Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Altered brainstem sensory processing as assessed by reflex modification procedures in infants at risk for apnea
E K Anday1, M E Cohen, G Daumit
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104.
Insights
Premature infants with respiratory issues show altered brainstem function. Lower blink reflex responses in monitored infants suggest a link between apnea and sensory processing deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Auditory Processing
Background:
- Premature infants often experience respiratory abnormalities like apnea.
- Understanding brainstem function is crucial for assessing neurological development in preterm infants.
- Sensory processing capabilities can be affected by prematurity and associated medical interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between respiratory abnormalities and brainstem neuronal function in premature infants.
- To assess sensory processing in high-risk premature infants using reflex modification tests.
- To determine if acoustic sensory processing is linked to ventilatory patterns and apnea in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-three premature infants underwent a 12-hour pneumocardiogram and reflex modification test.
- Reflex modification involved an eyeblink response to a glabella tap, with and without an acoustic stimulus.
- Infant groups were categorized based on cardiac/apnea monitoring status and clinical apnea occurrence.
Main Results:
- Infants discharged on cardiac/apnea monitors exhibited significantly lower eyeblink reflex amplitudes compared to unmonitored infants.
- A subgroup of monitored infants with post-discharge apnea showed markedly reduced glabellar eyeblink response augmentation.
- These findings indicate a potential link between impaired acoustic sensory processing and altered brainstem function in preterm infants with respiratory issues.
Conclusions:
- Abnormalities in ventilatory patterns and clinical apnea in preterm infants may be associated with altered acoustic sensory processing.
- This suggests potential alterations in brainstem neuronal function and organization in affected infants.
- Further research is warranted to explore the neurophysiological underpinnings of respiratory control and sensory integration in preterm neonates.
Abstract:
Reflex modification procedures were used to test sensory processing in premature infants to examine the relationship between respiratory abnormalities and brainstem neuronal function. A total of 73 premature infants at risk for apnea and/or infants receiving methylxanthine therapy was given a 12-h pneumocardiogram and reflex modification test at a comparable postconceptional age, before discharge. Reflex modification was tested using a controlled eyeblink-eliciting tap to the glabella presented either alone or with a 1 kHz 90-dB SPL tone. The amplitude of the glabellar tap eyeblink and acoustically modified blink were lower in infants discharged on cardiac/apnea monitors (n = 36) than in the unmonitored group (1.44 and 1.59 volts versus 2.15 and 2.39 V, p less than 0.005, respectively). At follow-up, 12 monitored infants had clinically significant apnea after discharge. The records of this subgroup of infants revealed a significantly lower augmentation of the glabellar eyeblink response when compared to all infants screened for respiratory abnormalities and to the other monitored babies (p less than 0.01). The data suggest that abnormalities of the ventilatory pattern and occurrence of clinical apnea in preterm infants may in some measure be related to acoustic sensory processing, implying an alteration of brainstem neuronal function and organization.
