The Development of Circadian Rhythms in Human Infants

� Maximise technique for measuring cycling gene expression in adults and
infants from buccal swabs – do experiments in lab controlled setting to
dampen down „noise‟ vs. home studies
� Study of the effects of different infant care routines on infant physiology (Gina
Ford vs. demand feeding and infant led bed times, places of sleep) using
anthropological methods
� More detailed sleep work to define the ontogeny of sleep in first postnatal
months (possibly using behavioural observation and portable PSG)
� Examine further effect of illness and social circumstances on physiology
� Further work on infant separation from mother-infant dyad and the
consequences of this on infant physiology
Directing our scientific enquiry into areas that simultaneously include topics of
scientific value, with the search for answers to questions parents want to know will
allow the continuation of researcher-carer partnerships which were invaluable in this
project. Refining our knowledge of postnatal physiology and development will
increase our understanding of the implications of physiological malfunction and
delayed maturation. This may help contribute to the understanding of foetal origins of
adult diseases such as those included in Syndrome X (Diabetes mellitus, Coronary
Heart Disease, Hypertension- all associated with Obesity) and neurodevelopmental
conditions which have a disruption of circadian rhythmicity as a prominent feature.
Finally it may contribute the final pieces of the jigsaw puzzle known as the disease
entity Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The work is labour intensive and detailed but
the privilege of working hand in hand with mothers and fathers of newborn infants
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