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PubMed2004

The role of animal models in understanding feeding behavior in infants.

The common evolutionary history humans share with mammals provides us with a solid basis for understanding normal oropharyngeal anatomy and functions. Physiologically, feeding is a cycle of neurophysiologic activity, where sensory input travels to the CNS which sends motor signals out to the periphery. Research with animal models is valuable because it is possible to disrupt this cycle, and develop predictive models on the causal basis of deviation from normal. Based on work with animal models, normal mammalian infant feeding behavior consists of the tongue functioning as a pump. First, the tongue assists in acquisition of milk from the nipple into the oral cavity, and then it pumps milk from the oral cavity into the valleculae prior to the pharyngeal swallow. Starting with this basic model, feeding in infant pigs was manipulated to determine the impact of variation in sensory input on behavioral output. One set of experiments suggested that chemo- or liquid sensation, in the form of milk is necessary to elicit continuing rhythmic activity. However, the rates of rhythmic suckling are intrinsic to an animal, and variation in rate cannot be entrained. Another set showed that initiation of the swallow does not purely depend on the volume of milk delivered, but also on the sensory stimulation at the mouth. These results support the idea that feeding behavior involves complex sensory integration.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Postpartum maternal oxytocin release by newborns: effects of infant hand massage and sucking.

BACKGROUND: Newborns placed skin-to-skin with their mothers show an inborn sequence of behavior similar to that seen in other mammals. The purpose of this study was to make a detailed exploration of hand movements and sucking behavior in healthy term newborns who were placed skin-to-skin on their mothers' chests, and to study maternal oxytocin release in relation to these behaviors. METHODS: Ten vaginally delivered infants whose mothers had not been exposed to maternal analgesia were video-recorded from birth until the first breastfeeding. Video protocols were developed based on observations of the videotapes. Each infant's hand, finger, mouth, and tongue movements, positions of the hand and body, and sucking behavior were assessed every 30 seconds. Maternal blood samples were collected every 15 minutes, and oxytocin levels were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. A statistical test for establishing the relationship between maternal oxytocin levels and infants' hand movements or sucking behavior was developed. RESULTS: Infants used their hands to explore and stimulate their mother's breast in preparation for the first breastfeeding. A coordinated pattern of infant hand and sucking movements was also identified. When the infants were sucking, the massagelike hand movements stopped and started again when the infants made a sucking pause. Periods of increased massagelike hand movements or sucking of the mother's breast were followed by an increase in maternal oxytocin levels (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the newborns use their hands as well as their mouths to stimulate maternal oxytocin release after birth, which may have significance for uterine contraction, milk ejection, and mother-infant interaction.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A global perspective on feeding assessment in the neonatal intensive care unit.

A comprehensive assessment of feeding performance of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) includes not only the traditional approaches of evaluating oral motor control and sensory responses but also evaluation of other factors. Infant feeding is a highly complex and integrated process involving numerous body systems. A global assessment would determine the infant's feeding function in the key areas of state and behavior, tactile responses, motoric control, oral motor function, physiologic control, and coordination of sucking, swallowing, and breathing. Information is obtained through skilled clinical observation as well as from technological monitors or medical tests and procedures. This article provides an overview of a comprehensive assessment that occupational therapists may use when providing service to infants in the NICU.

Feeding and Eating Disorders↗
PubMed1998

Profile of non-nutritive sucking habits in relation to nursing behavior in pre-school children.

Although a number of investigators have studied the prevalence and etiology of non-nutritive sucking habits in children, no consensus exists among dental and medical experts in respect to the contributing factors and preventing behaviors. Furthermore, changes in the rearing practices of children make management of such habits even more complicated. The purpose of the present study was to investigate finger and pacifier sucking habits among pre-school children, and its possible relationship to nursing behavior. Parental attitudes towards sucking habits were also registered. Questionnaires were sent to parents of 600 children, three to five years old, following an oral examination in a private office. Children attended kindergartens that were randomly selected from the area of Athens, Greece. Questions regarding the nursing patterns-breast or bottle feeding-characteristics of finger and pacifier sucking habits, parental attitudes towards sucking habits, as well as recommendations of the pediatricians were included. Three hundred and sixteen questionnaires were returned by parents. Results indicated that pre-school children discontinued a pacifier sucking habit earlier compared to a finger habit. Pacifiers showed a preventive effect against finger sucking, since only 2% of the sample examined practiced both habits. Breast feeding was not clearly associated with sucking habits; however, long bottle feeding periods were related with decreased finger sucking and high figures of pacifier sucking. The majority of pediatricians were not in favor of an intervention in breaking a finger sucking habit of the child.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2001

Pacifier use, early weaning, and cry/fuss behavior: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT: The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund strongly discourage use of pacifiers because of their perceived interference with breastfeeding. Observational studies have reported a strong association between pacifier use and early weaning, but such studies are unable to determine whether the association is causal. OBJECTIVES: To test whether regular pacifier use is causally related to weaning by 3 months postpartum and to examine differences in results according to randomized intervention allocation vs observational use or nonuse of pacifiers. DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial conducted from January 1998 to August 1999. SETTING: Postpartum unit of a university teaching hospital in Montreal, Quebec. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 281 healthy, breastfeeding women and their healthy, term singleton infants. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 counseling interventions provided by a research nurse trained in location counseling. The experimental intervention (n = 140) differed from the control (n = 141) by recommending avoidance of pacifier use and suggesting alternative ways to comfort a crying or fussing infant. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Early weaning, defined as weaning within the first 3 months, compared between groups; 24-hour infant behavior logs detailing frequency and duration of crying, fussing, and pacifier use at 4, 6, and 9 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 258 mother-infant pairs (91.8%) completed follow-up. The experimental intervention increased total avoidance of pacifier use (38.6% vs 16.0% in the control group), reduced daily use (40.8% vs 55.7%), and decreased the mean number of pacifier insertions per day (0.8 vs 2.4 at 4 weeks [P<.001]; 0.8 vs 3.0 at 6 weeks [P<.001]; and 1.3 vs 3.0 at 9 weeks [P =.004]). In the analysis based on randomized intervention allocation, the experimental intervention had no discernible effect on weaning at 3 months (18.9% vs 18.3% in the experimental vs control group; relative risk [RR], 1.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6-1.7), and no effect was observed on cry/fuss behavior (in the experimental vs control groups, respectively, total daily duration, 143 vs 151 minutes at 4 weeks [P =.49]; 128 vs 131 minutes at 6 weeks [P =.81]; and 110 vs 104 minutes at 9 weeks [P =.58]). When randomized allocation was ignored, however, we observed a strong observational association between exposure to daily pacifier use and weaning by 3 months (25.0% vs 12.9% of the exposed vs unexposed groups; RR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.3). CONCLUSIONS: We found a strong observational association between pacifier use and early weaning. No such association was observed, however, when our data were analyzed by randomized allocation, strongly suggesting that pacifier use is a marker of breastfeeding difficulties or reduced motivation to breastfeed, rather than a true cause of early weaning.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed2002

Mercaptoacetate decreases latency to initiate independent ingestion, but not suckling, in preweanling rats.

Altering oxidation of fatty acids by administration of mercaptoacetate (MA) or methyl palmoxirate has been demonstrated to stimulate independent ingestion in rat pups by 12 to 15 days of age. However, in other work, neither agent has been demonstrated to affect intake in the context of suckling. In the present experiments, we tested the effects of MA on both suckling and independent ingestive behavior by examining changes in latency to initiate suckling or independent ingestion and by measuring intake in short-term (30 min) and longer term (4 hr) suckling and independent ingestion tests in pups aged 12 to 15 days of age. The results demonstrated that (a) MA does not affect suckling intake in short- or longer term tests; (b) MA does not affect latency to attach to a nipple, most likely due to floor effects on latency to attach in control pups; (c) MA stimulates independent ingestion in short-term, but not longer terms tests; and (d) MA reduces the latency to initiate independent ingestion. These results suggest that administration of MA preferentially stimulates the initiation of independent ingestion over suckling, and that this response develops at an age just prior to the time at which independent ingestion is typically first expressed by rat pups.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Control of intake by human-milk-fed infants: relationships between feeding size and interval.

Diurnal feeding behavior of 24 exclusively breast-fed infants was examined at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 weeks to assess whether milk intake at a feeding was related to previous (preprandial) or subsequent (postprandial) intervals between feedings. Amount of human milk consumed per feeding and intervals between feedings were measured over a 72-hr period. Correlation analyses revealed that volume of milk ingested at a feeding (meal size) was positively related to preprandial interval at all 5 ages (r = 0.39-0.47, p less than 0.0001). Meal size was likewise related, but not as strongly, to postprandial interval at 4 of the 5 time points examined (r = 0.17-0.25, p less than 0.01). Results of the correlational analyses revealed clear, consistent preprandial correlations, providing evidence for a reactive type feeding pattern among the solely breast-fed infants. Postprandial correlations, possibly reflect an anticipatory feeding pattern, were present but remained consistently low over the 3 months examined, providing little evidence of a developmental shift. This study provides a preliminary foundation for future longitudinal studies that address the regulation of food intake among infants.

Arousal↗
PubMed1995

Ontogeny of the rabbit's circadian rhythms without an external zeitgeber.

We have monitored parturition and different behavioral rhythms of does, the activity of suckling pups and behavioral rhythms of rabbits after weaning until adulthood. All animals were living in continuous light conditions (LL). As a consequence of the free-run of the does parturition, which takes place during the resting period of the animal, occurred at almost any time of the day. The once/day nursing was advanced during the first 7-10 days until it was in synchrony with the time of main activity. The pups significantly anticipated nursing by day 5: the 60 min bin prior to nursing exceeded the 24-h mean by 63 +/- 30%. The anticipatory activity (AA) was entrained by an artificial nursing schedule of T = 24 h, the 60 min bin prior to nursing exceeding the 24-h mean by 123 +/- 50%. Since AA persisted during a 48 h fast, its phase is controlled endogenously. At weaning behavioral rhythms of rabbits free-ran with a main tau < 24 h (average 23:35 +/- 17'), period length extending with increasing age. 7/10 animals had an additional component > 24 h (average: 24:24 +/- 16') which became increasingly dominant, the components < 24 h fading out within 30 days after weaning. Between days 340-350 a stable period length of 24:35 +/- 8' and a consolidation of the circadian rhythms was attained. These results confirm that during the first days of the rabbit's life the circadian system is controlled by a feeding entrainable oscillator, the light entrainable oscillators taking over control later.

Aging↗
PubMed1994

Cocaine exposure prebreeding to weaning: maternal and offspring effects.

In a model emphasizing prebreeding cocaine administration, rats exposed to cocaine (50 mg/kg) daily were compared to saline-injected and noninjected controls with respect to weight changes, food and water intake, maternal behavior, offspring weight, and activity. During the first 21 days cocaine-treated dams lost weight, while the control dams gained. Throughout gestation and the first 14 days of lactation all groups gained weight, but the cocaine-exposed dams never completely recovered from the initial anorectic effect. Except during the first week of exposure, cocaine dams ate and drank more than the normal controls and drank more than the saline group. During gestation there was no difference in food intake, although the cocaine dams continued to drink more than controls. During lactation there were no differences in food and water consumption across groups. However, the cocaine dams exhibited more nursing behavior. From birth to day 21, the offspring of cocaine-treated dams were smaller than those of either control group. By 51 days of age, group differences had disappeared. Cocaine-exposed pups and saline offspring tested at days 28 and 85 were more active than those of noninjected controls. The results indicate that administration of cocaine for a period prior to breeding and during gestation and lactation, a protocol which closely resembles human drug abuse patterns, is more devastating than the administration during gestation.

Aging↗
PubMed1998

Exogenous oxytocin attenuates suckling-induced prolactin release but not maternal or infant behavior in lactating rats.

The influence of exogenous oxytocin (OT) on maternal and infant behavior over 60 min of suckling, which followed 6 h of isolation, was investigated on Day 12 of lactation in rats. Mothers administered 1 IU of OT or saline through an indwelling atrial catheter and their litters indicated a similar nursing and suckling pattern, which was estimated by the crouching time of the mothers and the number of stretch reactions performed by the litters during a suckling period. To assess the alteration of the suckling intensity by OT administration, the plasma prolactin (PRL) level was determined by an Nb2 lymphoma cell bioassay. In the control group, the plasma PRL level increased and reached a peak at 45 min after the onset of suckling in 60% of the animals. The suckling-induced PRL release was completely inhibited and/or markedly delayed by OT administration. The difference in body weight of the litters before and after a suckling period was estimated as an index of the amount of milk suckled by the litters. There was no difference in the amount of milk between the control and OT-treated groups during a 60-min suckling period. However, it was significantly greater in the OT-treated group during the first 20 min of the suckling period. These results indicate that a dose of OT is a factor in the attenuation of the intensity of suckling done by the pups, whereas the nursing and suckling behavior is not influenced by OT administration.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Inhibition of suckling in weaning-age rats: a possible serotonergic mechanism.

The nature, development, and specificity of serotonergic involvement in the control of suckling behavior in rat pups from 10 to 35 days of age were studied. During development, suckling normally declines after 10 days and is abandoned after 30 days. It was found that (a) methysergide, a serotonin (5-HT) receptor blocker, reinstated suckling behavior in pups 15 days of age and older but had no effect on the suckling of 10-day old pups, (b) quipazine, a 5-HT receptor agonist, inhibited suckling of pups 10 days of age and older, (c) methysergide pretreatment blocked the quipazine inhibition of suckling, and (d) metergoline, another 5-HT blocker, also stimulated suckling, and fenfluramine, a 5-HT releaser, blocked suckling in deprived pups. Together, these data support the hypothesis that a serotonergic inhibitory mechanism modulates the suckling of weaning-age rats. These pharmacological manipulations of 5-HT appear to alter specific components of suckling behavior involved in its initiation and maintenance but do not appear to alter a general hunger system.

Animal Population Groups↗