Designing artificial circadian environments with multisensory cares for supporting preterm infants' growth in NICUs

Takeshi Arimitsu; Rika Fukutomi; Mayuko Kumagai; Hayato Shibuma; Yoko Yamanishi; Kei-Ichi Takahashi; Hirotaka Gima; Yoshitaka Seto; Hiroyuki Adachi; Hirokazu Arai; Masakatsu Higuchi; Shohei Ohgi; Hidenobu Ohta

doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1152959

Designing artificial circadian environments with multisensory cares for supporting preterm infants' growth in NICUs

Front Neurosci. 2023 Aug 24:17:1152959. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1152959. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Takeshi Arimitsu^{1

2}, Rika Fukutomi³, Mayuko Kumagai⁴, Hayato Shibuma⁵, Yoko Yamanishi⁶, Kei-Ichi Takahashi⁷, Hirotaka Gima^{2

8}, Yoshitaka Seto⁹, Hiroyuki Adachi¹⁰, Hirokazu Arai¹¹, Masakatsu Higuchi^{2

12}, Shohei Ohgi^{2

13}, Hidenobu Ohta^{2

7

14

15}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
² The Japan Developmental Care Study Group, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Seirei Christopher University, Hamamatsu, Japan.
³ Section of Pediatric Nursing, Graduate School of Nursing Science, St. Luke's International University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Nursing, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita, Japan.
⁵ Department of Rehabilitation, Yamagata Saisei Hospital, Yamagata, Japan.
⁶ Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁷ Department of Occupational Therapy, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita, Japan.
⁸ Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁹ Maternity and Perinatal Care Center, Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Pediatrics, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Neonatology, Akita Red Cross Hospital, Akita, Japan.
¹² Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Teikyo Heisei University, Tokyo, Japan.
¹³ Department of Physical Therapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Seirei Christopher University, Hamamatsu, Japan.
¹⁴ Department of Sleep-Wake Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Asai Hospital, Chiba, Japan.

Abstract

Previous studies suggest the importance of stable circadian environments for fetuses to achieve sound physiology and intrauterine development. This idea is also supported by epidemiological and animal studies, in which pregnant females exposed to repeated shifting of light-dark cycles had increased rates of reproductive abnormalities and adverse pregnancy outcomes. In response to such findings, artificial circadian environments with light-dark (LD) cycles have been introduced to NICUs to promote better physical development of preterm infants. Such LD cycles, however, may not be fully effective for preterm infants who are less than 30 weeks gestational age (WGA) since they are too premature to be adequately responsive to light. Instead, circadian rhythmicity of incubated preterm infants less than 30 WGA may be able to be developed through stimulation of the non-visual senses such as touch and sound.

Keywords: NICUs; circadian rhythm; designing artificial environments; multisensory cares; preterm infants.

Publication types

Review