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Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
Published on: February 18, 2012
Disconnected neuromagnetic networks in children born very preterm: Disconnected MEG networks in preterm children
Annette X Ye1, Michelle AuCoin-Power2, Margot J Taylor3
1Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
Many children born very preterm (≤32 weeks) experience significant cognitive difficulties, but the biological basis of such problems has not yet been determined. Functional MRI studies have implicated altered functional connectivity; however, little is known regarding the spatiotemporal organization of brain networks in this population. We provide the first examination of resting-state neuromagnetic connectivity mapped in brain space in school age children born very preterm. Thirty-four subjects (age range 7-12 years old), consisting of 17 very preterm-born children and 17 full-term born children were included. Very preterm-born children exhibited global decreases in inter-regional synchrony in all analysed frequency ranges, from theta (4-7 Hz) to high gamma (80-150 Hz; p < 0.01, corrected). These reductions were expressed in spatially and frequency specific brain networks (p < 0.0005, corrected). Our results demonstrate that mapping connectivity with high spatiotemporal resolution offers new insights into altered organization of neurophysiological networks which may contribute to the cognitive difficulties in this vulnerable population.
