Frie Jakob, Bartocci Marco, Kuhn Pierre
Neonatal Research Unit, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Neonatal Medicine, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Acta Paediatr. 2020 Jul;109(7):1330-1337. doi: 10.1111/apa.15114. Epub 2019 Dec 20.
The aim was to determine whether preterm and full-term newborn infants could process maternal breast odour at a cortical level.
Newborn infants were exposed to cloths containing their own mother's breast odour and freshly laundered control cloths for 10 seconds, while functional near-infrared spectroscopy measured cortical activation in their olfactory processing areas. We studied 45 newborn infants born at 28-41 weeks of gestation and divided them into three groups: full-term (37-41 weeks), late preterm (33-36 weeks) and very preterm (28-32 weeks). Cortical activation was defined as a regional increase of oxyhaemoglobin following maternal breast odour stimuli.
Full-term infants demonstrated bilateral activation of their olfactory cortices following exposure to maternal breast odour. Late preterm infants and very preterm boys exhibited unilateral cortical activation, unlike very preterm girls.
Infants born from 32 weeks, and possibly earlier, could process low concentration maternal odours at a cortical level, which suggests they were more aware of their environment. These findings could make a significant contribution to improving the sensory environment of preterm infants and improve bonding.
旨在确定早产和足月新生儿是否能够在皮质水平处理母亲的乳房气味。
将新生儿暴露于含有其母亲乳房气味的布和刚清洗过的对照布中10秒，同时使用功能近红外光谱测量其嗅觉处理区域的皮质激活情况。我们研究了45名妊娠28 - 41周出生的新生儿，并将他们分为三组：足月（37 - 41周）、晚期早产（33 - 36周）和极早产（28 - 32周）。皮质激活被定义为在母亲乳房气味刺激后氧合血红蛋白的区域增加。
足月婴儿在接触母亲乳房气味后表现出双侧嗅觉皮质激活。晚期早产婴儿和极早产男婴表现出单侧皮质激活，极早产女婴则不同。
32周及可能更早出生的婴儿能够在皮质水平处理低浓度的母亲气味，这表明他们对周围环境更有意识。这些发现可能对改善早产儿的感官环境和增进情感联系做出重大贡献。
