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Sleeping like a baby--does gender influence infant arousability?

Heidi L Richardson1, Adrian M Walker, Rosemary S C Horne

  • 1The Ritchie Centre, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Sleep
|September 7, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Male infants showed easier arousal during quiet sleep at 2-4 weeks, but this gender difference disappeared by 2-3 months. This suggests gender differences in cortical arousal are unlikely to explain the higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in males.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is linked to arousal pathway abnormalities.
  • Male infants have a higher incidence of SIDS, potentially due to delayed cortical maturation.
  • Investigating gender differences in arousal is crucial for understanding SIDS risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that male infants have lower cortical arousal (CA) frequency and higher CA threshold during sleep.
  • To compare arousal thresholds and frequencies between male and female infants at different developmental stages.

Main Methods:

  • Polysomnography was used to study 50 healthy term infants (21 male, 29 female) at 2-4 weeks and 2-3 months.
  • A pulsatile air-jet stimulus was applied to the nostrils to induce sleep arousal.
  • Subcortical activation (SCA) and cortical arousal (CA) were measured.

Main Results:

  • At 2-4 weeks, male infants required lower stimulus intensity for arousal during quiet sleep (QS) compared to females.
  • This gender difference in arousal threshold was not present at 2-3 months.
  • Cortical arousal frequencies were similar between genders in both active sleep (AS) and QS at both ages.

Conclusions:

  • At 2-4 weeks, male infants are more easily aroused from QS than females.
  • No significant gender differences in arousal or CA frequency were found at 2-3 months, the peak SIDS age.
  • Gender differences in CA threshold or frequency are unlikely to explain the elevated SIDS risk in male infants.
Abstract

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