Maturation of the Human Fetal Startle Response: Evidence for Sex-Specific Maturation of the Human Fetus

Authors

Claudia Buss, University of California - Irvine
Elyssia Poggi Davis, University of California - IrvineFollow
Quetzal A. Class, Indiana University
Matt Gierczak, University of California - Irvine
Carol Pattillo, University of California - Irvine
Laura M. Glynn, Chapman UniversityFollow
Curt A. Sandman, University of California - IrvineFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Abstract

Despite the evidence for early fetal experience exerting programming influences on later neurological development and health risk, very few prospective studies of human fetal behavior have been reported. In a prospective longitudinal study, fetal nervous system maturation was serially assessed by monitoring fetal heart rate (FHR) responses to vibroacoustic stimulation (VAS) in 191 maternal/fetal dyads. Responses were not detected at 26 weeks gestational age (GA). Sex-specific, age-characteristic changes in the FHR response to VAS were observed by 31 weeks' GA. Males showed larger responses and continued to exhibit maturational changes until 37 weeks'GA, females however, presented with a mature FHR startle response by 31 weeks' GA. The results indicate that there are different rates of maturation in the male and female fetuses that may have implications for sex-specific programming influences. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Comments

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Early Human Development. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Early Human Development, volume 85, in 2009. DOI:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2009.08.001

The Creative Commons license below applies only to this version of the article.

Recommended Citation

Buss C*, Davis EP, Class QA, Gierczak M, Patillo C, Glynn LM & Sandman CA (2009). Maturation of the human fetal startle response: Evidence for sex-specific maturation of the human fetus. Early Human Development, 85, 633-638.
DOI:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2009.08.001

Copyright

Elsevier

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.