Fetal habituation in high-risk pregnancies.
Habituation is a basic form of learning and probably requires an intact central nervous system. Habituation in the behavioural response to vibration in 40 normal human fetuses was compared with that in a group of high-risk pregnancies with an increased risk of fetal neurological damage. Highly significant differences in habituation patterns between the high-risk groups and normal control subjects were found. This test may offer a method of assessing the integrity of the fetal central nervous system.
D000757:Anencephaly / Q000175:diagnosis; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D008831:Microcephaly / Q000175:diagnosis; D009068:Movement; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011247:Pregnancy; D012306:Risk