# Multisensory interventions to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2023 · $667,221

## Abstract

Project Summary
The long-term goal of this project is to improve the health and well-being of preterm infants and their parents.
Very preterm infants necessitate medical care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at birth and can be
hospitalized for their first several months of life, where they are exposed to repetitive, painful stimuli, are
separated from their parents, and often do not receive positive, timed sensory exposures that are similar to
what they would have received if not born early. In addition, parents often do not know when and how to
engage with their infant in the NICU. However, early positive sensory experiences are important, as they
enhance brain development during an important period of time and can be used as a tool to help parents
participate during NICU hospitalization and establish early parent-child relationships to optimize development.
Although there is evidence to support positive multisensory interventions in the NICU, these interventions are
often applied in an inconsistent manner, reducing their benefit. Through a rigorous and scientific process, we
have developed a structured multisensory intervention program, titled Supporting and Enhancing NICU
Sensory Experiences (SENSE), which includes specific doses and targeted timing of evidence-based
interventions such as massage, auditory exposure, rocking, holding, and skin-to-skin care. The interventions
are based on the infant’s developmental stage and are adapted based on the infant’s medical status and
behavioral cues. The multisensory interventions are designed to be conducted during each day of NICU
hospitalization by the parents, who are educated and supported to provide them. A sensory support team fills
in gaps when parents are unable to reach the targeted amount of sensory exposures each day. The proposed
work aims to determine the effect of multisensory interventions on parent mental health, parent-child
interaction, brain activity (amplitude integrated electroencephalography), and infant developmental outcomes
through age 2 years, with specific attention to language outcome. Two-hundred fifteen parent-infant dyads of
preterm infants born ≤ 32 weeks gestation and admitted to a Level IV NICU will be enrolled within 1 week of
birth. Infants will be randomized to either the SENSE multisensory program or to the standard of care during
the NICU stay. The SENSE program combines structured, easy-to-conduct, multisensory interventions with
parent engagement to optimize outcomes in the complex medical environment of the NICU. Standardized
assessments of parent mental health, infant neurodevelopment, and parent-child interaction will be conducted
prior to NICU discharge and at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years, adjusted for prematurity. Differences between
groups will be investigated. Brain activity during NICU stay, including in the presence and absence of different
sensory exposures, will also be investigated. The expected outcome is that the SENSE multisensory pro...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10570879
- **Project number:** 5R01HD105557-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Amit Mohan Mathur
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $667,221
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10570879

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10570879, Multisensory interventions to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (5R01HD105557-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10570879. Licensed CC0.

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