Vagal regulation during bottle feeding in low-birthweight neonates: support for the gustatory-vagal hypothesis.

Authors:
  • APA L Portales
    A L Portales
  • JDJ A Doussard-Roosevelt
    J A Doussard-Roosevelt
  • MAM Abedin
    M Abedin
  • RLR Lopez
    R Lopez
  • MYM A Young
    M A Young
  • MBM R Beeram
    M R Beeram
  • MBM Baker
    M Baker
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  • 1 April 1997
    • journal article
    • Vol. 30  (3) , 225-33
    • PMID:9104553
Abstract
The gustatory-vagal hypothesis proposes that gustatory stimulation elicits a coordinated vagal response manifested as an increase in ingestive behaviors (e.g., sucking) and a decrease in nucleus ambiguus vagal tone measured by decreases in the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). The current study tested the gustatory-vagal hypothesis in a bottle feeding paradigm with 29 clinically stable, high-risk, low-birthweight neonates. The amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was collected before, during, and after bottle feeding. Consistent with the gustatory-vagal hypothesis, RSA decreased during bottle feeding. In a longitudinal subsample of subjects, the pattern of RSA changes during the feeding paradigm was stable across two test sessions.