Early brain cognitive development in late preterm infants: an event-related potential and resting EEG study

• Published in: Italian journal of pediatrics Vol. 50; no. 1; p. 26
• Main Authors: Zhang, Qinfen, Dong, Xuan, Jin, Wenjie, Fan, Jiaojiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central 14.02.2024; BMC
• Subjects: Adaptability; Age groups; Biomarkers; Brain; Brain cognitive function; Brain research; Child development; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Cognitive development; Congenital diseases; EEG; Electroencephalography; Event-related potential; Event-related potentials; Evoked Potentials; Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Infants; Late preterm infants; Medical prognosis; Medical screening; Memory; Metabolism; Neonates; Neural networks; Newborn babies; Prediction; Pregnancy; Premature babies; Premature Birth; Resting EEG; Risk factors; Traumatic brain injury; Event-related potential; Brain cognitive function; Resting EEG; Late preterm infants; Prediction
• ISSN: 1824-7288; 1720-8424; 1824-7288
• DOI: 10.1186/s13052-023-01567-9

Late preterm infants (LPIs) are at risk of neurodevelopmental delay. Research on their cognitive development is helpful for early intervention and follow-up. 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. 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. 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. This clinical trial is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR). ChiCTR2100041929. Date of registration: 2021-01-10. URL of the trial registry record: https://www.chictr.org.cn/ .