The vocal repertoire of preterm infants: Characteristics and possible applications

Vanessa André (1) , Virginie Durier (1) , Severine Henry (1) , Fouad Nassur (1) , Jacques Sizun (2, 3) , Martine Hausberger (1) , Alban Lemasson (1)

1 EthoS - Ethologie animale et humaine
2 Pôle de la Femme, de la Mère et de l’Enfant
3 LNB - Laboratoire de Neurosciences de Brest

We investigated infants’ capacities to express themselves orally at very early developmental stages. Most reports focus on crying when in pain or hungry. We evaluated young preterm infants’ spontaneous vocal production in non-painful contexts. We identified a vocal repertoire composed of nine types of vocalisations. High-pitched sounds were associated with relaxed postures, implying a positive valence, whereas long low-pitched vocalisations, associated more with grimaces and muscle tensions, appeared to have a more negative valence. Infants’ vocalisations were useful indicators of their internal state in two situations (when exposed to clothing constraints and environmental noises).

Keywords: Prematurity; Newborns; Vocalisations; Comfort; Discomfort

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]; Cognitive Sciences; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]; Psychology and behavior; Cognitive science; Neuroscience

Vanessa André, Virginie Durier, Severine Henry, Fouad Nassur, Jacques Sizun, et al.. The vocal repertoire of preterm infants: Characteristics and possible applications. Infant Behavior and Development, 2020, 60, pp.101463. ⟨10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101463⟩. ⟨hal-02883318⟩