Modification of sleep respiratory patterns by auditory stimulation: indications of a technique for preventing sudden infant death syndrome?

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been associated with premorbid respiratory irregularities that may contribute to the subsequent occurrence of SIDS (e.g. by chronic hypoxia). Conventional apnea alarms will detect periods of extended apnea but not other chronic respiratory irregularities that could contribute to SIDS. The effect of a brief, quiet, repetitive auditory stimulus on the sleep respiratory behavior of infant dogs and pigs was assessed. Stimulus presentation was associated with an increase in the sleep respiration rate irrespective of the stimulus presentation rate being faster or slower than the baseline respiratory rate, and irrespective of the pattern of presentation being regular or random. These results suggest that apnea monitoring systems may be improved by an additional function in which less extreme respiratory irregularities initiate the time-limited presentation of a quiet, repetitive, auditory stimulus, aimed at normalizing the respiratory pattern. This function could enhance the preventative role of the alarm systems by reducing the development of pathology that may promote some instances of SIDS.