Babies cannot speak, making pain evaluations (especially in newborns) very difficult for physicians and parents alike. Even though a baby may cry, writhe, or grimace when in pain (physical signs a doctor examining a baby may notice), these signals may be misleading, as babies exhibit similar behaviors for painless concerns, such as for hunger or simply the need for nestling. Study coauthor Rebeccah Slater of the University of Oxford and her colleagues attempted to accurately determine when a newborn baby is in distress by relying on reports of the brain activity of the infant in response to stimuli. To complete this task, Slater and colleagues measured the brain activity of 18 infants between the ages of two and five days old. The researchers attached electrodes to the scalps of the babies (specifically near the anterior “soft spot”, where the skull has not completely closed) and gathered electroencephalography (EEG)
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For example, 10 out of 28 babies who received heel lances as the painful event did not exhibit the same neural spike as the other babies. Additionally, the neural signature did not exactly match up with the physical responses of the babies. Some babies who indicated pain by grimacing or altering facial expressions did not show an expected spike in brain activity, for example. Similarly, some babies who showed a neural spike to the painful event did not alter their facial expressions at all. Pediatric pain researcher Carlo Bellieni (at the University Hospital Siena in Italy) asserts that even if the EEG approach to newborn pain assessment is improved, it still might not be clinically beneficial, since this method cannot be used to alter a panful situation in real time. Nevertheless, Bellieni agrees that the EEG method may become an important research tool in the
For example, 10 out of 28 babies who received heel lances as the painful event did not exhibit the same neural spike as the other babies. Additionally, the neural signature did not exactly match up with the physical responses of the babies. Some babies who indicated pain by grimacing or altering facial expressions did not show an expected spike in brain activity, for example. Similarly, some babies who showed a neural spike to the painful event did not alter their facial expressions at all. Pediatric pain researcher Carlo Bellieni (at the University Hospital Siena in Italy) asserts that even if the EEG approach to newborn pain assessment is improved, it still might not be clinically beneficial, since this method cannot be used to alter a panful situation in real time. Nevertheless, Bellieni agrees that the EEG method may become an important research tool in the