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Power Spectrum Analysis Of Heart Rate Variability In Full-Term And Preterm Neonates, Tsui-Fen Yang, Nien-Tzu Kao, Rai-Chi Chan, Terry-Bj Kuo, Shu-Jen Chen

Rehabilitation Practice and Science

Objective: Prematurely born infants have been believed to be neurologically less mature than full-term neonates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulation and maturation of autonomic nervous systems, in both full-term and preterm neonates of different conceptional ages.Methods: One hundred and thirteen infants, both clinically and neurologically healthy and with conceptional ages of between 33 and 42 weeks, were enrolled in the study. Power spectrum analyses of heart rate variability were performed under standard conditions when the subjects were in a sleeping state. Results: Conceptional age did exert a significant influence over heart rate variability. There was …