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The effects of feeding on the electroencephalogram in 3- and 6-month-old infants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2002

JOHANNES LEHTONEN ,
MERVI KÖNÖNEN ,
MAIJA PURHONEN ,
JUHANI PARTANEN  and
SEPPO SAARIKOSKI
JOHANNES LEHTONEN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland
MERVI KÖNÖNEN
Affiliation:
Department of Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland
MAIJA PURHONEN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland
JUHANI PARTANEN
Affiliation:
Department of Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland
SEPPO SAARIKOSKI
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland
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Abstract

The human infant's neurophysiological responses to feeding are poorly understood. We found recently a significant increase of EEG amplitude in the newborn during nutritive feeding, but not during pacifier sucking. In this study, we report EEG responses to feeding in 13 infants at the ages of 3 and 6 months. The undifferentiated response of the newborn was found to wane until the age of 3 months, whereas in 6-month-old infants, relatively abundant rhythmic 3–5 Hz theta activity was recorded during feeding with an amplitude maximum in right posterior areas. Cessation of feeding was followed by cessation of theta activity. The rhythmic 3–5 Hz theta response to feeding is likely to represent emotional arousal, as it is similar to previous findings showing posterior theta increase in other settings connected with emotional arousal in infants.

Keywords

InfantElectroencephalogramFeedingAgeTheta rhythm
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , January 2002 , pp. 73 - 79
Copyright
© 2002 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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