Comparison and Analysis of Response of Premature Infants to Auditory Stimulus

Lee, Hyejung

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to compare the result of one-way ANOVA with that of cross-correlation time series analysis in order to evaluate physiologic responses of premature infants to human voices. METHODS: Four premature infants born prior to 32 weeks gestational age were included in the study. The Gould 4000TA Recording System recorded the preterm infant's heart and respiratory rate while they were listening to a pre-recorded voice recording. Each infant listened to both male and female voices (1 min each) at each testing session. RESULTS: The results of both one-way ANOVA and cross-correlation time series analysis using heart and respiratory rate data were not consistent in some of premature infants. A cross-correlation time series analysis revealed that the responses of premature infant to vocal stimulation occurred at a varying number of seconds after the stimulus was presented and lasted for over 20-30 sec. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that a time series analysis can provide more detailed information on the rapidly changing physiologic status of premature infant to the auditory stimulus. In addition, the results provide an insight into an auditory responsitivity of premature infants to a naturally occurring sound, the human voice, in the neonatal intensive care unit.