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Published on: September 6, 2017
Behavioral correlates of direct current-coupled electrographic activity in premature infants
Haraldur Thorsteinsson1, Hjörtur M Reynisson, Laufey Y Sigurethardóttir
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Insights
Newborn brain activity and movements are tightly linked, with unique slow brain events preceding startles. This discovery offers insights into early neuromotor development and neuroplasticity in premature infants.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Co-expression of neural and behavioral events supports Hebbian neuroplasticity.
- Perinatal movement influences neuromotor development.
- Traditional recording methods obscure slow-frequency electrographic activity in premature infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- Describe behavioral correlates of direct current-coupled electrographic recordings in premature infants.
- Investigate the coupling between neural and behavioral events during early development.
- Reveal previously unknown neural-behavioral interactions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized direct current-coupled electrographic recordings in six premature infants (30-34 weeks gestation).
- Analyzed electrographic activity and concurrent behavioral events.
- Focused on slow-frequency electrographic activity not visible with traditional methods.
Main Results:
- Electrographic activity and movements occur in tightly coupled, discrete bouts.
- Spontaneous activity transients (slow, high-amplitude, multiband events) were observed.
- These spontaneous activity transients typically precede startle events, indicating a novel coupling.
Conclusions:
- Early neural and behavioral events in humans exhibit a previously unrecognized coupling.
- Direct current-coupled electrography reveals crucial slow-frequency activity in premature infants.
- Findings provide new avenues for studying mammalian neuromotor development and neuroplasticity.
Abstract:
The co-expression of behavioral and neural events represents a situation conducive to Hebbian-type neuroplasticity and may provide a reasonable explanation for how the amount of movement during the perinatal period contributes to neuromotor development. Direct current-coupled electrographic recordings in premature infants indicate that the majority of the electrographic activity is exhibited in a slow frequency range that is either distorted or not visible using traditional recording methods. Therefore, we provide a description of the behavioral correlates of direct current-coupled electrographic recordings in six premature human infants (3 males and 3 females; 30-34 weeks). We report, in concert with prior data, that electrographic activity and movements occur in tightly coupled discrete bouts. Surprisingly, spontaneous activity transients, which are slow, high amplitude, multiband electrographic events, typically precede startles; thereby revealing a previously unknown coupling of early neural and behavioral events in humans. Taken together, the present findings open novel venues for studying and dissecting mammalian neuromotor development.
