title: The effects of vestibular stimulation rate and magnitude of acceleration on central pattern generation for chest wall kinematics in preterm infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the role of vestibular inputs on respiratory and oromotor systems in healthy preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 27 preterm infants were quasi-randomly assigned to either the VestibuGlide treatment or control groups. VestibuGlide infants were held in a developmentally supportive position, given a pacifier and received a series of vestibular stimuli, counterbalanced across rate and acceleration conditions, 15 min 3 times per day for 10 days. The control infants were also held in a developmentally supportive position, given a pacifier for 15 min 3 times per day for 10 days but did not receive the VestibuGlide stimulation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A multi-level regression model revealed that treatment infants increased their respiratory rate in response to vestibular stimulus, and that the highest level of vestibular acceleration delivered to the infants (0.51 ms(-2)) resulted in a significant increase in breaths per minute.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vestibular stimulation delivered to preterm infants before scheduled feeds effectively modulates respiratory rate and resets the respiratory central pattern generator.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA. emily_zimmerman@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Barlow
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D063226:Central Pattern Generators / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012143:Respiratory Physiological Phenomena; D035441:Thoracic Wall / Q000502:physiology*; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*