Newborn Behavior Research Articles

"What" matters more than "Why"-Neonatal behaviors initiate social responses.

Newborns are born into a social environment that dynamically responds to them. Newborn behaviors may not have explicit social intentions but will nonetheless affect the environment. Parents contingently respond to their child, enabling newborns to learn about the consequences of their behaviors and encouraging the behavior itself. Consequently, newborn behaviors may serve both biological and social-cognitive purposes during development.

Analysis of the Impact of Selected Anesthetic Agents on Neurobehavioral State of a Newborn

Introduction. An increasing percentage of children are born through C-sections. Both mother and child are exposed to potential obstetric, anesthesia and neonatal complications. Hypoxia associated with obstetric or anesthetic complications can lead to fetal hypoxia, and induce adaptation difficulties in the postpartum period or permanent developmental disorders. Knowledge of issues related to the perioperative care of the mother and child will minimize complications and provide high-quality care.Aim. The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of opioids in analgesia and hypotension during C-section on neonatal neurobehavioral state.Material and Methods. The study involved 102 mothers and their babies born by C-section. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of PUM. The inclusion criterion was the lack of systemic diseases in the mother and the gestational age over 36 weeks. All mothers were subarachnoidally anesthetized for the labor. Newborns after two days of life were assessed by NBAS (Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale).Results. Neonatal reflexes in the study group were normal. Newborns of mothers who were added fentanyl to anesthesia, did not differ in behavior from the others (p>0.05). After adding Morphini Sulfas 0.1% Spinal to anesthesia there were observed statistically significant differences in the behavior of newborns, compared to infants whose mothers did not receive it, in terms of sound stimulus habituation (p=0.04) in favor of those whose mothers received MF Spinal intrathecally. Children of mothers anaesthetized without the addition of MF Spinal presented higher self-calming abilities than the others (p=0.03). The ability of calming down differed infants of mothers whose blood pressure declined during anesthesia (p=0.04).Conclusions. Subarachnoid anesthesia with opioid supplementation for C-section as well as an anesthesia-related decrease in blood pressure slightly affected neurobehavioral state of infants born by C-section comparing to those whose mothers had not received opioids intraspinally and had not experienced a blood pressure decrease. (JNNN 2016;5(3):92–98)

Development of sleep/wake, activity and temperature rhythms in newborns maintained in a neonatal intensive care unit and the impact of feeding schedules

Biological rhythms in infants are described as evolving from an ultradian to a circadian pattern along the first months of life. Recently, the use of actigraphy and thermistors with memory has contributed to the understanding of temporal relations of different variables along development. The aim of this study was to describe and compare the development of the rhythmic pattern of wrist temperature, activity/rest cycle, sleep/wake and feeding behavior in term and preterm newborns maintained in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). MethodsNineteen healthy preterm and seven fullterm newborns had the following variables monitored continuously while they were in the NICU: activity recorded by actigraphy, wrist temperature recorded with a thermistor and observed sleep and feeding behavior recorded by the NICU staff with diaries. Subjects were divided in 3 groups according to their gestational age at birth and rhythmic parameters were compared. ResultsA dominant daily rhythm was observed for wrist temperature since the first two weeks of life and no age relation was demonstrated. Otherwise, a daily pattern in activity/rest cycle was observed for most preterm newborns since 35 weeks of postconceptional age and was more robust in term babies. Feeding and sleep/wake data showed an almost exclusive 3h rhythm, probably related to a masking effect of feeding schedules. ConclusionsWe found that wrist temperature develops a daily pattern as soon as previously reported for rectal temperature, and with acrophase profile similar to adults. Moreover, we were able to find a daily rhythm in activity/rest cycle earlier than previously reported in literature. We also suggest that sleep/wake rhythm and feeding behavior follow independent developmental courses, being more suitable to masking effects.

Perinatal Education and Support Program: Baystate's New Beginnings.

Parent education traditionally focuses on childbirth, whereas the perinatal period gets little attention despite parents' reports of feeling unprepared. Lack of education surrounding newborn behavior leads to decreased maternal confidence and ineffective responsiveness to infant cues for feeding, crying, and sleep. This can cause overfeeding, lowered breastfeeding success, and contributes to parental stress which can impact maternal-infant bonding. Lack of postpartum maternal support adds to fatigue and stress which contributes to poor maternal well-being. This article describes an innovative perinatal program, Baystate's New Beginnings, modeled after the education from the 2011 California Baby Behavior Campaign and The Secrets of Baby Behavior that combines newborn behavior education and maternal support in the first 3 months postpartum to improve maternal role transition.

Newborn care in Urban slums: A missed opportunity

Introduction: Neonatal mortality and morbidity are the greatest challenges in the current health care scenario. Majority of neonates die because mothers fail to identify danger signs of illness, and inappropriate or delayed care seeking. Objective was to find out the awareness among mothers regarding newborn care, essential newborn care practices and health care seeking behaviour in Urban slums. Methodology: A cross sectional study was done among the study population of Urban slums, Bhangel, Noida which is the field practice area of Urban Health Training Centre, Department of Community Medicine, SMS&R, Greater Noida. Duration of the study was from 1st March to 31st August 2014. All mothers with infants less than 3months of age approaching the Urban Health Training Centre, Bhangel were taken as study subjects. Prevalidated semi structured questionnaire was used for interviewing mothers. Informed consent was taken from them about the participation in this study. Data was analysed using SPSS 17.0 version. Result and conclusion: Most of the mothers lacked awareness regarding newborn danger signs and essential newborn care practices. The common reasons behind harmful practices were lack of awareness, traditional and cultural taboos and lack of free time for those mothers who were working.

Posture effects on spontaneous limb movements, alternated stepping, and the leg extension response in neonatal rats

The development of postural control is considered an important factor for the expression of coordinated behavior such as locomotion. In the natural setting of the nest, newborn rat pups adapt their posture to perform behaviors of ecological relevance such as those related to suckling. The current study explores the role of posture in the expression of three behaviors in the newborn rat: spontaneous limb activity, locomotor-like stepping behavior, and the leg extension response (LER). One-day-old rat pups were tested in one of two postures – prone or supine – on each of these behavioral measures. Results showed that pups expressed more spontaneous activity while supine, more stepping while prone, and no differences in LER expression between the two postures. Together these findings show that posture affects the expression of newborn behavior patterns in different ways, and suggest that posture may act as a facilitator or a limiting factor in the expression of different behaviors during early development.

The Association Between Common Labor Drugs and Suckling When Skin-to-Skin During the First Hour After Birth.

BackgroundIntrapartum drugs, including fentanyl administered via epidural and synthetic oxytocin, have been previously studied in relation to neonatal outcomes, especially breastfeeding, with conflicting results. We examined the normal neonatal behavior of suckling within the first hour after a vaginal birth while in skin‐to‐skin contact with mother in relation to these commonly used drugs. Suckling in the first hour after birth has been shown in other studies to increase desirable breastfeeding outcomes.MethodProspective comparative design. Sixty‐three low‐risk mothers self‐selected to labor with intrapartum analgesia/anesthesia or not. Video recordings of infants during the first hour after birth while being held skin‐to‐skin with their mother were coded and analyzed to ascertain whether or not they achieved Stage 8 (suckling) of Widström's 9 Stages of newborn behavior during the first hour after birth.ResultsA strong inverse correlation was found between the amount and duration of exposure to epidural fentanyl and the amount of synthetic oxytocin against the likelihood of achieving suckling during the first hour after a vaginal birth.ConclusionsResults suggest that intrapartum exposure to the drugs fentanyl and synthetic oxytocin significantly decreased the likelihood of the baby suckling while skin‐to‐skin with its mother during the first hour after birth.

Newborn physiological responses to noise in the neonatal unit

IntroductionThe incorporation of technologies in the care of infants has contributed to increased survival; however, this has turned neonatal unit into a noisy environment. ObjectiveTo evaluate the physiological and functional effects resulting from the exposure to noise on low-weight newborns in incubators in a neonatal unit. MethodsProspective, observational, quantitative, exploratory, descriptive study. The adopted statistical method included tables of frequency, descriptive statistics, and Student's t-test, with a 0.05 level of significance. As data collection tools, the environmental noise and the noise inside of the incubator were evaluated, and the Assessment of Preterm Infant Behavior scale was used to assess premature newborn behavior and projected specifically to document the neurobehavioral functioning of preterm infants. The data collection occurred from September of 2012 to April of 2013; 61 low-weight newborns admitted in the neonatal unit and in incubators were observed. ResultsSignificant differences in the variables heart rate and oxygen saturation were noted when newborns were exposed to noise. ConclusionLow-weight neonates in incubators present physiological alterations when facing discomfort caused by environmental noise in neonatal units.

An Institutional Ethnography of Nurses’ Support of Breastfeeding on the Night Shift

To describe nurses' support of breastfeeding on the night shift and to identify the interpersonal interactions and institutional structures that affect this support. Institutional ethnography. The mother/baby unit of a tertiary care hospital with 4200 births per year. Registered nurses (N = 16) who provided care on the night shift to mother/infant dyads in the immediate postpartum period. Data were collected using focus groups, individual and group interviews, and mother/baby unit observations. The focus groups were held before the night shift and had five participants. The nine individual and group interviews were conducted between 0100 and 0230 on the mother/baby unit. Three unit observations were conducted. Interviews were recorded, professionally transcribed, and analyzed using a content analysis method. Data analysis yielded three themes that described these nurses' support of breastfeeding on the night shift: competing priorities, incongruent expectations, and influential institutional structures. The need of visitors to see their new family members competed with the needs of mothers to rest and breastfeed their newborns. Helping breastfeeding dyads who experienced difficulties competed with providing care to other patients. Parents' expectations regarding newborn behavior were incongruent with the reality of newborn feeding and sleeping patterns. Institutional structures that affected the provision of breastfeeding support by nurses included hospital breastfeeding practices, staffing, and policies. Nurses' support of breastfeeding on the night shift encompasses a complex interplay of interpersonal interactions with new families and visitors regarding priorities and expectations and negotiating institutional structures such as feeding policies and staffing.

Measurement of delayed bathing and early initiation of breastfeeding: a cross-sectional survey exploring experiences of data collectors in Ethiopia

BackgroundDelayed bathing and early initiation of breastfeeding are among the essential interventions recommended to save newborn lives. Although survey coverage reports are key to monitoring these interventions, few studies investigated whether such reports accurately reflect the proportion of mothers and children who received these interventions. In order to gather accurate data, guidance on how to interview and probe mothers is provided. In this study, we investigated experiences of data collectors when asking mothers survey questions that assessed delayed bathing and early initiation of breastfeeding.MethodsIn November 2013, using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire, we interviewed data collectors who had taken part in a population-based newborn health household survey in Ethiopia during October-November 2013. A total of 130 out of 160 invited data collectors completed and returned the self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data using SPSS software version 19. Qualitative data showing the variety of probes used by data collectors was analysed by listing, screening to identify common themes, and grouping by category.ResultsMost data collectors reported that, in their opinion, mothers were able to understand the meaning of the question about newborn bathing (n = 102, 79%) and breastfeeding initiation (n = 106, 82%) without the need for probes. However, fewer mothers were able to recall the event for either newborn behaviours and describe it in minutes, hours or days without the need for probes. Overall, only 26% (n = 34) and 34 % (n = 44) of all data collectors reported that they did not need any probing for the questions related to newborn bathing and breastfeeding initiation questions, respectively. We identified a variety of probes used by data collectors and present examples.ConclusionConsiderable probing was necessary to facilitate maternal recall of the events and approximate their responses of time regardless of mothers’ age, level of education and parity. This could potentially lead to inaccurate coverage reports due to subjective and inconsistent interpretation of the indicators. Therefore, we recommend inclusion of standard probes or follow-on questions to the existing survey tools assessing the two indicators. Data collectors also require further guidance in using appropriate probes to gather accurate maternal responses.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-015-0350-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Behavioral observation differentiates the effects of an intervention to promote sleep in premature infants: a pilot study.

Sleep and ongoing cycling of sleep states are required for neurosensory processing, learning, and brain plasticity. Many aspects of neonatal intensive care environments such as handling for routine and invasive procedures, bright lighting, and noise can create stress, disrupt behavior, and interfere with sleep in prematurely born infants. The study empirically investigated whether a 30-minute observation of infant sleep states and behavior could differentiate an intervention to promote sleep in premature infants with feeding difficulties relative to conventional care (standard positioning, standard crib mattress [SP]). We included an intervention to determine the ability of the method to discriminate treatments and generate a benchmark for future improvements. The intervention, a conformational positioner (CP), is contoured around the infant to provide customized containment and boundaries. To more fully verify the 30-minute observational sleep results, standard polysomnography was conducted simultaneously and sleep outcomes for the 2 modalities were compared. In a randomized crossover clinical trial, 25 infants, 31.5 ± 0.6 weeks' gestational age and 38.4 ± 0.6 weeks at the study, with gastrointestinal conditions or general feeding difficulties used each intervention during an overnight neonatal intensive care unit sleep study. Infant sleep states and behaviors were observed during two 30-minute periods--that is, on the positioner and mattress--using the naturalistic observation of newborn behavior. Two certified developmental care nurses assessed sleep state, self-regulatory, and stress behaviors during 2-minute intervals and summed over 30 minutes. Sleep characteristics from standard polysomnography were measured at the time of behavior observations. Infants on CP spent significantly less time in alert, active awake, or crying states by observation compared with SP. Surgical subjects spent more time awake, active awake, or crying and displayed a higher number of behavior state changes than the nonsurgical infants. The percentage of time in observed deep sleep and quiet sleep was correlated with both percentage sleep efficiency (r = 0.78) and fewer state shifts per hour (r = -0.65) from electroencephalogram (EEG). Sleep efficiency by EEG was greater on CP versus SP. The CP enabled sleep compared with the standard mattress (SP) over 30-minute observation periods. Sleep status from behavioral observation was verified by standard EEG-based sleep techniques. Behavioral observation of sleep states may be a useful strategy for measuring the effectiveness of strategies to facilitate sleep in premature infants. Surgical subjects may benefit from additional interventions to promote sleep.

The influence of population mixing on newborn shoaling behaviour in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

The introduction of non-native populations into new habitats where they can mix with the original inhabitants poses a major thread to the genetic distinctiveness of the native population. Interbreeding between introduced and native individuals can disrupt local adaptations and lead to outbreeding depression in resulting hybrid offspring. In the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), shoaling behaviour plays an important part in avoiding predators and is displayed from birth, but differences in shoaling tendency exist between populations. The populations used for our experiment reflect the ones involved in Haskins’ introduction more than 60 years ago, when Guanapo guppies where introduced into the Turure, thereby bringing genetically very distinct populations into secondary contact. This introduction led to an invasive event and subsequent disappearance of the original Turure genotype. Here we show that the mixing of genepools by interbreeding between populations affects adaptive behaviour such as shoaling and creates more variation in the resulting offspring. Furthermore, parental origin has a subtle effect on offspring shoaling behaviour. We found that the shoaling behaviour of hybrid offspring significantly differed from pure-bred offspring of either parental population, but resembled those found in Turure newborns that are likely to be of mixed ancestry as well.

Body Perception in Newborns

SummaryBody ownership and awareness has recently become an active topic of research in adults using paradigms such as the “rubber hand illusion” and “enfacement” [1–11]. These studies show that visual, tactile, postural, and anatomical information all contribute to the sense of body ownership in adults [12]. While some hypothesize body perception from birth [13], others have speculated on the importance of postnatal experience [14, 15]. Through studying body perception in newborns, we can directly investigate the factors involved prior to significant postnatal experience. To address this issue, we measured the looking behavior of newborns presented with visual-tactile synchronous and asynchronous cues, under conditions in which the visual information was either an upright (body-related stimulus; experiment 1) or inverted (non-body-related stimulus; experiment 2) infant face. We found that newborns preferred to look at the synchronous condition compared to the asynchronous condition, but only when the visual stimulus was body related. These results are in line with findings from adults and demonstrate that human newborns detect intersensory synchrony when related to their own bodies, consistent with the basic processes underlying body perception being present at birth.

Maternal Breastfeeding Self‐Efficacy and the Breastfeeding Behaviors of Newborns in the Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding

To explore the maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy of Chinese women, the breastfeeding behaviors of newborns, and the relationship with breastfeeding outcomes at 6 weeks postpartum. Descriptive correlation study. Postnatal ward of a regional maternity hospital All postnatal Chinese women who were admitted from mid-February 2010 to mid-March 2010 with the intention of breastfeeding. The Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool (IBFAT) was used to assess neonatal breastfeeding behaviors, and a modified Chinese version of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (MBSES-SF) was used to examine the breastfeeding self-efficacy of mothers. A total of 199 postnatal women were recruited. At 6 weeks postpartum, 85 (42.7%) infants were bottle-fed, 66 (33.2%) were complementary breastfed, and 48 (24.1%) were exclusively breastfed. The significant contributing factors for exclusive breastfeeding were women who planned to breastfeed for at least 6 months (odds ratio [OR] = 5.537, 95% confidence interval [CI] [2.430, 12.619], p ≤ 0.001), women with a high level of breastfeeding self-efficacy (OR =, 7.776, 95% CI [2.546, 23.748], p ≤ 0.001), and those women whose infants had high-IBFAT scores (OR = 2.381, 95% CI [1.019, 5.562], p=.045). Maternal breastfeeding confidence and newborn breastfeeding behavior are strong predictors of breastfeeding duration as well as exclusivity. Health care professionals should monitor the breastfeeding behavior of newborns and not only provide mothers with the factual information on breastfeeding but help also them to develop maternal confidence in breastfeeding before they are discharged.

Realities, difficulties, and outcomes for mothers choosing to breastfeed: Primigravid mothers experiences in the early postpartum period (6–8 weeks)

Objectiveto develop an understanding of primiparous women's experiences and challenges of breast feeding in the early postpartum period at two BFI accredited hospitals in the East Midlands in the UK that has lower rates of sustained breast feeding. Design and settinga hermeneutic or interpretive phenomenology study was conducted across two hospitals in the East Midlands, UK. Data collection22 primigravid women completed a daily written diary maintained for six weeks post birth. In addition, interviews were conducted with 13 women, nine who had completed a diary and four who did not return a diary but wanted to be interviewed, providing 26 different women's perspectives on their breast feeding experiences either from a diary or interview. Findingsthree main themes emerged from the interviews and written diaries: (1) mothers experience a ‘roller coaster’ of emotions in relation to trying to establish breast feeding, (2) mothers perceive health care professionals as the ‘experts’ on breast feeding and (3) mothers had difficulties in breast feeding their infants in public, including in front of family and family and when away from their homes. Conclusionswomen were ill prepared for the realities of breast feeding despite their antenatal intention to breast feed. Mothers had a preconceived idea that breast feeding would be ‘natural’ and without difficulty. When problems occurred, they perceived this to be a breast feeding problem and so choose artificial milk. Mothers require ongoing support to breast feed, especially in the early postpartum period, but more realistic messages about breast feeding need to be included. Implications for practicethere is a clear need for antenatal education to focus on preparing women for the realities of breast feeding, including newborn behaviour, which may affect women's perceptions of breast feeding. Local health care professionals need to draw upon national breast feeding strategies but develop a localised approach in order to address the regional variance.

Newborn Behavior, Parent–Infant Interaction, and Developmental Change Processes: Research Roots of Developmental, Relational, and Systems‐Theory‐Based Practice

The discovery of individual and cross-cultural differences among newborns, and their effects on caregiver behaviors, underpins a systems theory of human development and a resulting paradigm shift. This theory accommodates both epigenetics-mediating genes and environment within the individual, and culture-a dynamic, emergent phenomenon transmitting contextually adaptive child-rearing beliefs and practices. Within human systems, children and parents' development is also propelled by mutual adaptation occurring through the microprocesses of early interactions and through normative periods of disorganization and reorganization (touchpoints). This paradigm shift in developmental theory calls for parallel shifts in clinical practice and organizational structures and processes.

Effects of etomidate and propofol on cognitive function and hippocampus in rapid development period of rats

Objective To investigate and compare the effects of etomidate or propofol on spatial cognitive, exploring, learning and memory abilities and hippocampus tissue in rapid development period of rats. Methods Thirty-nine SD rats with an age from 17 to 18 days were randomly divided into group C(10 ml/kg of normal saline), group E(5 mg/kg of etomidate), group P(50 mg/kg of propofol)(n=13). They were all single injected intraperitoneally.The tests of cognitive function were performed in Open Field Test(OFT), Hole Board Test and Y-maze Test at 3 hours postanesthesia awake.HE staining method was uesed to observe the morphology of hippocampus neuron tissue and immunohistochemistry(IHC) method was uesed to detect the expression of aspartic acid specificity cysteine protease (caspase-3) in hippocampal neurons. Results In the OFT, there was no significant difference between group C((3.70±1.06)s, (39.10±11.89)s)and group E, P((4.40±2.01)s and (4.60±1.96)s, (37.90±11.88)s and (36.30±15.68)s) about the retention time in central check and the locomotion(P>0.05). In the Hole Board Test, the rats of groups E and P(12.00±3.13, 10.00±2.79)about the times of rats stretch into the hole were significant different comparing with group C(16.30±4.62)(P 0.05) .The right number of group P(9.80±2.39) were obviously decreased as compared with group C(13.30±2.00)(P 0.05). Conclusion Single intraperitoneal injection of etomidate can make a transient effects for the rapid development period of rats’ability of exploration, but have no obvious influence of the spatial cognition and learning and memory abilities.And etomidate lead less influence on newborn rat behavior and hippocampal tissue than propofol. Key words: Etomidate; Propofol; Rapid development period; Cognitive function; Behavior

Comportamento motor oral e global de recém-nascidos de mães usuárias de crack e/ou cocaína

OBJETIVO: Analisar o comportamento motor oral e global de recém-nascidos de mães que fizeram uso de crack e/ou cocaína durante a gestação e verificar se há relação entre o desenvolvimento dos sistemas sensório motor oral (SSMO) e motor global. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal, em que foram avaliados 25 recém-nascidos prematuros e a termo de mães usuárias de crack e/ou cocaína, pareados com outro grupo de 25 recém-nascidos sem o fator em estudo. As avaliações do SSMO e motor global foram realizadas por meio do Instrumento de Avaliação da Prontidão do Prematuro para Início da Alimentação Oral e do Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP), respectivamente. Os resultados compararam os escores encontrados nas duas escalas e a relação destes com o uso materno do crack e/ou cocaína durante a gestação. RESULTADOS: No TIMP não foi constatada diferença na comparação entre os escores de recém-nascidos de mães usuárias de crack e/ou cocaína e os de mães não usuárias. No Instrumento de Avaliação da Prontidão do Prematuro para Início da Alimentação Oral, os resultados apresentaram diferença. Foi observada associação entre os resultados de bebês que apresentaram atraso no TIMP com menor escore no Instrumento de Avaliação da Prontidão do Prematuro para Início da Alimentação Oral. CONCLUSÃO: O baixo desempenho observado no Instrumento de Avaliação da Prontidão do Prematuro para Início da Alimentação Oral sugere que as respostas motoras orais estão alteradas pelo uso materno das drogas. A correlação entre os dois instrumentos mostra que o desenvolvimento do SSMO pode estar relacionado ao desenvolvimento motor global.

Comparison of Pain Response to Venepuncture Versus Heel Lance Blood Sampling in Term Neonates

Introduction: Pain in neonates is largely underestimated and neglected. Pain experience can alter clinical outcome, brain development and subsequent behavior in newborns. Numerous newborns undergo blood sampling routinely in nurseries/NICUs and these procedures are often done without pain relieving measures. Heel lancing and venepuncture are two common procedures for blood sampling in neonates. The objective of this study was to compare pain response to venepuncture versus heel lance in full term neonates. Materials and Methods: A comparative observational study was conducted among 200 term neonates who were undergoing blood sampling for bilirubin or glucose estimation. Neonates were randomly assigned to heel lance (HL) and venepuncture (VP) groups with 100 babies in each group. During the procedure, pain was assessed by Neonatal/Infant pain Scale (NIPS). Heart rate (HR) and oxygen saturation (SpO2) were continuously monitored 5 minutes prior to procedure and upto 5 minutes after the procedure. Results: The median NIPS score in HL and VP were 7 and 3.5 respectively which showed statistically significant (p= 0.0001) higher level of pain experience in HL than in VP. During the procedure, both the groups (HL and VP) showed significant changes in heart rate and oxygen saturation i.e., increase in HR (p= 0.0001) and decrease in SpO2 (p= 0.0001), however the increase in heart rate and decrease in oxygen saturation were significantly more in HL than in VP (p= 0.0001). Conclusion: Neonates perceive pain as demonstrated by Neonatal Pain Scale and venepuncture is the less painful procedure than heel lancing for blood sampling in neonates. J. Nepal Paediatr. Soc. 32(2) 2012 99-104 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v32i2.5477

Pheromone-induced odor learning modifies Fos expression in the newborn rabbit brain

Associative learning contributes crucially to adjust the behavior of neonates to the permanently changing environment. In the European rabbit, the mammary pheromone (MP) excreted in milk triggers sucking behavior in newborns, and additionally promotes very rapid learning of initially neutral odor cues. Such stimuli become then as active as the MP itself to elicit the orocephalic motor responses involved in suckling. In this context, the rabbit is an interesting model to address the question of brain circuits early engaged by learning and memory. Here, we evaluated the brain activation (olfactory bulb and central regions) induced in 4-day-old pups by an odorant (ethyl acetoacetate, EAA) after single pairing with the MP and its subsequent acquired ability to elicit sucking-related behavior (conditioned group) or after mere exposure to EAA alone (unconditioned group). The brain-wide mapping of c-Fos expression was used to compare neural activation patterns in both groups. Evidence of high immunostaining to odorant EAA occurred in the mitral+granule cells layer of the main olfactory bulb in pups previously exposed to EAA in association with the MP. These pups also showed higher expression of Fos in the piriform cortex, the hypothalamic lateral preoptic area and the amygdala (cortical and basal nuclei). Thus, MP-induced odor learning induces rapid brain modifications in rabbit neonates. The cerebral framework supporting the acquisition appears however different compared to the circuit involved in the processing of the MP itself.