The immediate effect of kangaroo mother care on Mother-infant inter-brain synchrony and infant brain function

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that the first kangaroo mother care session immediately enhances preterm infants' brain activity and mother-infant inter-brain synchrony, potentially supporting intra-brain development through neurophysiological mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides novel evidence of immediate neurophysiological effects of KMC on both infant brain function and mother-infant inter-brain synchrony using dual-EEG recordings.

Findings

Enhanced theta, alpha, and beta power during KMC

Significant increase in inter-brain density and strength

Positive correlations between inter-brain synchrony and infant network metrics

Abstract

Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is an intervention involving skin-to-skin contact that promotes physiological stability and supports long-term neurodevelopment in preterm infants. However, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the immediate effects of the first KMC on infants' brain function, mother-infant inter-brain synchrony, as well as their associations. Fifty-eight preterm infants (gestational age < 32 weeks or birth weight < 1500 g) and their mothers underwent synchronous dual-electroencephalography recording before and during the first KMC session. Infant brain function was assessed via power spectrum energy and graph theory-based network metrics, and mother-infant inter-brain synchrony was quantified using phase-locking value (PLV), from which inter-brain density and inter-brain strength were calculated. Correlation analyses were performed between infant intra-brain metrics and inter-brain synchrony indicators.During the first KMC, preterm infants showed enhanced theta, alpha, and beta power alongside reduced relative delta power, while brain network topological metrics remained stable. Concurrently, mother-infant inter-brain synchrony was significantly enhanced across all frequency bands, as evidenced by increased inter-brain density and strength (all p < .001). Furthermore, in the alpha band, inter-brain strength correlated positively with infant local efficiency and clustering coefficient, and in the beta band, it was positively correlated with infant small-worldness. The first KMC session can immediately enhance both preterm infant single-brain activity and mother-infant inter-brain synchrony. The strength of inter-brain synchrony is associated with the infant's intra-brain network organization, suggesting that KMC may promote intra-brain development in preterm infants via enhancing mother-infant inter-brain synchrony.