(WTOL) - A new study finds decreased levels of serotonin in the brain may be a big reason for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS, the leading cause of unexpected death in babies.
Serotonin is an important chemical in the brain that works during sleep.
"We found that the babies who died of SIDS had abnormalities in serotonin in regions of the brain stem that control breathing and heart rate and blood pressure during sleep," said Dr. Hannah Kinney of Boston Children's Hospital.
Kinney and co-authors of the study found, for the first time, a biological reason why it's not safe for babies to be put to sleep on their tummies. The study says some of them, depending on serotonin levels, will have no other option except to inhale their own carbon dioxide if they're put face down to bed.
"A normal baby could respond to that challenge, lift its head up, turn its head and arouse or wake up but a baby who has a defect in those brain stem circuits that use serotonin can't do that when challenged and they go on to die," said Kinney.
The long-term goal is to develop a test to identify which babies have this serotonin defect and then try to prevent it altogether.
The study appears in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
