Figure 1.

CT-optimal touch reduces noxious-evoked brain activity following experimental and clinically required noxious stimulation in infants.

(A) Top: average background EEG activity, and responses to the first experimental noxious stimulus in the no-touch control, CT-optimal (∼3 cm/s), and CT non-optimal (∼30 cm/s) touch conditions (number of infants = 30). Traces are Woody filtered and shown overlaid with the template of noxious-evoked brain activity in red. This template [5] was used to calculate the magnitude of the noxious-evoked brain activity within each individual trial — see experimental procedures in Supplemental Information. For reference, a magnitude of 1 represents the average evoked response to a heel lance in a group of term-aged infants. Black dashed lines indicate the point of noxious stimulation; pink shading indicates the time window of interest for noxious-evoked brain activity. Bottom: the magnitude of the noxious-evoked brain activity in the background period and in response to experimental noxious stimulation following the no-touch control, CT-optimal, and CT non-optimal touch conditions in the first trial. (B) Top: average limb reflex withdrawal response to the first experimental noxious stimulus in each condition. Bottom: the magnitude of the limb reflex withdrawal quantified using root mean square (RMS) following the first noxious stimulus. (C) Top: average EEG response in no-touch control and the CT-optimal touch conditions following a clinically required heel lance (number of infants = 16 in each group). Traces are Woody filtered and shown overlaid with the template of noxious-evoked brain activity in red. Black dashed lines indicate the time of the heel lance; pink shading indicates the time window of interest for noxious-evoked brain activity. Bottom: CT-optimal touch significantly reduced the magnitude of the noxious-evoked brain activity. Error bars indicate mean ± standard error;

^∗ indicates p < 0.05; ^∗∗ indicates p < 0.01.