title: Sound Interferes with the Early Tactile Manual Abilities of Preterm Infants.
abstract: Premature birth is a sudden change of the sensory environment of a newborn, while their senses are still in development, especially in the stressful and noisy environment of the NICU. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of noise on the early tactile manual abilities of preterm infants (between 29 and 35 weeks PCA). Infants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: Silence and Noise. For each condition, two phases were introduced: a habituation phase (repeated presentation of the same object, prism or cylinder), followed by a test phase (presentation of the familiar or a novel object). In the Silence condition, they received the tactile habituation and test phases: In the Noise condition, they went through the same phases, while an alarm sounded. Sixty-three preterm infants were included. They displayed a strong and effective ability to memorize tactile manual information and to detect the difference between two shape features, but this ability seems to be impaired by the concomitant exposure to an alarm sound. This study is the first to highlight the effect of a negative stimulus on sensory functioning in premature infants. It reinforces the importance of developing environmental measures to lower the sound level in NICUs.
authors.affiliation: Child Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, FPSE, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Fleur
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lejeune
authors.affiliation: Intensive and Regular Neonatal Care Unit, CHRU Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parra
authors.affiliation: Intensive and Regular Neonatal Care Unit, CHRU Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berne-Audéoud
authors.affiliation: Intensive and Regular Neonatal Care Unit, CHRU Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Leïla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.affiliation: Child Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, FPSE, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Koviljka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barisnikov
authors.affiliation: Sensorimotor, Affective and Social Development Unit, FPSE, University of Geneva, Switzerland.|University Grenoble Alpes, LPNC and CNRS, Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Edouard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gentaz
authors.affiliation: Intensive and Regular Neonatal Care Unit, CHRU Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Debillon
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise; D011897:Random Allocation; D021641:Recognition, Psychology