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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 6, 2009, 29(18):6042-6051; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5548-08.2009

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 Previous Article

Development/Plasticity/Repair
Massage Accelerates Brain Development and the Maturation of Visual Function

Andrea Guzzetta,¹ Sara Baldini,² Ada Bancale,¹ Laura Baroncelli,² Francesca Ciucci,² Paolo Ghirri,⁶ Elena Putignano,² Alessandro Sale,² Alessandro Viegi,² Nicoletta Berardi,^3,4 Antonio Boldrini,⁵ Giovanni Cioni,^1,7 and Lamberto Maffei^2,3

¹Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Stella Maris, I-56128 Calambrone, Pisa, Italy, ²Scuola Normale Superiore, I-56126 Pisa, Italy, ³Institute of Neuroscience of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, I-56100 Pisa, Italy, ⁴Department of Psychology, Florence University, I-50121 Florence, Italy, ⁵Division of Neonatology, University of Pisa, I-56100 Pisa, Italy, ⁶Neonatology Unit, Section of Endocrinology and Dysmorphology, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisa, I-56100 Pisa, Italy, and ⁷Division of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Pisa, I-56128 Calambrone, Pisa, Italy

Correspondence should be addressed to Prof. Lamberto Maffei, Institute of Neuroscience of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56100 Pisa, Italy. Email: maffei{at}in.cnr.it

Environmental enrichment (EE) was shown recently to accelerate brain development in rodents. Increased levels of maternal care, and particularly tactile stimulation through licking and grooming, may represent a key component in the early phases of EE. We hypothesized that enriching the environment in terms of body massage may thus accelerate brain development in infants. We explored the effects of body massage in preterm infants and found that massage accelerates the maturation of electroencephalographic activity and of visual function, in particular visual acuity. In massaged infants, we found higher levels of blood IGF-1. Massage accelerated the maturation of visual function also in rat pups and increased the level of IGF-1 in the cortex. Antagonizing IGF-1 action by means of systemic injections of the IGF-1 antagonist JB1 blocked the effects of massage in rat pups. These results demonstrate that massage has an influence on brain development and in particular on visual development and suggest that its effects are mediated by specific endogenous factors such as IGF-1.

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Received Nov. 19, 2008; revised Feb. 25, 2009; accepted Feb. 28, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Prof. Lamberto Maffei, Institute of Neuroscience of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via G. Moruzzi, 1, 56100 Pisa, Italy. Email: maffei{at}in.cnr.it

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Landi, F. Ciucci, L. Maffei, N. Berardi, and M. C. Cenni Setting the Pace for Retinal Development: Environmental Enrichment Acts Through Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor J. Neurosci., September 2, 2009; 29(35): 10809 - 10819. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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