GSR can differentiate painful from tactile stimulation, but more research is needed to achieve a clinically useful application.

No abstract

To investigate the soothing effect of feeding on infants in distress, the effects of 2mL 15% and 1 mL 25% sucrose given orally 2 min before heel prick in fasting preterms to reduce the pain response were assessed. The effects of milk intake by nasogastric tube were also assessed once during the last hour before heel prick, and the effects of milk intake by nasogastric tube once during the last hour before heel prick together with 1 mL 25% sucrose given orally 2 min before heel prick. The pain response was measured as changes in crying time, behavioural state, skin conductance and heart rate. Each group included 12 healthy preterm infants with a median gestational age of 32 wk and a median postnatal age of 14 d. These infants were randomly studied twice; one in connection with the intervention and once after being given sterilized water. Differences in the measured variables before and during heel prick showed that only the crying time was reduced when the infants received milk or 25% sucrose prior to heel prick (p > 0.05). If the infants received milk and 25% sucrose before heel prick, the crying time and the level of behavioural state were reduced (p > 0.05). The increase from before to during heel prick in skin conductance (number and amplitude of the waves) and heart rate correlated with the crying time (p > 0.01). Conclusion: This study supports the hypothesis that sucrose has an antinociceptive effect and suggests that food should also be given to preterm neonates prior to procedural pain.

Skin conductance changes (SCC) reflect the activity in the sympathetic postganglionic cholinergic fibers, which innervate the sweat glands located in the palm of the hand and the sole of the foot. The purpose of this study was to measure the changes in the number of waves per second, the wave amplitude, and the mean skin conductance level during the 1st year of life. During SCC elicited by an auditory stimulus we measured the percentage of infants that responded, the amplitude, latency and recovery times, and any habituation pattern. Thirty-nine full-born, healthy infants were investigated during their 1st and 3rd days of life, at 3 and 10 wk of life, and at 6 and 12 mo of life. The mean skin conductance level (p < 0.001), the number of waves with an amplitude threshold higher than 0.5 and 1.0 micro siemens (p < 0.001), and the amplitude of the waves (p < 0.001) all increased during the first 10 wk of life. The percentage that responded to stimuli increased from 8% to 50%, and the amplitude of the response increased during the first 10 wk of life (p < 0.001). The level of arousal influenced the mean skin conductance level, the number of waves per second, and the amplitude of the waves during the 1st year of life. In conclusion, these results indicate that the part of the sympathetic nervous system associated with arousal develops during the first 10 wk of life.