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The Emergence of Self-Awareness in Preterm Infants: Insights From the Rooting Reflex

Alessia Touraton1, Fleur Lejeune2, Frédérique Berne Audéoud1

  • 1Intensive and Regular Neonatal Care Unit, CHRU Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|January 20, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Preterm infants show a preference for self-stimulation during the rooting reflex, suggesting early sensory self-awareness. This indicates an ability to differentiate self from non-self, crucial for infant development.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal development
  • Infant sensory processing
  • Developmental psychology

Background:

  • Touch is the earliest developing sense.
  • Sensory exploration in preterm infants may foster early self-awareness.
  • The rooting reflex is a key indicator of early sensory processing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate the emergence of sensory self-awareness in preterm infants.
  • To analyze behavioral responses of the rooting reflex in relation to stimulation type.
  • To investigate if preterm infants exhibit a preference for self-stimulation.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study of preterm infants (24-37 weeks gestational age).
  • Rooting reflex assessed via video in response to external and self-stimulation.
  • Comparison of four progressively complex behavioral responses between stimulation types.

Main Results:

  • Behavior 3 (mouth opening/tongue protrusion without head movement) was significantly more frequent during self-stimulation (35.7%) versus external stimulation (24.9%).
  • A statistically significant difference was observed (p=0.005).
  • No significant differences were found for other rooting reflex behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • Rooting reflex responses in preterm infants are dependent on stimulation type, with a preference for self-stimulation.
  • This preference suggests an early capacity to distinguish self from non-self.
  • Findings provide insights into preterm infant sensory processing and developmental care.
Abstract

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