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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Auditory event-related potentials and cognitive function of preterm children at five years of age
Kaija Mikkola1, Elena Kushnerenko, Eino Partanen
1Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital, University of Helsinki, Tukholmankatu 8 A 5 krs, Helsinki, Finland. kaija.mikkola@hus.fi
Insights
Preterm children show smaller P1 auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) and altered MMN responses compared to controls. These auditory processing differences correlate with neurodevelopmental outcomes in language and IQ.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Auditory Neuroscience
Background:
- Previous research linked auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) in preterm infants to later neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- This study re-evaluated the same cohort at age 5 to further investigate auditory processing and its relationship with cognitive function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) in preterm children at age 5.
- To examine the correlation between AERPs and neuropsychological test results in this cohort.
Main Methods:
- Auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) were recorded using Easy and Challenging paradigms in preterm small for gestational age (SGA), appropriate for gestational age (AGA), and control children.
- Neurocognitive tests, including verbal IQ and NEPSY language subtests, were administered to preterm children.
Main Results:
- Preterm children exhibited smaller P1 responses and larger MMN responses to deviant stimuli in the Easy paradigm compared to controls.
- In the Challenging paradigm, preterm children showed smaller P1 responses to various deviants and larger N2 responses to frequency deviants.
- AERPs amplitudes (P1, N2, MMN) were found to correlate with verbal IQ and NEPSY language subtest scores.
Conclusions:
- A diminished P1 response appears characteristic of preterm children, suggesting potential alterations in primary auditory processing.
- These auditory processing differences may have implications for cognitive and language development in children born preterm.
Objective:
In our previous study, auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) in preterm 1-year-old children had a positive deflection at 150-350 ms that correlated positively with their 2-year neurodevelopmental outcome. In a study of the same subjects at age 5, our aim was to assess AERPs and their relationship to neuropsychological test results.
Methods:
Preterm small (SGA, n=13), appropriate for gestational age (AGA, n=15), and control (n=13) children were assessed with an Easy paradigm presenting a large frequency change accompanied with occasional novel sounds, and a Challenging paradigm presenting small frequency and duration changes with a rapid rate. The preterm children underwent neurocognitive tests.
Results:
Easy paradigm. The P1 response to frequency deviant was smaller and MMN larger in the preterm than in the control children. Challenging paradigm. The P1 response to standard, frequency, and duration deviants was smaller in the preterm than in the control children. The N2 response to frequency deviant was larger in the preterm than in the control children. AGA and SGA children had similar AERPs. The P1, N2, and MMN amplitudes correlated with verbal IQ and NEPSY language subtests.
Conclusions:
Small P1 response(s) appears to be typical for preterm children.
Significance:
Small P1 response in preterm children may suggest altered primary auditory processing.
