Project Title:	Massage to Promote Neural Function and Development in VLBW Infants
Principal Investigator/Program Director:	Miguel Diego, Ph.D.
Other Investigators and Departments (or other Universities, if applicable):	Tiffany Field, Ph.D.
Community Based Organization-Collaborator (if applicable)	NA
Funding Source (e.g., NICHD, NCI, Dept of Education, Children’s Trust):	NCCAM
Annual Direct Costs:	$200,000
Annual Facility and Administration Costs (F&A) and Rate, (e.g., 53%, 10%):	(53%)
Total Project Award (Combined Direct and F&A Costs):	$612,000
Dates of Award (if pending, indicated Pending):	Pending
Lay Abstract (in space below): Please be concise (space below will word wrap and expand)	Please include: (a) Specific Aims, Objectives, and/or Hypotheses of the study; (b) Participants (disease or disability, age, gender, child, family, etc), (c) Project type (eg., descriptive study, service demonstration project, case study, ethnographic study, clinical trial); (d) Brief description of methods and procedures; and (e) anticipated outcomes/benefits
Improvements in neonatal intensive care have increased the survival of very low weight (VLBW) premature infants. However, the neural and vascular immaturity characteristics of VLBW infants place them at high risk for sustaining brain injuries, particularly to white cortical matter, which may in turn lead to the development of neurological disabilities. The prevention and treatment of neurological insults in VLBW infants have become one of the primary goals of modern neonatology. As such, it is essential to identify and develop interventions that can promote neural development and improve neural function in this population. Animal models suggest that supplementary tactile stimulation administered in infancy can not only reduce behavioral impairments but also promote neural recovery following brain injury. Preterm infant massage may also promote neural development and improve neural function in VLBW infants. For example, preterm infants who received 10 days of massage therapy exhibited improved performance on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale at the end of the treatment period and improved Bayley Mental and Motor Development scores during a 6-month follow-up assessment. To explore whether massage therapy can improve neural function in humans, the proposed project will assess the effects of massage on VLBW infants’ cortical processing speed of somatosensory and visual stimuli. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) will be collected on the first and last days of treatment to derive SEP and VEP latencies. Assessing the effects of preterm infant massage on SEPs and VEPs will also help to identify whether massage improves neural function primarily within the central motor/ somatosensory areas or across a wider range of cortical regions. In the proposed study, 100 VLBW infants will be randomly assigned to a massage therapy or to a simple hands-on, touch/attention control group (N=50 per group). Infants in the massage treatment group will receive three, 15-minute massages consisting of tactile and kinesthetic stimulation (stroking and flexion/ extension of the limbs) for two weeks. Neurophysiological (SEPs and VEPs) assessments will be collected prior to the beginning and at the end of the treatment period. The specific aims of the proposed research are to assess whether infant massage can neural function, as measured by decreased SEP and VEP latencies, and to identify infant characteristics that may influence the effects of massage on these measures.
Abstracts and/or Publications Resulting from the Project: