ArticlePediatric research2026
Heart rate variability, skin conductance, and gaze behavior during rest and during live eye contact in very prematurely born school-aged children.
Article in Pediatric research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundImproved survival of very preterm (<32 weeks of gestation) infants has highlighted neurodevelopmental and socio-emotional challenges. As altered gaze behavior and autonomic functioning may contribute to these difficulties, we investigated this in thirty-nine very preterm and thirty-eight full-term 8-to-12-year-old children.
methodsWe assessed gaze behavior during a semi-structured conversation. Autonomic functioning was evaluated through heart rate variability and skin conductance responses at rest and during an eye contact paradigm.
resultsPreterms exhibited shorter but more frequent gazes toward their conversation partner than full-terms. Moreover, both at rest and during the eye contact paradigm, they demonstrated higher heart rate variability. No group differences in skin conductance responses were observed at rest, but during the eye contact paradigm, preterms displayed more pronounced skin conductance responses regardless of condition.
conclusionVery preterm children exhibited reduced sustained social attention and heightened autonomic activity. Nevertheless, reported subjective experiences were similar among both groups, suggesting that heightened arousal reflects general physiological reactivity rather than perceived stress. This underscores the importance of potential interventions targeting attentional control to improve socio-emotional outcomes in very preterm children. IMPACT: Very preterm (VPT) survivors often face socio-emotional challenges, including altered gaze behavior and autonomic functioning. VPT children engaged in shorter but more frequent gazes toward conversation partners compared to FT peers, indicating difficulties with sustained attention. Assessments in middle childhood reveal increased parasympathetic activity, heightened sympathetic arousal, and faster skin conductance recovery during eye contact, highlighting the need for supportive interventions.
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