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Updated: Jul 3, 2025
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
Published on: February 18, 2012
Early brain cognitive development in late preterm infants: an event-related potential and resting EEG study
Qinfen Zhang1, Xuan Dong2, Wenjie Jin2
1Children' s Health Research Center, Changzhou Children ' s Hospital of Nantong University, 468 Yanling Middle Road, Tianning District, Changzhou, 213003, Jiangsu, China. qfz2010@hotmail.com.
Insights
Late preterm infants show cognitive delays. Mismatch response amplitude is a reliable early predictor of brain development outcomes in these infants, aiding timely intervention.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Late preterm infants (LPIs) face increased risks of neurodevelopmental delays.
- Early identification and intervention are crucial for optimizing cognitive development in LPIs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cognitive function and neurophysiological markers in LPIs.
- To identify early indicators that predict cognitive development outcomes at 1 year corrected age.
Main Methods:
- Utilized event-related potential (ERP) and resting electroencephalography (RS-EEG) to assess brain cognitive function.
- Employed the Gesell Developmental Scale (GDS) to track neurodevelopmental status at 1 year corrected age.
Main Results:
- LPIs exhibited lagging cognitive function, evidenced by mismatch response (MMR) amplitude and RS-EEG abnormalities.
- At 1 year corrected age, LPIs showed delays in fine motor, language, and social-adaptive skills.
- MMR amplitude demonstrated high predictive accuracy (AUC=0.788, P=0.007) for cognitive development prognosis.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive function in LPIs is generally delayed compared to full-term infants.
- Preterm birth and associated factors negatively impact cognitive development in LPIs.
- MMR amplitude serves as a valuable early predictor for cognitive development in LPIs.
Background:
Late preterm infants (LPIs) are at risk of neurodevelopmental delay. Research on their cognitive development is helpful for early intervention and follow-up.
Methods:
Event-related potential (ERP) and resting electroencephalography (RS-EEG) were used to study the brain cognitive function of LPIs in the early stage of life. The Gesell Developmental Scale (GDS) was used to track the neurodevelopmental status at the age of 1 year after correction, and to explore the neurophysiological indicators that could predict the outcome of cognitive development in the early stage.
Results:
The results showed that mismatch response (MMR) amplitude, RS-EEG power spectrum and functional connectivity all suggested that LPIs were lagging behind. At the age of 1 year after correction, high-risk LPIs showed no significant delay in gross motor function, but lagged behind in fine motor function, language, personal social interaction and adaptability. The ROC curve was used to evaluate the predictive role of MMR amplitude in the brain cognitive development prognosis at 1 year, showing a sensitivity of 80.00% and a specificity of 90.57%. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.788, with a P-value of 0.007.
Conclusions:
Based on our findings we supposed that the cognitive function of LPI lags behind that of full-term infants in early life. Preterm birth and perinatal diseases or high risk factors affected brain cognitive function in LPIs. MMR amplitude can be used as an early predictor of brain cognitive development in LPIs.
Trial Registration:
This clinical trial is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR).
Trial Registration Number:
ChiCTR2100041929. Date of registration: 2021-01-10. URL of the trial registry record: https://www.chictr.org.cn/ .
