Use of Physiologic Signal Complexity and Correlation Properties to Quantify Brain Development in Infants

Robert Habib of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon will determine whether measuring the patterns of heart rate and breathing rate over time in infants reflects the maturity of the autonomous nervous system and thereby the extent of brain development. The autonomous nervous system controls complex physiological rhythms such as the variability of heart rate over time. These rhythms can be measured non-invasively and will be compared between ten full-term and ten preterm infants measured at birth and every six weeks until 56 weeks, and under different stimulating conditions. A low-cost and simple method to collect the physiological data will also be explored.