Heart rate variability: An index of attentional responsivity in human newborns

Abstract

Investigated heart rate patterns in response to a 30-sec moderately intense auditory stimulus in 24 newborns. Ss were divided into 2 groups based on mean pretrial heart rate variability. The high-variability group exhibited response patterns resembling those of mature adults. These patterns were characterized by acceleration to onset, deceleration to offset, and decreased variability during the stimulus. The low-variability group exhibited only attenuated acceleration to onset. Results suggest that magnitude of pretrial heart rate variability may be used to assess neonatal responsivity to the environment. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)