253 - Music increases emotional and attentional engagement in preterm infants during hospitalization in the neonatal Intensive Care Unit

MANUELA FILIPPA, University of Geneva, GENEVE, Geneve, Switzerland; Laura Lavezzo, Universiy of Pisa, Pisa, Toscana, Italy; Francisca Barcos, HUG, Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland; Damien Benis, University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland; Enzo Pasquale Scilingo, University of Pisa, Pisa, Toscana, Italy; Mimma Nardelli, University of Pisa, Pisa, Toscana, Italy; Petra S. Hüppi, University Childrens Hospital, Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland

Background: An increasing number of studies evaluated the effects of live and recorded music on preterm infants during their hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In an atypical, unstructured, and often detrimental sound environment, a structured auditory stimulus can support an infant’s cognitive and emotional development. The understanding of the specific mechanisms through which music benefits this at-risk population is essential. The multiple components of the heart rate variability (HRV) dynamics in response to external auditory stimuli can indicate the type and the maturity of the vagal activity, thus suggesting appropriate time and dosage of musical stimuli for preterm infants.

Objective: The present study examined the effects of tonal music on heart rate variability (HRV) and cardiorespiratory coupling in 18 preterm infants tested at 37.71 ± 0.85 weeks of gestational age (mean ± SD).

Design/Methods: Following a 6-minute baseline recording, the newborns were exposed to 6 minutes of music specifically composed for preterm infants and tested in several preliminary studies. Vagal activity (linked to respiratory sinus arrythmia) and physiological arousal were characterized before, during, and after musical stimulation by extracting HRV high frequency power (HFpower), low-to-high frequency power ratio (LF/HFpower) respectively, and cardiorespiratory coupling.

Results: Our findings reveal that the HFpower of the HRV decreases (Friedman’s test, p-value = 0.006) and the cardiorespiratory coupling increases (Friedman’s test, p-value = 0.015) during music listening.

Conclusion(s): In preterm infants, the decrease in the high frequencies of the HRV alongside the increase in cardiorespiratory coupling suggests a shift towards emotional engagement and attentive state during music listening, with a concomitant decrease in stress.
Preterm newborns can attend to long music stimuli with modulations in their vagal activity and without physiological signs of distress. Alert and active states are beneficial for the preterm infant’s attentional and learning processes, especially in response to structured auditory stimuli.