Epigenetics and Protective Factors in the Preterm Infant: Neural and Methylation Correlates of Developmental Care During Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization
Preterm infants (PT) spend their first weeks of life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they are exposed to unfavorable conditions with different effects on child development including long-term alterations in epigenetic regulation (DNA methylation). Recent studies document that these epigenetic changes are associated with behavioral modifications, such as altered stress reactivity at 3 months and 4 years. A growing number of studies suggest that protective Developmental Care (DC) procedures (e.g., breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact (SSC), maternal holding) positively impact neurophysiological and behavioral adaptation of PT with long-term effects. Additionally, a neuro-imaging study reported that parental support in the NICU is associated with improved brain connectivity. While in term (FT) infants, parental interpersonal touch (breastfeeding, affectionate touch) is associated with reduced methylation and activation of specific brain areas associated with affective interpersonal touch, to date no study has investigated whether DC practices and maternal care in NICU (specifically, SSC) buffer methylation and support the brain response to affectionate physical touch in PT. The present study investigates the association between DC procedures in NICU, DNA methylation, and brain responses to affectionate touch, investigated through the use of MRI, at 2 months of age (corrected for prematurity), controlling for: (1) birth status (PT vs FT); (2) the duration of SSC during the NICU stay; (3) parental affectionate touch in the home environment and during mother-child interaction.
• gestational age: 26+0 to 31+6 weeks;
• absence of documented neurological pathology;
• absence of sensory deficits;
• absence of malformative syndromes and/or major malformations.
• gestational age ≥ 37weeks;
• birth weight ≥ 2,500g;
• APGAR 5' ≥ 7 - delivery without any complications for the child and/or mother;
• no pre/postnatal/postnatal clinical conditions;
• no hospitalizations at the time of birth or postpartum;
• absence of malformative syndromes and/or major malformations.
• mothers of Italian nationality;
• mother over 18 years of age;
• mother with absence of manifest psychiatric and/or cognitive pathologies (must be previously diagnosed major psychiatric pathologies);
• non-addicted/no habitual use of psychotropic medications, drugs, alcohol no smoking;
• non-single-parent families.