Early Repetitive Pain in Preterm Infants in Relation to the Developing Brain

Abstract

SUMMARY Infants born preterm (<37 weeks of gestation) are particularly vulnerable to procedural stress and pain exposure during neonatal intensive care, at a time of rapid and complex brain development. Concerns regarding effects of neonatal pain on brain development have long been expressed. However, empirical evidence of adverse associations is relatively recent. Thus, many questions remain to be answered. This review discusses the short- and long-term effects of pain-related stress and associated treatments on brain maturation and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born preterm. The current state of the evidence is presented and future research directions are proposed.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

RE Grunau‘s research program is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R01 HD39783, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) MOP86489 and MOP79262, and she holds a Senior Scientist award from the Child and Family Research Institute. M Ranger is supported by a CIHR postdoctoral Fellowship and is a member of the Pain In Child Health CIHR strategic training initiative. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

RE Grunau‘s research program is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R01 HD39783, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) MOP86489 and MOP79262, and she holds a Senior Scientist award from the Child and Family Research Institute. M Ranger is supported by a CIHR postdoctoral Fellowship and is a member of the Pain In Child Health CIHR strategic training initiative. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.