Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026
19:15
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
85.9K
Neonatal neurobehavior associated with developmental changes from age 2 to 3 in very preterm infants
Alexandrea L Craft1, Marie Camerota1, Cynthia Loncar2
1Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, United States of America; Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States of America.
Early Human Development
|May 17, 2024
Summary
Neurobehavioral assessments in high-risk infants at NICU discharge can predict later developmental challenges. NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) profiles identify very preterm infants at risk for cognitive and language decrements.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal development
- Neurobehavioral assessment
- High-risk infant outcomes
Background:
- Very preterm infants (<30 weeks' gestation) face significant developmental risks.
- Early neurobehavioral assessment is crucial for identifying at-risk infants.
- Longitudinal tracking of development in preterm infants is essential for intervention planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) profiles and developmental trajectories.
- To determine if NNNS profiles at NICU discharge predict changes in cognitive and language outcomes between ages 2 and 3 years.
- To understand the long-term developmental impact of neonatal neurobehavior in very preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, multisite study (Neonatal Outcomes for Very preterm Infants - NOVI cohort) of 433 very preterm infants.
- Neonatal neurobehavior assessed using NNNS profiles at NICU discharge.
- Cognitive and language development evaluated using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) at ages 2 and 3 years.
- Generalized estimating equations used to analyze associations between NNNS profiles and BSID-III score changes.
Main Results:
- Infants with dysregulated NNNS profiles showed increased likelihood of decreased cognitive (OR=2.66) and language (OR=2.53) scores from age 2 to 3 years.
- Conversely, infants with well-regulated NNNS profiles were more likely to show cognitive score increases (OR=2.03) compared to those with dysregulated profiles.
- Gestational age at birth for the study sample was a mean of 27 weeks.
Conclusions:
- NNNS profiles obtained prior to NICU discharge are effective in identifying very preterm infants at higher risk for later language and cognitive difficulties.
- Neonatal neurobehavioral assessment offers a clinically significant tool for evaluating very preterm infants.
- These findings support the use of NNNS for informing targeted treatment and intervention planning for vulnerable preterm infants.
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