Prematurity can result in widespread neurodevelopmental impairment, with the impact of premature extrauterine exposure on brain function detectable in infancy. A range of neurodynamic and haemodynamic functional brain measures have previously been employed to study the neurodevelopmental impact of prematurity, with methodological and analytical heterogeneity across studies obscuring how multiple sensory systems are affected. Here, we outline a standardised template analysis approach to measure the evoked response magnitudes for visual, tactile, and noxious stimulation within individual infants (n=15) using EEG. By studying a cohort of very preterm infants longitudinally (n=10), we observe that the evoked response template magnitudes are significantly associated with age-related maturation. In a subsequent cross-sectional study, we observe significant differences in visual and tactile response template magnitudes between infants born in the very preterm and late preterm periods (n=10 and 8), age-matched at study. These findings demonstrate the significant impact of premature extrauterine exposure on brain function and suggest that prematurity can accelerate maturation of the visual and tactile sensory system in infants born very prematurely. This study highlights the value of using a standardised multi-modal evoked-activity analysis approach to assess premature neurodevelopment, and will likely complement resting-state EEG and behavioural assessments in the study of the functional impact of developmental care interventions.

中文翻译：

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过早的宫外暴露对婴儿在多个感觉系统中刺激诱发的大脑活动的影响

早产可导致广泛的神经发育障碍，早产儿宫外暴露对大脑功能的影响可在婴儿期检测到。先前已采用一系列神经动力学和血液动力学功能性大脑测量来研究早产对神经发育的影响，研究方法和分析的异质性掩盖了多种感觉系统如何受到影响。在这里，我们概述了一种标准化的模板分析方法，用于使用 EEG 测量个体婴儿 (n=15) 内视觉、触觉和有害刺激的诱发反应幅度。通过纵向研究一组极早产儿（n = 10），我们观察到诱发反应模板幅度与年龄相关的成熟显着相关。在随后的横断面研究中，我们观察到极早产期和晚期早产期出生的婴儿（n = 10 和 8）之间的视觉和触觉反应模板幅度的显着差异，在研究中年龄匹配。这些发现证明了过早的宫外暴露对大脑功能的显着影响，并表明早产可以加速非常早产婴儿的视觉和触觉系统的成熟。这项研究强调了使用标准化的多模态诱发活动分析方法来评估过早神经发育的价值，并且可能会在研究发育护理干预的功能影响时补充静息态脑电图和行为评估。学习时年龄匹配。这些发现证明了过早的宫外暴露对大脑功能的显着影响，并表明早产可以加速非常早产婴儿的视觉和触觉系统的成熟。这项研究强调了使用标准化的多模态诱发活动分析方法来评估过早神经发育的价值，并且可能会在研究发育护理干预的功能影响时补充静息态脑电图和行为评估。学习时年龄匹配。这些发现证明了过早的宫外暴露对大脑功能的显着影响，并表明早产可以加速非常早产婴儿的视觉和触觉系统的成熟。这项研究强调了使用标准化的多模态诱发活动分析方法来评估过早神经发育的价值，并且可能会在研究发育护理干预的功能影响时补充静息态脑电图和行为评估。