Behavioural and physiological reactivity to noise in the newborn.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the electromyographic (EMG) and behavioural reactivity of a group of newborn infants exposed to noisy stimulation of various intensity recorded in the Paediatric intensive care Unit (PICU).


METHODS
The study was performed at the nursery of the Paediatrics Department (University of Padova) on a group of 21 healthy newborns (mean 39 weeks of gestation), assessed between 24 and 72 h after birth. The study involved taking EMG recordings of the corrugator supercilii muscle and assessing the infant's behaviour at the baseline (15 seconds before stimulation), during noisy stimulation (for 1-2 seconds) and during recovery (15 seconds in three subphases). The noises, previously recorded in PICU, had four different intensities and were administered in random order to all infants. Descriptive analysis and repeated-measures analysis of variance (anova) were performed on the EMG and behavioural data.


RESULTS
The infants demonstrated a significant reaction to the noises both in the EMG recordings and in behavioural changes, especially during intense noisy stimulation. The reaction lasted longer than the stimulation period, preventing the infants from returning to the baseline condition.


CONCLUSIONS
Exposure to high-intensity noise produced in PICU causes evident behavioural and physiological effects (EMG). This is a field of study that could have important repercussions, given the medium- and long-term effects of repeated noise stimulation.
Trapanotto
M
M
Department of Paediatrics, university of Padova, Italy. manuela.trapanotto@unipd.it
Benini
F
F
Farina
M
M
Gobber
D
D
Magnavita
V
V
Zacchello
F
F
D004576:Electromyography; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*