Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 16, 2026
Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Preterm Stress Behaviors, Autonomic Indices, and Maternal Perceptions of Infant Colic
Fumiyuki C Gardner1, Cherie S Adkins, Sarah E Hart
1Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Hershey, College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania (Drs Gardner and Doheny); Stabler Department of Nursing, York College of Pennsylvania, York (Dr Adkins); Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Management, Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr Hart); and Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Penn State Hershey, College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania (Drs Travagli and Doheny).
Insights
Preterm infants
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development and biobehavioral research.
- Understanding infant stress and regulatory systems.
Background:
- Preterm infants exhibit subtle stress behaviors, making them vulnerable to regulatory issues like colic.
- Biobehavioral measures, including heart rate variability (HRV), can help interpret preterm infant stress responses.
- Cardiac vagal tone, a component of HRV, is crucial for understanding infant regulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between preterm infants' self-consoling behaviors and high-frequency (HF) HRV in the first week of life.
- To determine if these factors are inverse correlates of future colic risk.
- To explore the relationship between stress behaviors, HRV, and colic.
Main Methods:
- Thirty preterm infants (mean PMA 32.7 weeks) were observed using NIDCAP during routine care.
- Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured during the first week postbirth.
- Maternal reports of infant colic were collected at 6-8 weeks adjusted postnatal age; nonparametric tests analyzed associations.
Main Results:
- Self-consoling behaviors in preterm infants were positively associated with high-frequency (HF) HRV (vagal tone).
- Stress behaviors correlated positively with low-frequency/high-frequency HRV, indicating sympathetic dominance.
- Infants showing more stress behaviors also exhibited more self-consoling behaviors; no significant link to colic was found.
Conclusions:
- High-frequency HRV is a valuable, noninvasive indicator of an infant's stress modulation capacity, especially when behaviors are subtle.
- Further research with larger samples is needed to confirm if behavioral stress measures and HF-HRV can predict colic risk.
Background:
While biological and behavioral stress response systems are intact in early gestation, preterm infants' behaviors are often more subtle and difficult to interpret compared with full-term infants. They are also more vulnerable for regulatory issues (ie, colic) that are known to impact caregiver-infant interactions. Biobehavioral measures such as behavioral responsivity and heart rate variability (HRV), particularly cardiac vagal tone, may help elucidate preterm infants' stress/regulatory systems.
Purpose:
To test the hypotheses that preterm infants' consoling behaviors and high-frequency (HF) HRV in the first week of life are significantly associated and they are inverse correlates of future colic risk.
Methods/Search Strategy:
Thirty preterm (mean ± SE = 32.7 ± 0.3 weeks postmenstrual age [PMA]) infants underwent direct NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Development and Assessment Program) observation during routine care and had HRV measurements during their first week postbirth. Sixty-three percent of mothers completed the Infant Colic Scale at 6 to 8 weeks adjusted postnatal age. Nonparametric tests were used to determine associations among behaviors, HRV, and maternal perceptions of infant colic.
Findings/Results:
Self-consoling behaviors were positively associated with HF-HRV (vagal tone). In addition, stress behaviors were positively associated with low-frequency/high-frequency HRV (sympathetic dominance). Infants who displayed more stress behaviors also demonstrated more self-consoling behaviors. No significant associations were found with colic.
Implications For Practice:
HF-HRV provides information on the infant's capacity to modulate stress and is a useful, noninvasive measure when behaviors are more difficult to discern.
Implications For Research:
Further study in a larger sample is needed to determine whether behavioral stress measures and HF-HRV may be useful to determine colic risk.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
01:27Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle