Amelynck, Steffie

Boets, Bart

de Vries, Lyssa M.

Erdogan, Maide

Moerman, Floor

Naulaers, Gunnar

Noens, Ilse

Nyström, Pär

Roeyers, Herbert

Steyaert, Jean

Team, TIARA

van Esch, Lotte

Van Lierde, Thijs

Warreyn, Petra

We aim to investigate early developmental trajectories of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as indexed by the pupillary light reflex (PLR) in infants with (i.e. preterm birth, feeding difficulties, or siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder) and without (controls) increased likelihood for atypical ANS development. We used eye-tracking to capture the PLR in 216 infants in a longitudinal follow-up study spanning 5 to 24 months of age, and linear mixed models to investigate effects of age and group on three PLR parameters: baseline pupil diameter, latency to constriction and relative constriction amplitude. An increase with age was found in baseline pupil diameter (F(3,273.21) = 13.15, p < 0.001, eta(2)(p) = 0.13), latency to constriction (F(3,326.41) =3.84, p = 0.010,eta(2)(p) = 0.03) and relative constriction amplitude(F(3,282.53) =3.70, p = 0.012,eta(2)(p)= 0.04). Group differences were found for baseline pupil diameter (F(3,235.91) = 9.40, p < 0.001,eta(2)(p) = 0.11), with larger diameter in preterms and siblings than in controls, and for latency to constriction (F(3,237.10) = 3.48, p = 0.017, eta(2)(p) = 0.04), with preterms having a longer latency than controls. The results align with previous evidence, with development over time that could be explained by ANS maturation. To better understand the cause of the group differences, further research in a larger sample is necessary, combining pupillometry with other measures to further validate its value

Ghent University Academic Bibliography

Investigating the development of the autonomic nervous system in infancy through pupillometry

Investigating the development of the autonomic nervous system in infancy through pupillometry

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Ghent University Academic Bibliography