Infant attention is central to early development. Previous research has linked focused attention
during infant exploratory play to preschool cognition. Importantly, focused attention and
information processing have been related to sustained decreases in heart rate (HR), which show
developmental changes in infancy. Few studies have examined the relationship between focused
attention, heart rate and development in very preterm infants, who are vulnerable to cognitive and
attention problems. Participants were 35 extremely low gestational age (ELGA; ≤28 weeks), 48
very low gestational age (VLGA; 29-32 weeks) and 46 healthy term-born infants seen at 8-
months corrected age. Focused attention was timed and global focused attention was rated using a
toy exploration paradigm. Heart rate was recorded continuously during attention testing. Mean
HR and heart rate variability (HRV) were assessed during infant exploration. Additionally,
change in mean HR for all focused episodes, and the mean and greatest HR change for the peak
focus were calculated. Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II, Mental Development
Index [MDI]) were administered.
Term-born infants were rated higher on global focused attention than VLGA, and
marginally higher than ELGA infants. For all infants, greater HRV suppression during
exploration and magnitude ofHR deceleration during the peak focus were related to greater
attentiveness. No group differences were seen in HRV suppression. However, ELGA infants
showed greater HR deceleration during focused attention compared to VLGA and Term-born
infants. Furthermore, after controlling for perinatal risk, infant peak focus and degree of HR
deceleration predicted 8-month MDI for the ELGA (49% of the total variance), but not VLGA
infants. This may reflect enhanced attentional effort to compensate for information processing
deficits among the highest risk infants. These findings extend research on attention and heart rate
during exploratory play to understanding the links between attention regulation, heart rate and
cognitive development in very preterm infants. Further knowledge in this area will facilitate the
development of effective methods to identify infants very early in life who are at-risk for attention
and cognitive problems, and may lead to interventions that can improve developmental outcomes
for vulnerable infants.Graduate and Postdoctoral StudiesGraduat