Educación Médica Continua

The first language of baby is touch. Módulo 3: Desarrollo sensorial en niños.

Sensorial development in children

Development and maturation of neuronal system require sensorial stimulations like touch and motricity influence functional maturation of somesthetic system.1-3

Neonates present an increased cutaneous sensitivity, touch perception thresholds are lower in neonates (flexion reflex after non painful stimulus) and thresholds are even lower in premature babies.1-3

How senses develop?

PREGNANCY:  FETAL LIFE

During pregnancy, babies have their first contact with skin, temperature and pressure sensitivity.

Development of senses:

1. Touch
2. Smell
3. Taste
4. Audition
5. Vision

Premature

Premature babies can differentiate between different objects, their development begins with a simple touch, and brain development is up to a year.

Full-term

These babies, unlike premature babies, completely differentiate objects, and at 3 years of age their brain is 85% developed.

Touch: Differences between baby and adult

PREGNANCY:  FETAL LIFE vs full-term neonate

• Lower stimulation threshold
• Longer latency delay
• Lower global sensorial capacity

PREMATURE vs full-term neonate

• Few differences between touch and pain
• Multiply touch may increase pain
• Sensorial perceptions troubles (till 1 to 8 years old): Tactile, auditory and vestibular

FULL-TERM vs adult

• Early touch development: development audition and vision later
• Longer latency delay
• Cerebral response to touch is different between birth and 6 months

Baby and parental well-being, child development: which stimulations?

PREGNANCY: FETAL LIFE

POLY-SENSORIALITY

• Senses memorization
• Affective life influence
• Modeling of nervous system

PREMATURE

MASSAGE

• Stimulates social development
• Accelerate brain maturation and visual function

MATERNAL MASSAGE

• ↘︎ Pain
• Global learning at 12 months

FULL-TERM

X PERCEPTIONS AND ACTIONS

• Neuronal development

PARENTAL RECOGNITION

• Via touch, smell, voice

EMOTIONAL TOUCH + MASSAGE

• Parental attachment
• Physical development
• Emotional development

Sensorial development in children

• Role of sleep in neuronal network consolidation during pregnancy

– Different sorts of sleep appear at 30e week, majority of paradoxical phases

– At 40e week, non paradoxical sleep = paradoxical one

– Paradoxical sleep participate to the development of sensorial systems

• Neonatal restrictions of tactile input leads to long-lasting impairments of cross-modal processing

– Polymodal stimulation favors psychomotor development

– Touch is an essential sense for sensorial and cognitive development

• Adults consequences of pain during neonatal period ( animal models)

– Hyperalgesia or increase of tactile and nociceptive thresholds

– Modification of cerebral maturation

REFERENCIAS:

1. Koch SC and Fitzgerald M. Activity-dependent development of tactile and nociceptive spinal cord circuits. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2013;1279:97-102.
2. Andrew K and Fitzgerald M. Pain 1994;56(1):95-101.
3. Nicolelis MA, et al. Active tactile exploration influences the functional maturation of the somatosensory system.J Neurophysiol 1996;75(5):2192-6.