Massage Accelerates Brain Development and the Maturation of Visual Function

TLDR

Environmental enrichment accelerates brain development in rodents, with tactile stimulation such as licking and grooming identified as a key component. The study hypothesizes that body massage can accelerate brain development in infants. The authors examined preterm infants receiving body massage, measuring EEG activity and visual acuity to assess maturation. Massage accelerated EEG and visual maturation, increased IGF‑1 levels in blood and cortex, and blocking IGF‑1 with JB1 abolished these effects, indicating IGF‑1 mediates the benefits.

Abstract

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.