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Updated: May 14, 2026
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
Published on: February 18, 2012
Comparison of cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials between late preterm and term infants
Ayşe Ecevit1, Deniz Anuk-Ince, Seyra Erbek
1Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Başkent University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. ayseecevit@yahoo.com
Insights
Late preterm infants show delayed vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) maturation compared to term infants. This VEMP abnormality may contribute to neurodevelopmental issues in preterm infants.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
- Audiology
Background:
- Late preterm infants face higher risks for developmental issues like ADHD and learning problems.
- Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) abnormalities are suspected contributors to these neurodevelopmental challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure cervical VEMP (cVEMP) in late preterm infants.
- To compare cVEMP findings between late preterm and full-term infants.
Main Methods:
- Seventeen late preterm infants and 17 full-term infants underwent non-sedated cVEMP testing.
- Mean latencies of p13 and n23 waves were calculated for comparison.
Main Results:
- cVEMPs were successfully elicited in all infants.
- Statistically significant differences in p13 and n23 latencies were observed between the two groups.
- Late preterm infants exhibited prolonged p13 and n23 latencies compared to term infants.
Conclusions:
- Abnormal VEMP results in late preterm infants suggest a potential delay in sacculocollic pathway maturation.
- These findings highlight the importance of vestibular system assessment in preterm infants.
Abstract:
Recent investigations have shown that late preterm infants have increased risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, neurosensory impairment, and emotional, behavior and learning problems. Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) abnormality may partly contribute to these problems. Our aim was to measure VEMP in late preterm infants and to compare the findings between late preterm and term infants. Seventeen late preterm infants (mean gestational age: 35.11 weeks +/- 0.78) postnatal aged 8 weeks and 17 full-term (mean gestational age: 38.05 weeks +/- 0.96) infants postnatal aged 4 weeks underwent cervical (c)VEMP test without sedation. Mean latencies of p13 were calculated in all study subjects. cVEMPs were elicited in all late preterm and term infants. Mean latencies of p13 in late preterm and term infants were 14.53 and 13.34 ms, respectively. Mean latencies of n23 were determined as 23.18 ms and 19.92 ms for late preterm and term infants, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between late preterm and term infants for latency of p13 (p < 0.001) and latency of n23 (p < 0.000). Abnormal VEMP results might be related to a delay in the maturation of the sacculocollic pathways in late preterm infants.
