Haptic perception and the psychosocial functioning of preterm, low birth weight infants
Section snippets
The role and nature of haptic perceptions
The haptic perceptions to which a preterm infant is exposed may influence substantially his/her resulting neural foundations. Receptors and neural pathways associated with haptic perceptions are the first to develop in utero and the most mature of the sensory systems at birth (Kandel, Schwartz, & Jessel, 2000). As a result, the infant's haptic system is presumed to better use early experience than can other systems such as vision or hearing. This proposition does not negate the importance of
Stimulating touch
Stimulating touch involves properties of strong intensity, proprioceptive stimulation (i.e., actions eliciting vigorous movement of joints, tissue and muscle rather than movement at the skin surface only), and contact with areas of the infant's body having many nerve endings and pathways (such as the face and hands). Somatosensory cortical cells and thalamic cells show differential firing patterns and responsiveness based on (1) the velocity and force or intensity of the touch, (2) the degree
The quantitative dimension of haptic experience
In addition to the qualitative dimensions of haptic experience (i.e., its stimulating, complex and affective qualities), the amount or quantity of touch also influences haptic perception. The amount of touch is reflected in its properties of frequency and duration. Although these two properties are clearly different, they are rarely separated in studies of touch and have not been carefully examined for their distinct relationships to the preterm infant's psychosocial development. Instead,
The importance of differential haptic experience
The outcomes of research to date emphasize the need to distinguish between various dimensions of haptic experience and the differential perceptions they make available to the premature infant. Research examining the effects of touch typically treats it as if all tactile experience exposes infants to similar haptic perceptions, without taking into account the differential nature of the properties or qualities of touch to which preterm infants are exposed. Because of this tendency, most studies
Conclusions
The research presented throughout this paper makes a strong case for the potential value of therapeutic interventions that provide targeted, enriched haptic experience for preterm infants, experience that may serve as a foundation for later psychosocial functioning. However, the success of such interventions will depend upon a better understanding of how various haptic dimensions are perceived. For instance, it will be essential to examine the ways in which the infant's sensitivity, reactivity,
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Maternal touch predicts social orienting in young children
2016, Cognitive DevelopmentCitation Excerpt :In preterm or high-risk infants this revealed a generally positive effect. Massages improved weight gain (Field, Diego, Hernandez-Reif, Deeds, & Figuereido, 2006; Vickers, Ohlsson, Lacy, & Horsley, 2004), autonomic function (Smith et al., 2012), motor development (Procianoy, Mendes, & Silveira, 2010), visual acuity (Guzzetta et al., 2009), management of negative emotions, and responsiveness to care-givers (for reviews see Field, Diego, & Hernandez-Reif, 2010; Weiss, 2005). Identified benefits of massaging healthy infants included improved sleep, reduced crying, and fewer circulating stress hormones (for a review see Underdown, Barlow, Chung, & Stewart-Brown, 2006).
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2012, Infant Behavior and DevelopmentCitation Excerpt :As expected, mothers of VLBW/PT infants used more playful touch, thus providing further support for the contention that mothers of preterm infants provide a more stimulating style of interaction (Crawford, 1982; Crnic et al., 1983). This finding may have important implications for VLBW/PT infants neurodevelopment consistent with Weiss et al. (2004) and Weiss (2005) findings that preterm infants whose mothers used more stimulating tactile behaviors had better visual-motor skills, fine motor abilities, and more advanced language acquisition skills. Given the positive association between playful touch and bidirectional exchanges in VLBW/PT dyads in conjunction with the observed high levels of infants’ smiling and maternal sensitivity, it can be argued that preterm mothers’ stimulating interaction style was positive.
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2023, Brazilian Journal of Occupational TherapyThe untenable omission of touch in maternal sensitivity and attachment research
2020, Infant and Child Development