Massage Accelerates Brain Development and the Maturation of Visual Function

Abstract

Environmental enrichment (EE) was shown recently to accelerate brain development in rodents. Increased levels of maternal care, and particularly tactile stimulation through licking and grooming, may represent a key component in the early phases of EE. We hypothesized that enriching the environment in terms of body massage may thus accelerate brain development in infants. We explored the effects of body massage in preterm infants and found that massage accelerates the maturation of electroencephalographic activity and of visual function, in particular visual acuity. In massaged infants, we found higher levels of blood IGF-1. Massage accelerated the maturation of visual function also in rat pups and increased the level of IGF-1 in the cortex. Antagonizing IGF-1 action by means of systemic injections of the IGF-1 antagonist JB1 blocked the effects of massage in rat pups. These results demonstrate that massage has an influence on brain development and in particular on visual development and suggest that its effects are mediated by specific endogenous factors such as IGF-1.

Nurturing brain plasticity: impact of environmental enrichment

“…[50][51][52][53] Very recently, a protocol of daily artificial tactile stimulation has been used in the rat as a strategy to promote visual system development. 54 The authors reported that a combination of gently stroking and massaging is highly effective in accelerating the maturation of physiological visual functions, in particular of VA ( Figure 2b). Interestingly, tactile stimulation increases IGF-I levels in the visual cortex at P18, as also observed in EE animals, and blocking IGF-I action prevents the effects of massage on VA development.…”

“…Interestingly, tactile stimulation increases IGF-I levels in the visual cortex at P18, as also observed in EE animals, and blocking IGF-I action prevents the effects of massage on VA development. 54 Tactile stimulation also compensates for inadequate maternal care: the negative effects produced by repeated episodes of maternal separation or by prenatal stress on pup growth, hormone secretion, hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and BDNF expression are all rescued by artificial massage applied to pups in order to mimic maternal behaviour. [55][56][57] Altogether, these results provide a remarkable example of cross-modal plasticity by which an increased input in a single modality reverberates as a driving force for the whole brain.…”

Early Parent-Administered Physical Therapy for Preterm Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…8,9 Enriched environments and appropriately targeted training strategies affect brain and corticospinal development and are thereby likely to influence the brain's capacity to compensate for deficits after lesions. [10][11][12] The preterm period and first year postterm might be a sensitive period for motor development; as a result, interventions during this period could be beneficial to optimize motor development. 13 A meta-analysis on effects of early interventions posthospital discharge concluded with a small significant difference in motor outcome at age 0 to 3 years favoring intervention groups.…”

Addressing child under nutrition: can traditional practices offer a solution?

“…It reduces transepidermal water loss (TEWL) (g/m(2)/h, Mean Difference (MD) −6.80; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) −3.48, −10.15) with better skin condition and lower bacterial growth in the oil group (20% vs. 60%) and it prevents hypothermia [9]. Other positive effects include: weight gain through stimulation of the branches of the vagus nerve resulting in increased gastric activity and insulin secretion [10]; improved brain development and reduced risk of retinopathy of prematurity [11]; and conservation of heat and energy for growth [12]. Evidence from the developing world including studies from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, and Pakistan shows emollient therapy to be associated with improved weight gain and reduced risk of infection and mortality in preterm neonates [13].…”