Sympathetic nervous system functioning during the face-to-face still-face paradigm in the first year of life

Contemporary theories of early development and emerging child psychopathology all posit a major, if not central role for physiological responsiveness. To understand infants’ potential risk for emergent psychopathology, consideration is needed to both autonomic reactivity and environmental contexts (e.g., parent–child interactions). The current study maps infants’ arousal during the face-to-face still-face paradigm using skin conductance (n = 255 ethnically-diverse mother–infant dyads; 52.5% girls, mean infant age = 7.4 months; SD = 0.9 months). A novel statistical approach was designed to model the potential build-up of nonlinear counter electromotive force over the course of the task. Results showed a significant increase in infants’ skin conductance between the Baseline Free-play and the Still-Face phase, and a significant decrease in skin conductance during the Reunion Play when compared to the Still-Face phase. Skin conductance during the Reunion Play phase remained significantly higher than during the Baseline Play phase; indicating that infants had not fully recovered from the mild social stressor. These results further our understanding of infant arousal during dyadic interactions, and the role of caregivers in the development of emotion regulation during infancy.

VEGETATIVE REACTIVITY OF CHILDREN WITH STREPTOCOCCAL TONSILITIS ON THE BACKGROUND OF HERPES VIRAL INFECTION

Streptococcal infection in children, its complications and adverse long-term consequences remain an urgent problem in pediatrics. Scientists continue to search for factors that shape the course of the disease. One of them is the timely and adequate response of the autonomic nervous system, which provides both short-term and long-term strategic adaptation of the organism. Violations of this adaptation can lead to the presence of comorbid conditions, which are increasingly common. The share of children is growing. infected with the herpes virus group, including human herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6). The aim of the work was to study the state of vegetative reactivity (VR) of children with streptococcal tonsillitis on the background of HHV-6 infection. In 68 children aged 4 - 15 years with tonsillitis of streptococcal etiology of moderate severity, vegetative reactivity was determined by cardiointervalography (CIG) followed by analysis of heart rate variability (CP) depending on the presence or absence of concomitant HHV-6 type of infection. The studies were performed in the acute period of the disease and in the period of early convalescence. The control group consisted of 20 healthy children, similar in age and sex. Static processing of the obtained results was performed using Excel and Statistica 6.0 using parametric and non-parametric research methods. Results. In the acute period of streptococcal tonsillitis in children of both groups there was a decrease in the humoral component in the regulation of the system and the level of activity of the parasympathetic ANS, as evidenced by a decrease in Mo and ΔX, independent of background, p> 0.05. There was an activation of the influence of the sympathetic link of the VNS, increased the degree of centralization of heart rate control in all patients, and this was confirmed by an increase in AMO and IN. Prior to the convalescence period, CIG parameters were restored only in patients without concomitant VGL-6 infection, and the interrelationships of the sympathetic and parasympathetic links of the VNS were restructured with increasing role of the latter. In patients with concomitant VGL-6 infection, the values ​​of ΔX and IN differed significantly from the control group, p˂0.05. Thus, in children with streptococcal tonsillitis on the background of HHV-6 infection, there was a decrease in the level of functioning of the sympathetic VNS, but complete recovery did not occur, indicating instability of adaptation processes, depletion of the parasympathetic VNS, which hides the possibility of failure of adaptation, recurrence of the disease and / or chronicity, the development of secondary disorders of the cardiovascular system. Conclusions. The acute period of streptococcal tonsillitis is accompanied by stress of the sympathetic VNS, the severity of which does not depend on the presence of concomitant herpes virus infection. In the period of convalescence of streptococcal tonsillitis in the presence of children with HHV-6 infection there is no complete recovery of autonomic reactivity, among which the most informative are ΔX and IN.

Reward-Related Dysfunctions in Children Developing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder—Roles of Oppositional and Callous-Unemotional Symptoms

Objectives: Neurocognitive functions might indicate specific pathways in developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We focus on reward-related dysfunctions and analyze whether reward-related inhibitory control (RRIC), approach motivation, and autonomic reactivity to reward-related stimuli are linked to developing ADHD, while accounting for comorbid symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and callous-unemotional (CU) traits.Methods: A sample of 198 preschool children (115 boys; age: m = 58, s = 6 months) was re-assessed at age 8 years (m = 101.4, s = 3.6 months). ADHD diagnosis was made by clinical interviews. We measured ODD symptoms and CU traits using a multi-informant approach, RRIC (Snack-Delay task, Gift-Bag task) and approach tendency using neuropsychological tasks, and autonomic reactivity via indices of electrodermal activity (EDA).Results: Low RRIC and low autonomic reactivity were uniquely associated with ADHD, while longitudinal and cross-sectional links between approach motivation and ADHD were completely explained by comorbid ODD and CU symptoms.Conclusion: High approach motivation indicated developing ADHD with ODD and CU problems, while low RRIC and low reward-related autonomic reactivity were linked to developing pure ADHD. The results are in line with models on neurocognitive subtypes in externalizing disorders.

Investigating dysautonomia of Bradbury Eggleston syndrome: A case report

This is a report of 65 years old man with recurrent episodes of dizziness while standing from supine position and history of constipation and nocturia since last 6 months. Patient disclosed no significant past history other than treated pulmonary tuberculosis 5 years back. The general mental state and vital parameters were within normal limits. Autonomic function tests and heart rate variability analysis measured autonomic reactivity and tone respectively. The tests revealed that autonomic dysfunction include severe sympathetic and mild parasympathetic involvement. After exclusion of other possible causes of orthostatic hypertension, diagnosis of pure autonomic failure also known as Bradbury Eggleston syndrome was established. Treatment with fludrocortisones and non-pharmacological interventions improved orthostatic tolerance.