Birkbeck
Research Findings
Here, you can find some of our research publications shared in international journals and conferences. By publishing, we ensure our findings are reviewed by experts and help improve care for babies worldwide.
Research from our IPSI & Babylab groups
As we are still in the process of collecting data from our new SENSE study, there are no publications yet. Below you can find previous publications from our IPSI (Infant Pain and Somatosensory Imaging) and Babylab groups.
K Whitehead, C Papadelis, M P Laudiano-Dray, J Meek, L Fabrizi
Cerebral Cortex, Volume 29, Issue 5, May 2019, Pages 2245–2260, doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhz030
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​The somatosensory system has a hierarchical organization. Information processing increases in complexity from the contralateral primary sensory cortex to bilateral association cortices and this is represented by a sequence of somatosensory-evoked potentials recorded with scalp electroencephalographies. The mammalian somatosensory system matures over the early postnatal period in a rostro-caudal progression, but little is known about the development of hierarchical information processing in the human infant brain. To investigate the normal human development of the somatosensory hierarchy, we recorded potentials evoked by mechanical stimulation of hands and feet in 34 infants between 34 and 42 weeks corrected gestational age, with median postnatal age of 3 days. We show that the shortest latency potential was evoked for both hands and feet at all ages with a contralateral somatotopic source in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). However, the longer latency responses, localized in SI and beyond, matured with age. They gradually emerged for the foot and, although always present for the hand, showed a shift from purely contralateral to bilateral hemispheric activation. These results demonstrate the rostro-caudal development of human somatosensory hierarchy and suggest that the development of its higher tiers is complete only just before the time of normal birth.
Laura Jones, Maria Pureza Laudiano-Dray, Kimberley Whitehead, Judith Meek, Maria Fitzgerald, Lorenzo Fabrizi, Rebecca Pillai Riddell
European Journal of Pain, Volume 25, Issue 1, January 2021, Pages 149-159; https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.1656
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​This observational study found that the way in which the neonatal brain processes a noxious stimulus is altered by the type of contact the infant has with their mother. Specifically, being held in skin-to-skin reduces the magnitude of noxious-related cortical activity. This work has also shown that different neural mechanisms are engaged depending on the mother/infant context, suggesting maternal contact can change how a baby's brain processes a noxious stimulus.
Kimberley Whitehead, Laura Jones, Pureza Laudiano Dray, Judith Meek, Lorenzo Fabrizi
Clin Neurophysiol Pract., 2017, Dec 19;3:20–21; doi: 10.1016/j.cnp.2017.12.002
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​Interestingly we show that EEG application is actually associated with decreased stress levels in infants with higher stress levels at baseline. In line with this EEG-associated decrease in cortisol levels, tactile stimulation of the head and body decreases stress behaviours in neonates (Hernandez-Reif et al., 2007). Further, gentle time-limited sensory stimulation significantly reduces salivary cortisol concentration in neonates (music: Schwilling et al., 2015) and older infants (swimming; riding in car, irrespective of whether sleep occurs: reviewed in Jansen et al. 2010). Therefore it is possible that EEG application has the potential to be soothing when carried out by experienced staff, especially in conjunction with comfort measures as necessary, which neonates with higher stress levels may be more likely to both require and benefit from.
Sleep, Volume 44, Issue 1, January 2021; doi: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa148
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​Sleep bouts are differently regulated in infants, with especially long active sleep durations that could consolidate this state’s maturational functions. Curtailment of sleep by stress and nociception may be disadvantageous, especially for preterm infants given the limited value of wakefulness at this age. This could be addressed by environmental interventions in the future.
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (2021) 13:1; https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-020-09334-1
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Conclusions: Reduced tactile neural repetition suppression is an early marker of later ASD traits in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD or ADHD, suggesting that a common pathway to later ASD traits exists despite different familial backgrounds. Elevated tactile sensory seeking may act as a protective factor, mitigating the relationship between early tactile neural repetition suppression and later ASD traits.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Tactile sensory processing, Tactile sensory seeking, Repetition suppression, EEG, Alpha amplitude desynchronization, Infant sibling design
Laura Jones, Dafnis Batalle, Judith Meek, David Edwards, Maria Fitzgerald, Tomoki Arichi, Lorenzo Fabrizi
bioRxiv 2024.04.12.589217; https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.12.589217
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Pain is multidimensional and complex, including sensory-discriminative, affective- motivational, and cognitive-evaluative components. While the concept of pain is learned through life experience, it is not known when and how the brain networks that are required to encode these different dimensions of pain develop. This data suggests that pain-related networks may have distinct periods of vulnerability to untimely noxious procedures during hospitalization, particularly in preterm infants.
Mohammed Rupawala, Oana Bucsea, Maria Pureza Laudiano-Dray, Kimberley Whitehead, Judith Meek, Maria Fitzgerald, Sofia Olhede, Laura Jones, Lorenzo Fabrizi
Current Biology Volume 33, Issue 8, Pages 1397-1406.e5; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.071
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Highlights​:
Term but not preterm neonates habituate to repeated unavoidable painful stimuli​.
Habituation occurs in behavioral, autonomic, and early cortical responses​.
Higher-level pain processing is affected by stimulus repetition in both age groups.
Kimberley Whitehead, Mohammed Rupawala, Maria Pureza Laudiano-Dray, Judith Meek, Sofia Olhede, Lorenzo Fabrizi
bioRxiv 2022.12. 08.519675; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.12.08.519675
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The activity of the developing cortex is characteristically discontinuous where sudden high amplitude bursts interrupt periods of quiescent background. While the functional importance of this activity is clear, its aetiology is not known. Here, we hypothesise that this alternating pattern arises because of “refractoriness” of cortical networks following spontaneous activation.
Discussion: Sensory-evoked activity in preterm human neonates likely represents the coordinated activation of extended (tangential) and local (e.g. columnar) cortical aggregates. The occurrence of spontaneous cortical events in the same cortical regions depresses their excitability preventing their immediate re-engagement. This “refractoriness” offers the first etiological explanation to the cyclical burst-quiescence pattern typical of preterm cortical activity.
Rebeccah Slater, Lorenzo Fabrizi, Alan Worley, Judith Meek, Stewart Boyd, Maria Fitzgerald
NeuroImage, Volume 52, Issue 2, 15 August 2010, Pages 583-589; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.04.253
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​This study demonstrates that infants who are born prematurely and who have experienced at least 40 days of intensive or special care have increased brain neuronal responses to noxious stimuli compared to healthy newborns at the same postmenstrual age. [...] Our ability to quantify and measure experience-dependent changes in infant cortical pain processing will allow us to develop a more rational approach to pain management in neonatal intensive care.
Mohammed Rupawala, Oana Bucsea, Maria Pureza Laudiano-Dray, Kimberley Whitehead, Judith Meek, Maria Fitzgerald, Sofia Olhede, Laura Jones, Lorenzo Fabrizi
Current Biology, Volume 33, Issue 8, P1397-1406.E5, April 24, 2023; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.071
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