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The degree of prematurity affects functional brain activity in preterm born children at school-age: An EEG study
Charlotte van 't Westende1, Cacha M P C D Peeters-Scholte2, Lisette Jansen3
1Department of Child Neurology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, De Boelelaan 1118, 1081 HZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neonatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands.
Insights
Children born extremely prematurely show altered brain activity and poorer motor skills compared to very premature children at school age. This electroencephalography (EEG) study highlights the long-term impact of prematurity on neurodevelopment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Premature birth increases risks for long-term motor and cognitive deficits.
- Understanding neurophysiological differences based on prematurity degree is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) measures between extremely prematurely (EP) and very prematurely (VP) born children at 9-10 years of age.
- To investigate the relationship between EEG findings and motor/cognitive outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-five children (<32 weeks gestation) underwent EEG at 9-10 years.
- Analyzed relative frequency power and functional connectivity (Phase Lag Index - PLI) across frequency bands.
- Constructed and compared brain networks in the upper alpha band using Minimum Spanning Tree.
Main Results:
- VP children exhibited significantly higher relative power and functional connectivity in the upper alpha band compared to EP children.
- VP children demonstrated more integrated brain networks in the upper alpha band.
- A strong positive correlation was found between relative upper alpha power and better motor outcomes, even after controlling for covariates.
Conclusions:
- The degree of prematurity significantly impacts functional brain activity and network integration at 9-10 years of age.
- Reduced relative upper alpha power in EEG is associated with motor deficits in children born prematurely.
- These findings underscore the lasting neurophysiological effects of prematurity and their link to developmental outcomes.
Abstract:
Prematurely born children are at higher risk for long-term adverse motor and cognitive outcomes. The aim of this paper was to compare quantitative measures derived from electroencephalography (EEG) between extremely (EP) and very prematurely (VP) born children at 9-10 years of age. Fifty-five children born <32 weeks' of gestation underwent EEG at 9-10 years of age and were assessed for motor development and cognitive outcome. Relative frequency power and functional connectivity, as measured by the Phase Lag Index (PLI), were calculated for all frequency bands. Per subject, power spectrum and functional connectivity results were averaged over all channels and pairwise PLI values to explore differences in global frequency power and functional connectivity between EP and VP children. Brain networks were constructed for the upper alpha frequency band using the Minimum Spanning Tree method and were compared between EP and VP children. In addition, the relationships between upper alpha quantitative EEG results and cognitive and motor outcomes were investigated. Relative power and functional connectivity were significantly higher in VP than EP children in the upper alpha frequency band, and VP children had more integrated networks. A strong positive correlation was found between relative upper alpha power and motor outcome whilst controlling for gestational age, age during EEG recording, and gender (ρ = 0.493, p = 0.004). These results suggest that 9-10 years after birth, the effects of the degree of prematurity can be observed in terms of alterations in functional brain activity and that motor deficits are associated with decreases in relative upper alpha power.
