Whose clock makes yours tick? How maternal cardiorespiratory physiology influences newborns' heart rate variability

Martine Van Puyvelde; Gerrit Loots; Joris Meys; Xavier Neyt; Olivier Mairesse; David Simcock; Nathalie Pattyn

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.04.001

Whose clock makes yours tick? How maternal cardiorespiratory physiology influences newborns' heart rate variability

Biol Psychol. 2015 May:108:132-41. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.04.001. Epub 2015 Apr 11.

Authors

Martine Van Puyvelde¹, Gerrit Loots², Joris Meys³, Xavier Neyt⁴, Olivier Mairesse⁵, David Simcock⁶, Nathalie Pattyn⁵

Affiliations

¹ Research Group Interpersonal, Discursive and Narrative Studies (IDNS), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium; VIPER Research Unit, Department Life, Royal Military Academy (RMA), Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: mvpuyvel@vub.ac.be.
² Research Group Interpersonal, Discursive and Narrative Studies (IDNS), Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium; Universidad Católica Boliviana "San Pablo" La Paz (UCB), Bolivia.
³ Department of Mathematical Modeling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, University of Ghent (UG), Ghent, Belgium.
⁴ VIPER Research Unit, Department Life, Royal Military Academy (RMA), Brussels, Belgium.
⁵ VIPER Research Unit, Department Life, Royal Military Academy (RMA), Brussels, Belgium; Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.
⁶ Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand; Faculty of Medicine and Bioscience, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 25869175
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.04.001

Abstract

This study examined the existence of direct maternal-infant physiological relatedness in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) when the infant was age 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. We instructed mothers to breathe at 6, 12, 15, 20, and 6 cycles per minute while their infants lay on their body. The mother-infant ECG and respiration were registered and video recordings were made. RR-interval (RRI), respiration rate (fR) and RSA were calculated and mother-infant RSA response-patterns were analyzed. The results revealed that infants adjusted their RSA levels to their mothers' levels during the first 2 months of life, but not at 3 months of age, which could be interpreted as a continuing intra-uterine effect. The attenuation between 2 and 3 months could be a reflection of the 2-month developmental shift of social orientation.

Keywords: 2-Month developmental shift; Breathing; Heart rate variability; Maternal–infant physiological synchrony; Mother–infant interaction; Physiological relationship; Respiratory sinus arrhythmia; Social development; Vagal maturation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Child Development
Electrocardiography
Female
Heart Rate / physiology*
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Maternal Behavior
Maternal-Fetal Relations
Mother-Child Relations
Mothers
Motor Activity / physiology
Respiratory Rate / physiology*
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia / physiology*
Sleep / physiology
Social Environment