Neonatal Nutritive Sucking: Effects of Taste Stimulation upon Sucking Rhythm and Heart Rate
- 1 June 1976
- journal article
- research article
- Published by JSTOR in Child Development
- Vol. 47 (2) , 518-522
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1128812
Abstract
The sucking behavior and heart rate of 22 full-term newborns were recorded. Half of the infants sucked for 9 min in 3 blocks of 3 min, first receiving a 0.02-ml drop of 5% sucrose for each criterion suck, then no fluid contingent upon such sucks, and finally a 0.02-ml drop of 15% sucrose for each suck. The other half received these conditions in reverse order. Regardless of the order in which the 2 nutrient conditions were administered, intersuck intervals were longer under the sweeter condition, but heart rate was also higher. Possible interpretations include a hedonic explanation suggesting that sucking rate is modulated to facilitate savoring of the sweeter fluid.This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- A system for response measurement and reinforcement delivery for infant sucking-behavior researchJournal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1967
- Relationship between cardiac rate and nonnutritive sucking in human infants.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1966