COT death babies lack a key brain chemical that regulates breathing, heart rate and sleep, new research has shown.
Scientists at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, in the US, discovered abnormal amounts of serotonin in brain tissue samples taken from 35 children who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Levels of the chemical were 26% lower in the infants than in babies who died unexpectedly for other reasons.
The samples came from the medulla, a region at the base of the brain that regulates basic body functions.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps cells in the brain transmit messages to one another.
It has a number of functions and may be crucial to a baby’s breathing.
It is thought that the discovery may help explain the link between cot death and babies who are sleeping face down.
