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Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Atypical auditory event-related potentials in preterm infants during the first year of life: a possible sign of
Vineta Fellman1, Elena Kushnerenko, Kaija Mikkola
1Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box 281, 00029 Helsinki, Finland. vineta.fellman@helsinki.fi
Insights
Auditory event-related potentials in preterm infants revealed differences in brain responses. Small-for-gestational-age infants showed reduced neural activity, potentially indicating a higher risk for cognitive dysfunction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Preterm birth and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) status can impact neurodevelopment.
- Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) are sensitive measures of early brain processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate auditory ERPs in preterm infants (SGA and appropriate-for-gestational-age [AGA]) compared to term-born infants.
- To explore developmental changes in auditory processing from term to 12 months corrected age.
Main Methods:
- Used an oddball paradigm with standard (500 Hz) and deviant (750 Hz) tones.
- Measured ERP components including P350, N250, Nc, and mismatch negativity (MMN).
- Assessed preterm infants at term, 6, and 12 months corrected age; controls at multiple time points from birth to 15 months.
Main Results:
- At term, P350 amplitude was similar across all groups.
- SGA infants exhibited smaller Nc and N250 amplitudes compared to AGA and term infants.
- At 12 months, preterm infants lacked MMN, and showed broad difference positivity correlating with Bayley scores.
Conclusions:
- Reduced Nc and N250 in SGA infants may signal increased risk for cognitive dysfunction.
- Atypical cortical auditory processing may be present in preterm infants by 12 months.
- Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm predictive value for cognitive outcomes.
Abstract:
We assessed auditory event-related potentials in small-for-gestational-age (SGA; 850 +/- 258 g, 28.9 +/- 3.3 gestational wk; n = 15) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA; 1014 +/- 231 g, 26.9 +/- 1.9 gestational wk; n = 20) preterm infants and healthy term infants (n = 22). An oddball paradigm was used with a harmonic tone of 500-Hz frequency as the standard and of 750-Hz frequency as the deviant stimulus. The preterm infants were studied at 40 gestational wk and at 6 and 12 mo of corrected age, and the control subjects were studied at 2-4 d and at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 mo of age. The peaks of interest were the main positive peak (P350), the negative peaks at 250 ms (N250) and 650 ms (Nc), and the mismatch negativity at 200 ms (MMN). At term, the P350 in the preterm infants was similar to that of the newborn control subjects. In response to the deviant, the Nc was smaller in the SGA than in the AGA (P < 0.02) and control (P < 0.005) infants. The N250 amplitude was also lower in the SGA infants. At 12 mo, the MMN was observed in the control but not in the preterm infants, whose broad difference positivity correlated with the Bayley developmental index. The decreased Nc and N250 peaks in the SGA infants may suggest an increased risk for cognitive dysfunction. The broad difference positivity at 1 y of age may indicate atypical cortical auditory processing. Whether cognitive dysfunction can be predicted by these findings needs to be assessed in a study with extended follow-up.
