Facial expressions of neonate infants in response to gustatory stimuli.
Ten male and five female neonates (median age, 43 h) were tested with sweet, sour, and bitter stimuli. Facial expressions were videotaped for at least 60 s and analyzed in order to 1) assess early discriminatory function, and 2) determine constancies in the components of facial expressions elicited by different gustatory stimuli in order to evaluate the possibility of obtaining characteristic patterns of facial movements for each stimulus. Specific sets of facial movements were observed for each taste modality, demonstrating that newborn infants respond characteristically to these stimuli and implying the functionality of the gustatory system hours after birth.
Bergamasco
N H
NH
Departamento de Psicologia Experimental, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil.
Beraldo
K E
KE
D005149:Facial Expression; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*; D014743:Videotape Recording