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Cited by 15Infant Health and DevelopmentPediatric Pain Management TechniquesSleep and Wakefulness Research

A method to soothe and promote sleep in crying infants utilizing the transport response

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Ohmura, Nami, Okuma, Lana, Truzzi, Anna, Shinozuka, Kazutaka, Saito, Atsuko, Yokota, Susumu, Bizzego, Andrea, Miyazawa, Eri +3 more·2022·Current Biology
DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.041
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Abstract

Approximately 20%–30% of infants cry excessively and exhibit sleep difficulties for no apparent reason, causing parental stress and even triggering impulsive child maltreatment in a small number of cases. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 While several sleep training methods or parental education programs may provide long-term improvement of infant cry and sleep problems, there is yet to be a conclusive recommendation for on-site behavioral interventions. 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 Previously we have reported that brief carrying of infants transiently reduces infant cry via the transport response, a coordinated set of vagal activation and behavioral calming conserved in altricial mammals. 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 In this study, we disentangled complex infant responses to maternal holding and transport by combining subsecond-scale, event-locked physiological analyses with dynamic mother-infant interactions. Infant cry was attenuated either by maternal carrying or by reciprocal motion provided by a moving cot, but not by maternal holding. Five-minute carrying promoted sleep for crying infants even in the daytime when these infants were usually awake, but not for non-crying infants. Maternal laydown of sleeping infants into a cot exerted bimodal effects, either interrupting or deepening the infants' sleep. During laydown, sleeping infants were alerted most consistently by the initiation of maternal detachment, then calmed after the completion of maternal detachment in a successful laydown. Finally, the sleep outcome after laydown was associated with the sleep duration before the laydown onset. These data propose a "5-min carrying, 5- to 8- min sitting" scheme for attending to infant cry and sleep difficulties, which should be further substantiated in future studies. Video abstract

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  • Human infants may expect positive moving touch, which promotes brain development.

    “In addition to caressing touch, human infants may expect positive moving touch, which promotes brain development.”

    From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Ohmura et al. (2022)

    The paper’s Abstract (page not available in our copy) reports that carrying or motion from a moving cot calmed crying infants, supporting a beneficial response to movement. It does not establish that infants expect positive moving touch or that it promotes brain development; the study concerns short-term crying and sleep responses. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • A recent study demonstrated the calming effects of moving touch on an infant.

    “A recent study demonstrated the calming effects of moving touch on an infant (Ohmura et al., 2022).”

    From The evolved nest, oxytocin functioning, and prosocial development (2023) · cites this paper as Ohmura et al. (2022)

    The Results passage provided under Abstract (page unavailable) reports that carrying or a moving cot attenuated infant crying, while holding without motion did not. This supports a calming effect of movement, but the study did not establish that moving touch itself was the calming stimulus. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Ohmura, N., Okuma, L., Truzzi, A., Shinozuka, K., Saito, A., Yokota, S., Bizzego, A., Miyazawa, E., Shimizu, M., Esposito, G., & Kuroda, K. O.
Affiliations
  • RIKEN Center for Brain Science (JP)
  • University of Trento (IT)
  • Saitama Prefecture (JP)
  • Saitama Children's Medical Center (JP)
Corresponding author
  • Esposito, Gianluca
  • Kuroda, Kumi O.
ORCID
Venue
Current Biology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022-10
Volume
32
Issue
20
Pages
4521-4529.e4
ISSN
0960-9822 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.041
OpenAlex
W4295900654
Cited by
15
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4
FWCI
4.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Current Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Iris (University of Trento) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (20052022, 16K21617, 19K17074, 24730563, 18KT0036)
  • RIKEN
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Infant Health and Development
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
Keywords
infant crying, vagal activation, mother-infant interaction, sleep duration, parental stress, behavioral interventions
MeSH terms
Animals, Anxiety, Child, Humans, Infant, Mammals, Mother-Child Relations, Research Design, Sleep, Sleep Wake Disorders

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