Very preterm children exhibited shorter but more frequent gazes toward conversation partners and higher heart rate variability compared to full-term peers.
Very preterm children exhibit altered gaze behavior and heightened autonomic reactivity during social interactions, highlighting potential targets for socio-emotional interventions.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
BACKGROUND: Improved survival of very preterm (<32 weeks of gestation) infants has highlighted neurodevelopmental and socio-emotional challenges. As altered gaze behavior and autonomic functioning may contribute to these difficulties, we investigated this in thirty-nine very preterm and thirty-eight full-term 8-to-12-year-old children. METHODS: We assessed gaze behavior during a semi-structured conversation. Autonomic functioning was evaluated through heart rate variability and skin conductance responses at rest and during an eye contact paradigm. RESULTS: Preterms exhibited shorter but more frequent gazes toward their conversation partner than full-terms. Moreover, both at rest and during the eye contact paradigm, they demonstrated higher heart rate variability. No group differences in skin conductance responses were observed at rest, but during the eye contact paradigm, preterms displayed more pronounced skin conductance responses regardless of condition. CONCLUSION: Very preterm children exhibited reduced sustained social attention and heightened autonomic activity. Nevertheless, reported subjective experiences were similar among both groups, suggesting that heightened arousal reflects general physiological reactivity rather than perceived stress. This underscores the importance of potential interventions targeting attentional control to improve socio-emotional outcomes in very preterm children. IMPACT: Very preterm (VPT) survivors often face socio-emotional challenges, including altered gaze behavior and autonomic functioning. VPT children engaged in shorter but more frequent gazes toward conversation partners compared to FT peers, indicating difficulties with sustained attention. Assessments in middle childhood reveal increased parasympathetic activity, heightened sympathetic arousal, and faster skin conductance recovery during eye contact, highlighting the need for supportive interventions.
Tang et al. (Wed,) reported a other. Very preterm children exhibited shorter but more frequent gazes toward conversation partners and higher heart rate variability compared to full-term peers.
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