Neonatal cortical perceptions of maternal breast odours: A fNIRS study.

Aim: The aim was to determine whether preterm and full-term newborn infants could process maternal breast odour at a cortical level.

Methods: Newborn infants were exposed to cloths containing their own mother's breast odour and freshly laundered control cloths for 10 seconds, while functional near-infrared spectroscopy measured cortical activation in their olfactory processing areas. We studied 45 newborn infants born at 28-41 weeks of gestation and divided them into three groups: full-term (37-41 weeks), late preterm (33-36 weeks) and very preterm (28-32 weeks).

A novel cysteine-linked antibacterial surface coating significantly inhibits bacterial colonization of nasal silicone prongs in a phase one pre-clinical trial.

Ventilator associated pneumonia and sepsis are frequent complications in neonatal care. Bacterial colonization of medical devices and interfaces used for respiratory support may contribute by functioning as a bacterial reservoir seeding bacteria into airways. We have developed an antibacterial surface coating based on a cysteine ligand covalently coupled via a spacer to a carboxylic backbone layer on an acrylic acid grafted silicone surface.

Cortical Responses to Alien Odors in Newborns: An fNIRS Study.

Very preterm (VPT) infants are exposed to odors released by healthcare products, triggering the trigeminal and olfactory subsystems. Irritation of the nasal mucosa induces pain in adults. We examined whether preterm and full-term (FT) newborns perceived trigeminal odors at different cortical levels, whether these odors elicit pain, and if oral glucose modulates this pain.

Extremely Preterm-Born Infants Demonstrate Different Facial Recognition Processes at 6-10 Months of Corrected Age.

Objectives: To compare cortical hemodynamic responses to known and unknown facial stimuli between infants born extremely preterm and term-born infants, and to correlate the responses of the extremely preterm-born infants to regional cortical volumes at term-equivalent age.

Study Design: We compared 27 infants born extremely preterm (<28 gestational weeks) with 26 term-born infants. Corrected age and chronological age at testing were between 6 and 10 months, respectively.