The Role of the Heartbeat in the Relations between Mother and Infant

Salk, Lee

doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0573-24

Cited by 167 publications

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“…One hypothesis is derived from Salk's (1962; and above) experiments with newborns exposed to a recorded normal adult heartbeat sound. The positive effect of the heartbeat on the decrease of crying and weight gain prompted Salk (1973) to conclude that the sound of the normal adult heartbeat had a soothing effect on the newborn. As a consequence, when the baby is held on the mother's left side, he/she receives 308 Posture and laterality in human and non-human primates 309 soothing sensations from the mother's heartbeat.…”

Section: Functions Of Left Cradlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This original finding opened the way to other investigations in order to find out the factors responsible for this observed bias in cradling. Thus, Salk (1973) hypothesized that a postpartum separation could have an effect on the holding pattern. In order to investigate this hypothesis, Salk selected, as an experimental group, 115 mothers who had experienced prolonged separation (at least 24 h) from their infant after birth.…”

Section: Free Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Salk (1960) proposed that the heartbeat of the mother constituted a comforting stimulus to which the foetus was imprinted. In subsequent studies, Salk (1962Salk ( , 1973 tried to establish whether the observed bias was an instinctive response evolved from a need on the part of the infant to continue to experience the maternal heartbeat rhythm or, alternatively, whether it was based on learning a familiar sensation during intrauterine life. In order to investigate what was the effect of the heartbeat sound on the infant, two groups of infant newborns were formed.…”

Section: Human Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Posture and laterality in human and non-human primates: Asymmetries in maternal handling and the infant's early motor asymmetries

Damerose

Vauclair

2002

Comparative Vertebrate Lateralization

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This chapter is concerned with the question of the relations and possible influences of environmental factors on the establishment of patterns of manual lateralization in human and non-human primates. More specifically, we are interested in the relation between maternal postures and laterality in nonhuman primates (e.g. bias in cradling behaviour and hand preference of the mother) and the development of patterns of manual preferences in infants. In order to understand fully the many ways in which these variables could interact, we first review the evidence of postural biases in human adults when cradling and carrying their offspring. Next, we examine the divergent hypotheses advanced to explain the observed biases. The same is then done for non-human primates. A second part of our chapter (see Section 9.3) describes the different asymmetric patterns observed during the development of the infant concerning head turning, nipple preference, etc. i n both human and non-human primates.In a third part (see Section 9.4), we describe and compare the methods and definitions used by the different authors in their work. Then, we present the descriptions and definitions of behaviours that we are using in an ongoing study of Olive baboons (Papio anubis).Our main goal is to contribute to understanding the phylogenetic origins of hand laterality in humans by examining some of its possible determinants in non-human primates. Despite numerous efforts to propose models and explanatory schemata of hand laterality in non-human primates (e.g. MacNeilage, Studdert-Kennedy and Lindblom, 1987;Fagot and Vauclair, 1991; Ward and Hopkins, 1993), this question is still largely unresolved. On the other hand, views of determinants of hand laterality in humans still fluctuate between genetically (e.g. Annett, 1985Annett, , 1995 Hopkins and 307

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Section: Functions Of Left Cradlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Free Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Human Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Posture and laterality in human and non-human primates: Asymmetries in maternal handling and the infant's early motor asymmetries

Damerose

Vauclair

2002

Comparative Vertebrate Lateralization

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“…Salk (1960) was the first to suggest that humans exhibit a left cradling bias for infants and the finding has been replicated in various human cultures (Damerose and Vauclair, 2002). Salk (1973) reported no association between maternal hand preference and maternal cradling bias, which may have led some to believe that the asymmetries in maternal cradling bias are due to biases related to expression of specific emotional states (Sieratzki and Woll, 1996). Whether this is the case or not is a matter of debate beyond the scope of this paper (Bencie and Sieratzki, 2002;Turnbull et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laterality in Maternal Cradling and Infant Positional Biases: Implications for the Development and Evolution of Hand Preferences in Nonhuman Primates

Hopkins

2004

International Journal of Primatology

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Left-sided maternal cradling has been widely reported in human populations. In this paper, I review the evidence of laterality in maternal cradling and infant positional biases in non-human primates. The review revealed some evidence of population-left sided cradling in great apes but little consistency in bias was found among Old and New World monkeys. Very little data have been reported in prosimians. I further describe how asymmetries in either maternal cradling or infant positional biases may explain individual and species differences in hand preference.

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“…56,57 The infants exposed to the sounds were reported to gain more weight (without taking in more calories), to cry less, and to have more regular respirations than infants not exposed. This study was flawed in design and execution and replication studies were never able to repeat the findings.…”

Section: Heartbeat Soundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing and Behavioral Responses to Sound in Full-Term Newborns

Philbin

Klaas

2000

J Perinatol

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NEWBORN HEARING Behaviors Indicating Hearing in the Newborǹ`Can the baby hear this sound?''``Can he appreciate the difference between this sound and that one?''``Does she recognize my voice?''`I s that noise keeping him awake?'' These and similar questions are of interest to those caring for newborn infants and also to researchers. The answers to them depend in part on the baby behaviors that adults attend to because human newborns, despite their large brains and fairly well-developed hearing, are limited in what they can do to indicate they have heard something. Researchers have, therefore, devoted considerable effort to defining newborns' behavioral responses precisely and to developing measurements that all but eliminate unintentional bias from behavioral observations. Humans at birth have reasonably good control over the muscles that govern eye movement. With careful support they also have control over the muscles that turn the head. These abilities coupled with an apparently innate tendency to coordinate vision with hearing lead newborns to orient toward (turn eyes or head or both toward) new or preferred sounds if the sounds last 1 second or longer. 1Term newborns also have a reliable blink reflex that can be used to test hearing for fairly loud sounds. Newborn infants have good control over the muscles involved in sucking and tend to suck faster or harder in response to a new or interesting sound Ð or sight. Additionally, they can indicate their attention to a sound with a package of body movements and facial expressions that a parent or trained observer can learn to identify reliably. Researchers have catalogued some of the details of newborn hearing by making careful measurements of these naturally occurring movement responses to sound. The observant parent or clinician can also use these behaviors to try to understand an individual newborn's responses to the sounds in his or her environment.Unfortunately, however, newborns as individuals and as a group are very variable. Their periods of alertness can be brief, they pay attention differently at different times, and they are easily distracted. Their 4-to 8-second lag before responding and slow or uncoordinated head-turn movements can lend the impression of not responding, particularly if the sound signal is shorter than 1 to 2 seconds. 2After several repetitions of the same, moderately loud sound they may habituate to it (tune it out) and stop responding altogether. Infants at birth may show less sensitive hearing than a few days afterward if there is amniotic fluid in the middle ear although this drains away or is absorbed within 2 or 3 days. Of course, newborns' responses will be atypical if they are not well or are affected by medications or street drugs that the mother has transmitted before birth. Moreover, animal studies indicate that some aspects of hearing may develop very rapidly in the immediate period just after birth so that responses to a particular sound at time A may be quite different from responses to the same sound at time B only a sho...

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The Role of the Heartbeat in the Relations between Mother and Infant

Cited by 167 publications

References 0 publications

Posture and laterality in human and non-human primates: Asymmetries in maternal handling and the infant's early motor asymmetries

Posture and laterality in human and non-human primates: Asymmetries in maternal handling and the infant's early motor asymmetries

Laterality in Maternal Cradling and Infant Positional Biases: Implications for the Development and Evolution of Hand Preferences in Nonhuman Primates

Hearing and Behavioral Responses to Sound in Full-Term Newborns

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