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Updated: May 5, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Region-Specific Slowing of Alpha Oscillations is Associated with Visual-Perceptual Abilities in Children Born Very
Sam M Doesburg1, Alexander Moiseev, Anthony T Herdman
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children , Toronto, ON , Canada ; Neurosciences & Mental Health Program, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children , Toronto, ON , Canada ; Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON , Canada ; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON , Canada.
Insights
Children born very preterm often have visual-perceptual deficits. This study found slowed alpha brain oscillations in specific brain regions, linking these changes to visual-perceptual difficulties in preterm infants.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Children born very preterm (≤32 weeks gestational age) frequently exhibit selective visual-perceptual deficits.
- Underlying neurophysiological alterations remain poorly understood.
- Previous research suggests slowed alpha oscillations and atypical network connectivity in very preterm children may contribute to these difficulties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct the first source-resolved analysis of spontaneous alpha oscillation slowing in very preterm children.
- To investigate the association between altered alpha oscillations and visual-perceptual abilities.
Main Methods:
- Source-resolved analysis of spontaneous alpha oscillations.
- Assessment of visual-perceptual abilities.
Main Results:
- Identified alterations in spontaneous alpha oscillations in specific brain regions, including posterior parietal, inferior temporal, prefrontal cortical regions, and thalamus.
- Demonstrated a significant association between slowed alpha oscillations and selective visual-perceptual difficulties in very preterm children.
Conclusions:
- Region-specific slowing of alpha oscillations contributes to visual-perceptual developmental difficulties in very preterm children.
- Findings provide insights into the neurophysiological basis of these deficits.
Abstract:
Children born very preterm (≤32 weeks gestational age) without major intellectual or neurological impairments often express selective deficits in visual-perceptual abilities. The alterations in neurophysiological development underlying these problems, however, remain poorly understood. Recent research has indicated that spontaneous alpha oscillations are slowed in children born very preterm, and that atypical alpha-mediated functional network connectivity may underlie selective developmental difficulties in visual-perceptual ability in this group. The present study provides the first source-resolved analysis of slowing of spontaneous alpha oscillations in very preterm children, indicating alterations in a distributed set of brain regions concentrated in areas of posterior parietal and inferior temporal regions associated with visual perception, as well as prefrontal cortical regions and thalamus. We also uniquely demonstrate that slowing of alpha oscillations is associated with selective difficulties in visual-perceptual ability in very preterm children. These results indicate that region-specific slowing of alpha oscillations contribute to selective developmental difficulties prevalent in this population.
