Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) for Improving Oromotor Function in Newborns

Infants born prematurely or who suffer a global hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) are at high risk for motor problems, which manifest as feeding delays during their hospital admission. Oromotor dyscoordination is common in these infants, and feeding difficulty is the primary reason for delayed discharge [1]. Many infants who do not master this motor skill before term age (40-42 weeks gestation) will receive a gastrostomy tube (G-tube) for direct gastric feeding. Furthermore, feeding difficulties in infants are associated with later language delays, even in the absence of gross motor impairment [2].

Source: BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation - July 2, 2018 Category: Neurology Authors: Bashar W. Badran, Dorothea D. Jenkins, William H. Devries, Morgan Dancy, Philipp M. Summers, Georgia M. Mappin, Henry Bernstein, Marom Bikson, Patricia Cocker-Bolt, Mark S. George Source Type: research