for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of awakenings in low-risk infants from preterm to term age.
- To analyze the characteristics and duration of infant awakenings based on motility patterns.
- To identify potential developmental gaps in sleep regulation during early infancy.
Main Methods:
- Observational study of 12 low-risk infants between 33 and 40 weeks post-conceptional age.
- Waking detection through detailed analysis of infant body motility.
- Classification of movements to differentiate between waking, crying, and specific motility patterns.
Main Results:
- The total number of awakenings per 24 hours did not significantly change with post-conceptional age.
- The mean duration of awakenings significantly increased with age, particularly those starting with crying.
- Awakenings starting with crying showed a notable increase in duration during daytime observations.
Conclusions:
- Infants develop the ability to sustain waking states before term, but prolonged sleep maintenance matures later.
- A developmental dissociation exists between sustaining wakefulness and maintaining consolidated sleep periods.
- Distinct types of awakenings, differentiated by crying or wakefulness onset, may be influenced by separate regulatory factors.
Abstract:
The study aimed to evaluate the development of awakenings during preterm and term age in 12 low-risk infants observed between 33 and 40 weeks of post-conceptional age. Waking was been detected through the analysis of body motility. Gross generalized body movements with prolonged startles, marked stretching and writhing was considered as waking, whereas vigorous, forceful abrupt body movements with high frequency tremor sometimes superimposed upon movements were considered as corresponding to crying. Total number of awakenings in the 24 h does not show significant changes with age, whereas the mean duration increases significantly, which is accounted for mainly by those awakenings starting with crying, in particular, during the day. These data suggest a developmental gap between the ability to sustain the waking state, which already starts to increase before term age, and the ability to maintain prolonged sleep episodes, which has been shown to develop later. Furthermore, the developmental difference between awakenings starting with crying and awakenings starting with wakefulness suggests that two kinds of awakenings might be modulated by different factors.
