The weight gain effects
may, in turn, bemediated by increased gastric motility also reported following
combined tactile/kinesthetic stimulation of preterm neonates [7].
Kinesthetic stimulation, on the other hand, decreased cardiac vagal activity.
This finding is consistent with research showing that passive exercise
in adults inhibits cardiac vagal activity via the activation of afferent
stretch mechanoreceptors in muscle called tentonoreceptors [10,11].