Touch Therapy Effects on Development

The effectiveness of mother-led infant massage on symptoms of maternal postnatal depression: A systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Postnatal depression is a significant public health issue which may escalate and lead to adverse outcomes for women, infants, their family and the wider society. The aim of this review was to examine the effectiveness and experiences of mother-led infant massage on symptoms of maternal postnatal depression and to synthesise these findings to inform policy, practice and further research.

METHODS

A systematic search of five academic databases was conducted: CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Allied and Complementary Medicine Database in February 2023 with no date or geographic limiters set owing to the paucity of research on this subject area. Quality appraisal was undertaken using the Joanna Briggs Institute quality appraisal tools and all included RCT's were assessed separately using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Narrative synthesis was used to analyse the data.

FINDINGS

A total of (n = 323) studies were returned of which (n = 8) met the inclusion criteria for the review. This review identified a total sampling of (n = 521) women with maternal postnatal depression. The results are presented under three themes: 1) the effectiveness of mother-led infant massage on symptoms of postnatal depression; 2) women's experiences of mother-led infant massage; and 3) the effects of mother-led infant massage on the mother-infant relationship.

DISCUSSION

The review highlights women who used infant massage displayed a reduction in symptoms of postnatal depression, improved mother-infant interactions and improved self-efficacy in addition to benefits for infants. Public Health Nurse/Community Midwife-led infant massage may help to relieve such symptoms and empower women.

A Systematic Review of the Contribution of Dance Movement Psychotherapy Towards the Well-Being of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: The present review provides an original examination of published literature on the use of Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) as an intervention for children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Method: The review was systematically conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A protocol consisting of four phases: identification; screening and selection; data extraction and synthesis; quality assurance was developed and registered with the PROSPERO. A search strategy was developed using population and intervention as the key concepts and ten databases were searched between 6.1.2018 to 4.4.2018 and 10.07.2021 to 20.07.2021. The intervention characteristics were extracted based on the TIDieR template for intervention description and replication checklist. Quality assessment and level of evidence of all the included studies were evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) for treatment criteria.

Results: Nine research studies with a total of 133 participants were identified through a systematic search process. There was only one mixed-methods study with the component of randomisation found during the literature search. Collected information was synthesised in relation to (a) ways in which dance movement psychotherapists work with children; (b) data collection methods and findings. Results from the reviewed literature suggest that DMP can potentially promote various aspects of well-being in children with ASD. Eight out of nine studies mentioned the effects of DMP on improving different social and communication skills. However, results from quality assessments and synthesised outcomes indicate that research in DMP is still in its infancy.

Conclusions: We conclude that further large-scale, high-quality studies are required to generate further evidence that explains the processes involved in DMP, the effectiveness of DMP, the relationship between therapeutic factors of DMP, and research findings for children on the autism spectrum.

Systematic Review Protocol Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42018087912.

Massage During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Massage is systematic touch and manipulation of the soft tissues of the body that is increasingly being used as an adjunctive therapy for stress relief and to promote relaxation and wellbeing during pregnancy and as an alternative to pharmacologic or invasive forms of analgesia during labor. Literature to support the use of massage in pregnancy and labor is limited; however, evidence to support its use has been increasing over the past 30 years. Massage has been shown to be valuable to pregnant women with anxiety, depression, leg, and back pain, and has shown significant benefit in perception of pain during labor.

The power of touch: external applications from whole medical systems in the care of cancer patients (literature review)

PURPOSE

In the context of whole medical systems (WMSs), external applications are manual treatments that stem from complementary medicine and are performed by practitioners, nurses and caregivers through the application of interpersonal touch. These applications work via physiological, psychological and social processes and are intended for holistic healing. In integrative oncology, these applications are used to improve patients' wellbeing. The purpose of the review is to collect and compare research results concerning external applications from WMSs applied to patients with cancer.

METHODS

We conducted a literature review to explore the effects of external applications on patients undergoing cancer treatment. Inclusion criteria were external applications from Anthroposophic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic Medicine, examined detached from the effect interdependencies of their respective WMSs.

RESULTS

Searches identified 111 publications. Final inclusions were four Shiatsu studies (from TCM), supplemented by two case reports exploring anthroposophic external applications. The literature review suggests that external applications may improve patients' wellbeing during cancer treatment and are associated with physical and psychological effects that potentially enhance supportive cancer care. The number and quality of published studies in the field is limited.

CONCLUSIONS

Future empirical investigations should assess the effectiveness and underlying effects in patients with cancer, adhere to a patient-tailored approach, and investigate the systemic complexity of touch-based applications from WMSs.

Emotion Measurements Through the Touch of Materials Surfaces

The emotion generated by the touch of materials is studied via a protocol based on blind assessment of various stimuli. The human emotional reaction felt toward a material is estimated through (i) explicit measurements, using a questionnaire collecting valence and intensity, and (ii) implicit measurements of the activity of the autonomic nervous system, via a pupillometry equipment. A panel of 25 university students (13 women, 12 men), aged from 18 to 27, tested blind twelve materials such as polymers, sandpapers, wood, velvet and fur, randomly ordered. After measuring the initial pupil diameter, taken as a reference, its variation during the tactile exploration was recorded. After each touch, the participants were asked to quantify the emotional value of the material. The results show that the pupil size variation follows the emotional intensity. It is significantly larger during the touch of materials considered as pleasant or unpleasant, than with the touch of neutral materials. Moreover, after a time period of about 0.5 s following the stimulus, the results reveal significant differences between pleasant and unpleasant stimuli, as well as differences according to gender, i.e., higher pupil dilatation of women than men. These results suggest (i) that the autonomic nervous system is initially sensitive to high arousing stimulation, and (ii) that, after a certain period, the pupil size changes according to the cognitive interest induced and the emotional regulation adopted. This research shows the interest of the emotional characterization of materials for product design.

Synchrony of Caresses: Does Affective Touch Help Infants to Detect Body-Related Visual-Tactile Synchrony?

Bodily self-awareness, that is the ability to sense and recognize our body as our own, involves the encoding and integration of a wide range of multisensory and motor signals. Infants’ abilities to detect synchrony and bind together sensory information in time and space critically contribute to the process of gradual bodily self-awareness. In particular, early tactile experiences may have a crucial role in promoting self-other differentiation and developing bodily self-awareness. More specifically affective touch, slow and gentle touch linked to the neurophysiologically specialized system of C-tactile afferents, provides both information about the body from within (interoception) and outside (exteroception), suggesting it may be a key component contributing to the experience of bodily self-awareness. The present study aimed to investigate the role of affective touch in the formation and modulation of body perception from the earliest stages of life. Using a preferential looking task, 5-month-old infants were presented with synchronous and asynchronous visuo–tactile body-related stimuli. The socio-affective valence of the tactile stimuli was manipulated by means of the velocity [CT-optimal (slow) touch vs. CT-suboptimal (fast) touch] and the source of touch (human hand vs. brush). For the first time, we show that only infants that were stroked using a brush at slow velocity displayed a preference for the visual–tactile synchronous video, suggesting that CT-optimal touch might help infants to detect body-related visual–tactile synchrony, independently from the source of touch. Our results are in line with findings from adults and indicate that affective touch might have a critical role in the early development of bodily self-awareness.

Hand or spoon? Exploring the neural basis of affective touch in 5-month-old infants

In adults, affective touch leads to widespread activation of cortical areas including posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus (pSTS) and Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG). Using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), we asked whether similar areas are activated in 5-month-old infants, by comparing affective to non-affective touch. We contrasted a human touch stroke to strokes performed with a cold metallic spoon. The hypothesis that adult-like activation of cortical areas would be seen only in response to the human touch stroke was not confirmed. Similar patterns of activation were seen in both conditions. We conclude that either the posterior STS and IFG have not yet developed selective responses to affective touch, or that additional social cues are needed to be able to identify this type of touch.

The impact of atypical sensory processing on social impairments in autism spectrum disorder

Altered sensory processing has been an important feature of the clinical descriptions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is evidence that sensory dysregulation arises early in the progression of ASD and impacts social functioning. This paper reviews behavioral and neurobiological evidence that describes how sensory deficits across multiple modalities (vision, hearing, touch, olfaction, gustation, and multisensory integration) could impact social functions in ASD. Theoretical models of ASD and their implications for the relationship between sensory and social functioning are discussed. Furthermore, neural differences in anatomy, function, and connectivity of different regions underlying sensory and social processing are also discussed. We conclude that there are multiple mechanisms through which early sensory dysregulation in ASD could cascade into social deficits across development. Future research is needed to clarify these mechanisms, and specific focus should be given to distinguish between deficits in primary sensory processing and altered top-down attentional and cognitive processes.

Stress contagion: physiological covariation between mothers and infants

Emotions are not simply concepts that live privately in the mind, but rather affective states that emanate from the individual and may influence others. We explored affect contagion in the context of one of the closest dyadic units, mother and infant. We initially separated mothers and infants; randomly assigned the mothers to experience a stressful positive-evaluation task, a stressful negative-evaluation task, or a nonstressful control task; and then reunited the mothers and infants. Three notable findings were obtained: First, infants' physiological reactivity mirrored mothers' reactivity engendered by the stress manipulation. Second, infants whose mothers experienced social evaluation showed more avoidance toward strangers compared with infants whose mothers were in the control condition. Third, the negative-evaluation condition, compared with the other conditions, generated greater physiological covariation in the dyads, and this covariation increased over time. These findings suggest that mothers' stressful experiences are contagious to their infants and that members of close pairs, like mothers and infants, can reciprocally influence each other's dynamic physiological reactivity.

A program for at-risk high school students informed by evolutionary science

Improving the academic performance of at-risk high school students has proven difficult, often calling for an extended day, extended school year, and other expensive measures. Here we report the results of a program for at-risk 9th and 10th graders in Binghamton, New York, called the Regents Academy that takes place during the normal school day and year. The design of the program is informed by the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation and learning, in general and for our species as a unique product of biocultural evolution. Not only did the Regents Academy students outperform their comparison group in a randomized control design, but they performed on a par with the average high school student in Binghamton on state-mandated exams. All students can benefit from the social environment provided for at-risk students at the Regents Academy, which is within the reach of most public school districts.

Evidence-based kernels: fundamental units of behavioral influence

This paper describes evidence-based kernels, fundamental units of behavioral influence that appear to underlie effective prevention and treatment for children, adults, and families. A kernel is a behavior-influence procedure shown through experimental analysis to affect a specific behavior and that is indivisible in the sense that removing any of its components would render it inert. Existing evidence shows that a variety of kernels can influence behavior in context, and some evidence suggests that frequent use or sufficient use of some kernels may produce longer lasting behavioral shifts. The analysis of kernels could contribute to an empirically based theory of behavioral influence, augment existing prevention or treatment efforts, facilitate the dissemination of effective prevention and treatment practices, clarify the active ingredients in existing interventions, and contribute to efficiently developing interventions that are more effective. Kernels involve one or more of the following mechanisms of behavior influence: reinforcement, altering antecedents, changing verbal relational responding, or changing physiological states directly. The paper describes 52 of these kernels, and details practical, theoretical, and research implications, including calling for a national database of kernels that influence human behavior.

Natural Parenting — Back to Basics in Infant Care

This review examines an age-old approach to parenting recently rediscovered in Western industrialized societies and known by names such as natural parenting, attachment parenting, and instinctive parenting. Its leading principle is utmost sensitivity to the child's innate emotional and physical needs, resulting in extended breastfeeding on demand, extensive infant carrying on the caregiver's body, and cosleeping of infant and parents. The described practices prevailed during the evolutionary history of the human species and reflect the natural, innate rearing style of the human species to which the human infant has biologically adapted over the course of evolution. An overview of research from diverse areas regarding psychological as well as physiological aspects of early care provides evidence for the beneficial effects of natural parenting. Cross-cultural and historical data is cited to reveal the widespread use of the investigated parenting style. It is concluded that the described approach to parenting provides the human infant with an ideal environment for optimal growth both psychologically and physiologically. It is yet to be determined how much departure from this prototype of optimal human parenting is possible without compromising infant and parental wellbeing. The review also invites a critical reevaluation of current Western childrearing practices.

Views of child psychiatrists on physical contact with patients

The appropriateness and therapeutic value of physical contact with children is under increasing scrutiny. We conducted a postal questionnaire and telephone survey of consultant child and adolescent psychiatrists within Great Britain to investigate attitudes of specialists towards physical contact with their patients in different clinical contexts. Here we report that psychiatrists tend to restrict physical contact to the minimum essential for patient comfort or safety. Decision-making about contact is primarily influenced by professional experience and training. This conservative approach to physical contact with patients has implications for clinical practice and requires to be better informed by evidence.

Developmental consequences of early parenting experiences: self-recognition and self-regulation in three cultural communities

This study relates parenting of 3-month-old children to children's self-recognition and self-regulation at 18 to 20 months. As hypothesized, observational data revealed differences in the sociocultural orientations of the 3 cultural samples' parenting styles and in toddlers' development of self-recognition and self-regulation. Children of Cameroonian Nso farmers who experience a proximal parenting style develop self-regulation earlier, children of Greek urban middle-class families who experience a distal parenting style develop self-recognition earlier, and children of Costa Rican middle-class families who experience aspects of both distal and proximal parenting styles fall between the other 2 groups on both self-regulation and self-recognition. Results are discussed with respect to their implications for culturally informed developmental pathways.

Effects of neurobehavioral assessment on feeding and weight gain in preterm neonates

Neonatal intensive care unit personnel and parents often are concerned that developmental assessment will tire preterm neonates and impair their feeding ability and subsequent weight gain. Therefore, the amount of fluid consumed by 108 preterm neonates (<or=36.5 wk gestational age) was compared before and after administration of the Neurobehavioral Assessment of the Preterm Infant (NAPI). In addition, the weight gain of 35 preterm neonates who were administered the NAPI was compared with that of a matched control group of 35 preterm neonates who were not administered the NAPI. There were no differences in the amount of fluid consumed before and after NAPI administration, and there were no differences in weight gain between neonates who were and were not administered the NAPI. The effects of NAPI administration did not differ as a function of gestational age group. Therefore, the NAPI can be administered safely to preterm neonates without affecting feeding performance or weight gain.

Evolutionary Approaches to Psychopathology and Cognitive Therapy

This opening article outlines some key themes of an evolutionary approach to psychopathology, and explores possible implications for cognitive therapy. Evolutionary psychology suggests that many of our mental mechanisms are designed to promote survival and reproduction, not happiness, or even mental health, as such. This article focuses on the concept of evolved strategies and their phenotypic expressions, to fit specific niches. It suggests that evolved strategies and their phenotypic expressions partly operate through two psychobiological systems, called the defense and safeness systems, which detect and respond to threats and punishments, and safeness and potential rewards, respectively. Various cognitive schemas, rules and automatic thoughts, especially those linked to psychopathology, are often products of the linkages in strategies as coded in defense and safeness systems. The latter part of the article gives a brief exploration of the view that self-to-self relationships (self-evaluations and “self-talk”) evolved from social cognitions and behavior. Negative self-evaluations, self-criticism, and self-attacking are viewed as internalized interactions between a hostile, dominant part of self, and an appeasing, subordinate part of self. One way of undermining this interaction is to introduce the notion of compassion for the self. A brief consideration is given to the development of “compassionate mind” in work with shame-prone people as expressed in high self-criticalness and/or self-hating. Throughout the text the main problems addressed are those of the more chronic, emotional difficulties often associated with some degree of what is called personality disorder.