Sleep, autonomic control, and preterm birth —complex interrelationships with important health consequences

Heart rate variability is now well-established as a means to assess autonomic nervous system (ANS) control by analyzing the beat-to-beat variability over time of consecutive heart beats. The R-R intervals are mathematically transformed and depicted as power spectra within different frequency domains. Low frequency reflects both sympathetic and parasympathetic activity, high frequency reflects parasympathetic activity, and total power reflects overall autonomic activity. These analyses have been applied to a wide range of clinical conditions, and investigators have studied maturation of ANS control in preterm and term infants, with some evidence of increased influence of the parasympathetic system early in life (Physiol Meas 2016;37:1436-46).
Source: The Journal of Pediatrics - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: The Editors' Perspectives Source Type: research