Longstanding Auditory Sensory and Semantic Differences in Preterm Born Children

Abstract

More than 10% of births are preterm, and the long-term consequences on sensory and semantic processing of non-linguistic information remain poorly understood. 17 very preterm-born children (born at < 33 weeks gestational age) and 15 full-term controls were tested at 10 years old with an auditory object recognition task, while 64-channel auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) were recorded. Sounds consisted of living (animal and human vocalizations) and manmade objects (e.g. household objects, instruments, and tools). Despite similar recognition behavior, AEPs strikingly differed between full-term and preterm children. Starting at 50ms post-stimulus onset, AEPs from preterm children differed topographically from their full-term counterparts. Over the 108-224ms post-stimulus period, full-term children showed stronger AEPs in response to living objects, whereas preterm born children showed the reverse pattern; i.e. stronger AEPs in response to manmade objects. Differential brain activity between semantic categories could reliably classify children according to their preterm status. Moreover, this opposing pattern of differential responses to semantic categories of sounds was also observed in source estimations within a network of occipital, temporal and frontal regions. This study highlights how early life experience in terms of preterm birth shapes sensory and object processing later on in life.

Current State of EEG/ERP Microstate Research

“…In the study by (Retsa et al 2023), the long-term consequences of pre-term birth on auditory processing were investigated. The researchers recorded auditory eventrelated potentials (ERP) to environmental sounds (living vs. manufactured objects) in 10-year-old children born at term or very preterm.…”

“…Additionally, parameters like the onset and offset of each microstate after stimulus onset become relevant temporal parameters (Michel et al 1999). Using this approach, (Retsa et al 2023) revealed significant differences between the two volunteers before they engaged in a virtual surfing task. Analyzing microstate features and correlating them with motor behavioral metrics, they observed that the pre-activation of microstate C, associated with the posterior default mode network (DMN), correlated with poorer performance in the subsequent motor task.…”

Cortical Visual Processing Differences in Myopia and Blur

“…The technique provides (sub) millisecond temporal resolution, allowing for precise characterization of both the amplitude and the topography of cortical activity over time during a visual task 17,18 . These robust EEG analyses have produced invaluable knowledge in sensory processing 19–22 and pathologies 23–27…”

“…The technique provides (sub) millisecond temporal resolution, allowing for precise characterization of both the amplitude and the topography of cortical activity over time during a visual task 17,18 . These robust EEG analyses have produced invaluable knowledge in sensory processing [19][20][21][22] and pathologies [23][24][25][26][27] Additionally, myopia and its defocus alter visual experiences during years when children are still fine-tuning their visual system. Illusory contour (IC) sensitivity, for one, matures through adolescence 28,29 .…”