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Updated: Apr 29, 2026
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Brain electrophysiology reveals intact processing of speech sounds in deformational plagiocephaly
Peter W Hashim1, Roberto Travieso, John A Persing
1New Haven and Storrs, Conn. From the Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine; Haskins Laboratories; and the Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut.
Insights
Infants with deformational plagiocephaly show normal brain responses to speech sounds. This suggests that head shape issues do not impact auditory processing, offering a new way to monitor infant brain development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Auditory Processing
Background:
- Deformational plagiocephaly prevalence is increasing, raising concerns about potential developmental delays in infants.
- Traditional developmental scales have limitations in accurately assessing long-term outcomes in infants.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs) offer a reliable method for measuring brain function in young children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate neural correlates of auditory perception in infants with deformational plagiocephaly.
- To compare brain activity in response to speech sounds between infants with and without deformational plagiocephaly.
- To assess the utility of ERPs in evaluating brain function in infants with cranial disorders.
Main Methods:
- Auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 16 infants with deformational plagiocephaly and 18 typically developing controls.
- Participants passively listened to speech sounds during the electrophysiological recordings.
- Analysis focused on P150 and N450 ERP components, known indicators of auditory processing and cognitive function.
Main Results:
- Infants with deformational plagiocephaly and control infants exhibited comparable cortical responses to speech sounds.
- Both groups showed similar patterns in the P150 and N450 ERP components.
- No significant differences in auditory processing, as measured by ERPs, were found between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Deformational plagiocephaly is not associated with auditory processing impairments in infants.
- Neural responses to language in infants with deformational plagiocephaly are consistent with normative development.
- Electrophysiologic recordings like ERPs show promise for monitoring brain development in infants with cranial abnormalities.
Background:
The prevalence of deformational plagiocephaly has risen dramatically in recent years, now affecting 15 percent or more of infants. Prior research using developmental scales suggests that these children may be at elevated risk for developmental delays. However, the low positive predictive value of such instruments in identifying long-term impairment, coupled with their poor reliability in infants, warrants the development of methods to more precisely measure brain function in craniofacial patients. Event-related potentials offer a direct measure of cortical activity that is highly applicable to young populations and has been implemented in other disorders to predict long-term cognitive functioning. The current study used event-related potentials to contrast neural correlates of auditory perception in infants with deformational plagiocephaly and typically developing children.
Methods:
Event-related potentials were recorded while 16 infants with deformational plagiocephaly and 18 nonaffected controls passively listened to speech sounds. Given prior research suggesting their association with subsequent functioning, analyses focused on the P150 and N450 event-related potential components.
Results:
Deformational plagiocephaly patients and normal controls showed comparable cortical responses to speech sounds at both auditory event-related potential components.
Conclusions:
Children with deformational plagiocephaly demonstrate neural responses to language that are consistent with normative expectations and comparable to those of typical children. These results indicate that head shape deformity secondary to supine sleep is not associated with impairments in auditory processing. The applicability of the current methods in early infancy suggests that electrophysiologic brain recordings represent a promising method of monitoring brain development in children with cranial disorders.
Clinical Question/Level Of Evidence:
Risk, II.
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