The proposed studies are intended to expand our understanding of sensorimotor integration in the neonate and infant orofacial system during patterned oromotor output [non-nutritive suck -- NNS] using a servo-controlled ACTIFIER.
Three specific aims have been formulated to investigate the sensorimotor apparatus of the neonate orofacial system using a novel electrophysiologic technique to index the excitability of trigeminofacial pathways during NNS in term and pre-term infants. The ability to modulate the organization of patterned oromotor output will be explored using mechanosensory entrainment, and finally, some principles of neuroplasticity will be tested in habilitating neonates in the intensive care nursery who manifest dysfunctional oromotor control. Simultaneous recordings of chest wall kinematics are included as a control measure to assess the nature and specificity of perioral stimulation on respiratory patterning. The proposed habilitation strategy, utilizing natural mechanical stimulation, has ecological validity in assisting the infant to produce an appropriate motor output. Moreover, this approach is consistent with the contention that appropriate oral experiences may be critical in the final weeks of gestation, and that their interruption may impair fragile syntheses of central neural representations of functions.
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