Differences Between Preterm and Full-Term Infants in Electroencephalogram Power Spectral Density Slope.

A growing body of literature suggests that power spectral density (PSD) slope, measured using electroencephalography (EEG), might reflect synaptic activity and be a useful marker of early brain development. The objective of this article is to identify differences between preterm and full-term infants in PSD slope in active and quiet sleep. This is a secondary analysis of two studies, including premature (N = 33) (30 0/7 and 36 0/7 weeks' gestation) and full-term infants (N = 22).

Association between intermittent hypoxemia and neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely premature infants: A single-center experience.

Objective: To describe the association between intermittent hypoxemic events (IHEs) and severe neurodevelopmental impairment (SNDI) or death in extremely premature infants.

Study Design: Retrospective study of extremely premature infants 23-27 weeks gestational age (GA) and birthweight (BW) ≤1250 grams (g) admitted to a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from 2013 to 2017. IHEs, defined as events with SpO ≤ 80 % lasting 10 s to 5 min, were algorithmically identified using data extracted from bedside monitors at 2 s intervals (0.

Age-related trends in aperiodic EEG activity and alpha oscillations during early- to middle-childhood.

Age-related structural and functional changes that occur during brain development are critical for cortical development and functioning. Previous electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies have highlighted the utility of power spectra analyses and have uncovered age-related trends that reflect perceptual, cognitive, and behavioural states as well as their underlying neurophysiology. The aim of the current study was to investigate age-related change in aperiodic and periodic alpha activity across a large sample of pre- and school-aged children (N = 502, age range 4 -11-years-of-age).

Cardiorespiratory signature of neonatal sepsis: development and validation of prediction models in 3 NICUs.

Background: Heart rate characteristics aid early detection of late-onset sepsis (LOS), but respiratory data contain additional signatures of illness due to infection. Predictive models using cardiorespiratory data may improve early sepsis detection. We hypothesized that heart rate (HR) and oxygenation (SpO) data contain signatures that improve sepsis risk prediction over HR or demographics alone.

A Novel Method for ECG Artifact Removal from EEG without Simultaneous ECG.

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a common source of electrical artifact in electroencephalogram (EEG). Here, we present a novel method for removing ECG artifact that requires neither simultaneous ECG nor transformation of the EEG signals. The approach relies upon processing a subset of EEG channels that contain ECG artifact to identify the times of each R-wave of the ECG.

Longitudinal characterization of EEG power spectra during eyes open and eyes closed conditions in children.

This study is the first to examine spectrum-wide (1 to 250 Hz) differences in electroencephalogram (EEG) power between eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) resting state conditions in 486 children. The results extend the findings of previous studies by characterizing EEG power differences from 30 to 250 Hz between EO and EC across childhood. Developmental changes in EEG power showed spatial and frequency band differences as a function of age and EO/EC condition.

Aperiodic electrophysiological activity in preterm infants is linked to subsequent autism risk.

Approximately 7% of preterm infants receive an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Yet, there is a significant gap in the literature in identifying prospective markers of neurodevelopmental risk in preterm infants. The present study examined two electroencephalography (EEG) parameters during infancy, absolute EEG power and aperiodic activity of the power spectral density (PSD) slope, in association with subsequent autism risk and cognitive ability in a diverse cohort of children born preterm in South Africa.

Family nurture intervention increases term age forebrain EEG activity: A multicenter replication trial.

Objective: This trial (RCT-2) sought to replicate the EEG findings of a randomized controlled trial of Family Nurture Intervention in the NICU (FNI-NICU) (RCT-1) comparing infants receiving standard care (SC) with infants receiving SC plus FNI .

Methods: RCT-2 (NCT02710474) was conducted at two NICUs. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive SC or FNI during their NICU stay.

Preterm infant heart rate is lowered after Family Nurture Intervention in the NICU: Evidence in support of autonomic conditioning.

Background: Cardiac complications after premature birth are associated with negative long-term consequences to health. The Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) has been designed to support mother-infant parasympathetic calming sessions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). FNI has shown neurodevelopmental and autonomic benefit across infant development.

Vital sign metrics of VLBW infants in three NICUs: implications for predictive algorithms.

Background: Continuous heart rate (HR) and oxygenation (SpO) metrics can be useful for predicting adverse events in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. To optimize the utility of these tools, inter-site variability must be taken into account.

Methods: For VLBW infants at three neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), we analyzed the mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and cross-correlation of electrocardiogram HR, pulse oximeter pulse rate, and SpO.

Comparing liver and lower abdomen near-infrared spectroscopy in preterm infants.

Background: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is being increasingly used to investigate regional oxygenation (rSO) and perfusion in areas such as the abdomen in preterm infants prone to feeding intolerance. Lower abdominal rSO values are extremely variable, high sensitivity and currently low specificity tools. The liver, a solid organ, could provide a more reliable site for splanchnic oxygenation and perfusion monitoring.

Family nurture intervention alters relationships between preterm infant EEG delta brush characteristics and term age EEG power.

Objective: Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) facilitates mother/infant emotional connection, improves neurodevelopmental outcomes and increases electroencephalogram (EEG) power at term age. Here we explored whether delta brushes (DB), early EEG bursts that shape brain development, are altered by FNI and mediate later effects of FNI on EEG.

Methods: We assessed DB characteristics in EEG data from a randomized controlled trial comparing infants with standard care (SC, n = 31) versus SC + FNI (n = 33) at ~35 and ~40 weeks GA.

Associations among the home language environment and neural activity during infancy.

Characteristics of the home language environment, independent of socioeconomic background, may account for disparities in early language abilities. Past studies have reported links between the quantity of language input within the home and differences in brain function during early childhood. The current study examined associations between home language input and EEG brain activity in a socioeconomically diverse sample of 6- to 12-month-old infants (N = 94).

Association Between Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Tobacco and Neonatal Brain Activity: Results From the Safe Passage Study.

Importance: Research to date has not determined a safe level of alcohol or tobacco use during pregnancy. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a noninvasive measure of cortical function that has previously been used to examine effects of in utero exposures and associations with neurodevelopment.

Objective: To examine the association of prenatal exposure to alcohol (PAE) and tobacco smoking (PTE) with brain activity in newborns.

Infants of mothers with higher physiological stress show alterations in brain function.

Chronic stress has been increasingly linked with aberrations in children's behavioral, cognitive, and social development, yet the effect of chronic physiological stress on neural development during the first year of life is largely unknown. The present study aims to link a physiological index of chronic stress (maternal hair cortisol concentration) to maturational differences in infant functional brain development during the first year of life. Participants were 94 mother-infant dyads.

Improvement of diagnostic yield in carbamoylphosphate synthetase 1 () molecular genetic investigation by RNA sequencing.

Carbamoylphosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency is a rare inborn error of metabolism leading often to neonatal onset hyperammonemia with coma and high mortality. The biochemical features of the disease are nonspecific and cannot distinguish this condition from other defects of the urea cycle, namely -acetylglutamate synthase deficiency. Therefore, molecular genetic investigation is required for confirmation of the disease, and nowadays this is done with increasing frequency applying next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques.

'If he sees it with his own eyes, he will understand': how gender informed the content and delivery of a maternal nutrition intervention in Burkina Faso.

A growing body of literature urges policymakers, practitioners and scientists to consider gender in the design and evaluation of health interventions. We report findings from formative research to develop and refine an mHealth maternal nutrition intervention in Nouna, Burkina Faso, one of the world's most resource-poor settings. Gender was not an initial research focus, but emerged as highly salient during data collection, and thus guided lines of inquiry as the study progressed.

Cohort profile: the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hospital Exposures and Long-Term Health (NICU-HEALTH) cohort, a prospective preterm birth cohort in New York City.

Purpose: The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hospital Exposures and Long-Term Health (NICU-HEALTH) longitudinal preterm birth cohort studies the impact of the NICU exposome on early-life development. NICU-HEALTH collects multiple biospecimens, complex observational and survey data and comprehensive multisystem outcome assessments to allow measurement of the impact of modifiable environmental exposures during the preterm period on neurodevelopmental, pulmonary and growth outcomes.

Participants: Moderately preterm infants without genetic or congenital anomalies and their mothers are recruited from an urban academic medical centre level IV NICU in New York City, New York, USA.

Iterative Adaptation of a Mobile Nutrition Video-Based Intervention Across Countries Using Human-Centered Design: Qualitative Study.

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) video interventions are often transferred across settings. Although the outcomes of these transferred interventions are frequently published, the process of adapting such videos is less described, particularly within and across lower-income contexts. This study fills a gap in the literature by outlining experiences and priorities adapting a suite of South African maternal nutrition videos to the context of rural Burkina Faso.

Neonatal EEG linked to individual differences in socioemotional outcomes and autism risk in toddlers.

Research using electroencephalography (EEG) as a measure of brain function and maturation has demonstrated links between cortical activity and cognitive processes during infancy and early childhood. The current study examines whether neonatal EEG is correlated with later atypical socioemotional behaviors or neurocognitive delays. Parental report developmental assessments were administered to families with children ages 24 to 36 months who had previously participated in a neonatal EEG study (N = 129).

Fetal heart rate, heart rate variability, and heart rate/movement coupling in the Safe Passage Study.

Objective: To determine normative values for heart rate patterns in healthy fetuses.

Methods: This research is from the Safe Passage Study conducted by the Prenatal Alcohol and SIDS and Stillbirth (PASS) Network. A standardized protocol assessed fetal heart rate (FHR), heart rate variability (HRV), and movement from 1655 fetuses at three-time points during gestation (20-24 weeks, 28-32 weeks, 34-38 weeks gestation).

Integrated information in the EEG of preterm infants increases with family nurture intervention, age, and conscious state.

A putative quantifier of consciousness, integrated information, was applied to preterm infant EEG data after novel pre-processing. Integrated information had a non-random structure as a function of the time lag over which it was computed. For most lags, it increased with age in early life, but even more so in infants exposed to Family Nurture Intervention (FNI), providing further evidence that FNI advances brain maturation in preterm infants.

Early hypoxemia burden is strongly associated with severe intracranial hemorrhage in preterm infants.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to define the association between the burden of severe hypoxemia (SpO ≤70%) in the first week of life and development of severe ICH (grade III/IV) in preterm infants.

Study Design: Infants born at <32 weeks or weighing <1500 g underwent prospective SpO recording from birth through 7 days. Severe hypoxemia burden was calculated as the percentage of the error-corrected recording where SpO ≤70%.