The Dual Nature of Early-Life Experience on Somatosensory Processing in the Human Infant Brain.

ABSTRACT: Every year, 15 million preterm infants are born, and most spend their first weeks in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) [1]. Although essential for the support and survival of these infants, NICU sensory environments are dramatically different from those in which full-term infants mature and thus likely impact the development of functional brain organization [2]. Yet the integrity of sensory systems determines effective perception and behavior [3, 4]. In neonates, touch is a cornerstone of interpersonal interactions and sensory-cognitive development [5-7]. NICU treatments used to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes rely heavily on touch [8]. However, we understand little of how brain maturation at birth (i.e., prematurity) and quality of early-life experiences (e.g., supportive versus p

SUBMITTER: Maitre NL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5388002 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature