Multi-channel amplitude-integrated EEG characteristics in preterm infants with a normal neurodevelopment at two years of corrected age.

Aim: To analyze quantitatively multi-channel amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) characteristics and assess regional differences.

Methods: We investigated 40 preterm infants (postmenstrual age, PMA: range 27-37 weeks) with normal follow-up at 24 months of age, at a median postnatal age of 8 days using 4-h EEG recordings according to the international 10-20 system reduced montage. Nine (3 transverse and 6 longitudinal) channels were selected and converted to aEEG registrations.

Cerebral hemodynamics in newborn infants exposed to speech sounds: a whole-head optical topography study.

Considerable knowledge on neural development related to speech perception has been obtained by functional imaging studies using near-infrared spectroscopy (optical topography). In particular, a pioneering study showed stronger left-dominant activation in the temporal lobe for (normal) forward speech (FW) than for (reversed) backward speech (BW) in neonates. However, it is unclear whether this stronger left-dominant activation for FW is equally observed for any language or is clearer for the mother tongue.

Electrocortical activity in the near-term ovine fetus: automated analysis using amplitude frequency components.

We have designed an automated method for analyzing electrocortical (ECoG) activity in the near-term ovine fetus to process and quantitatively classify large amounts of data rapidly and objectively. Seven chronically catheterized fetal sheep were studied for 8h each at ~0.9 of gestation with continuous recording of ECoG activity using a computerized data acquisition system.

The use of conventional EEG for the assessment of hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy in the newborn: a review.

Neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy continues to be one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among neonates around the globe. With the advent of therapeutic hypothermia, the need to accurately classify the severity of injury in the early neonatal period is of great importance. As clinical measures cannot always accurately estimate the severity early enough for treatment to be initiated, clinicians have become more dependent on conventional and amplitude integrated EEG.

Cardiovascular and neuroendocrine features of Panayiotopoulos syndrome in three siblings.

Objective: Panayiotopoulos syndrome is a benign idiopathic childhood epilepsy characterized by altered autonomic activity at seizure onset.

Methods: Three siblings with Panayiotopoulos syndrome underwent 24-hour EEG recording and head-up tilt testing with continuous blood pressure and RR interval monitoring. Plasma catecholamines and vasopressin were measured while supine, upright, and during a typical seizure.

Neurophysiologic and neurobehavioral evidence of beneficial effects of prenatal omega-3 fatty acid intake on memory function at school age.

Background: The beneficial effects of prenatal and early postnatal intakes of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on cognitive development during infancy are well recognized. However, few studies have examined the extent to which these benefits continue to be evident in childhood.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relation of n-3 PUFAs and seafood-contaminant intake with memory function in school-age children from a fish-eating community.

Quantitative EEG analysis in neonatal hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that quantitative EEG (qEEG) measures are associated with a grading of HIE based on the visual interpretation of neonatal EEG (EEG/HIE).

Methods: Continuous multichannel video-EEG data were recorded for up to 72 h. One-hour EEG segments from each recording were visually analysed and graded by two electroencephalographers (EEGers) blinded to clinical data.

Feasibility of long-term continuous EEG monitoring during the first days of life in preterm infants: an automated quantification of the EEG activity.

Long-term EEG monitoring (LTM) with several electrodes could be a useful tool for surveillance of the brain during the first critical days of life. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of multichannel LTM for automated analysis of EEG activity from d 1 to 3 using eight electrodes. Premature infants (GA <31 wk; n = 48) were continuously monitored for 3 d.

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography in preterm infants with cystic periventricular leukomalacia.

Aim: This study aimed to assess amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) findings in preterm infants with cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL) in the early neonatal period.

Methods: We analyzed five infants with cPVL, whose gestational age was between 27 and 30 weeks, and 15 matched control infants. Two-channel (C3-O1 and C4-O2) aEEG was obtained by digital conversion from a conventional electroencephalogram, which was recorded at days 0-5, 6-13, and 21-34 in each infant.

The EEG response to pyridoxine-IV neither identifies nor excludes pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy.

Purpose: Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) is characterized by therapy-resistant seizures (TRS) responding to intravenous (IV) pyridoxine. PDE can be identified by increased urinary alpha-aminoadipic semialdehyde (α-AASA) concentrations and mutations in the ALDH7A1 (antiquitin) gene. Prompt recognition of PDE is important for treatment and prognosis of seizures.

Quantitative analysis of maturational changes in EEG background activity in very preterm infants with a normal neurodevelopment at 1 year of age.

Background: The electroencephalographic (EEG) background pattern of preterm infants changes with postmenstrual age (PMA) from discontinuous activity to continuous activity. However, changes in discontinuity have been investigated by visual analysis only.

Aim: To investigate the maturational changes in EEG discontinuity in healthy preterm infants using an automated EEG detection algorithm.

"Slow activity transients" in infant rat visual cortex: a spreading synchronous oscillation patterned by retinal waves.

A primary feature of the preterm infant electroencephalogram is the presence of large infra-slow potentials containing rapid oscillations called slow activity transients (SATs). Such activity has not been described in animal models, and their generative mechanisms are unknown. Here we use direct-current and multisite extracellular, as well as whole-cell, recording in vivo to demonstrate the existence of regularly repeating SATs in the visual cortex of infant rats before eye opening.

Bilateral loss of cortical somatosensory evoked potential at birth predicts cerebral palsy in term and near-term newborns.

Bilateral loss of cortical somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) is considered the single best indicator of adverse outcome in acute encephalopathy of adult patients and older children. This study determines whether the presence or absence of the neonatal cortical SEP can predict cerebral palsy at two years in survivors of neonatal encephalopathy scored according to Sarnat criteria. We also compare SEPs with visual evoked potentials (VEPs), the EEG and neonatal neurological status.

Decreased aEEG continuity and baseline variability in the first 48 hours of life associated with poor short-term outcome in neonates born before 29 weeks gestation.

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) provides us with a method of assessing brain activity in critically ill neonates. In extremely premature neonates, the aEEG trace is predominantly discontinuous, making it difficult to distinguish between a "normal" and "abnormal" trace. We measured aEEG activity in the first 48 h of life in neonates born before 29-wk gestation and used both visual and quantitative analysis of the aEEG data to assess differences in neonates with poor short-term outcome [death or peri/intraventricular hemorrhage (P/IVH)] compared with those who survived without P/IVH to identify features of an abnormal aEEG.

The influence of extrauterine life on the aEEG maturation in normal preterm infants.

Objective: To study, the maturational changes of the amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) in preterm infants without neurological disorders and especially the influence of the duration of extrauterine life, over this process.

Methods: 96 preterm infants, 25-34weeks' gestational age (GA) at birth, clinically stable and without ultrasonographic evidence of neurological abnormalities, were studied. The aEEG recordings were obtained within 72 h of life and then weekly until discharge.

'Weight of Evidence' analysis of neonatal sensory evoked potentials.

Abnormalities in neonatal sensory evoked potentials (EPs) may indicate a poor developmental prognosis, but such EPs are highly variable, changing with development, and requiring subjective analysis. 'Weight of Evidence' (W), the logarithm of the ratio of the probability that a response has occurred to the probability that it has not, and 'Response Entropy' (S), the spread of the response over time and frequency bands, might provide objective and quantitative measures of EP abnormalities and developmental changes, based on information processing characteristics. W and S were calculated from visual and somatosensory EPs recorded in 72 premature newborns over 2 sessions, separated by 6-9 weeks.

Quantitative EEG in babies at risk for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy after perinatal asphyxia.

Objective: To evaluate an electroencephalography (EEG)-based index, the Cerebral Health Index in babies (CHI/b), for identification of neonates with high Sarnat scores and abnormal EEG as markers of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) after perinatal asphyxia.

Study Design: This is a retrospective study using 30 min of EEG data collected from 20 term neonates with HIE and 20 neurologically normal neonates. The HIE diagnosis was made on clinical grounds based on history and examination findings.

Neonatal seizure localization using PARAFAC decomposition.

Objective: The description and evaluation of two EEG-based algorithms for automatic and objective determination of the seizure location in the neonatal brain as it is reflected on the scalp.

Methods: Each algorithm extracts the electrical potential distribution of the seizure over the scalp using the higher-order canonical decomposition or Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC), also referred to as the CP model. This model decomposes a tensor in a sum of rank-1 components.

Massage accelerates brain development and the maturation of visual function.

Environmental enrichment (EE) was shown recently to accelerate brain development in rodents. Increased levels of maternal care, and particularly tactile stimulation through licking and grooming, may represent a key component in the early phases of EE. We hypothesized that enriching the environment in terms of body massage may thus accelerate brain development in infants.

Development of NREM sleep instability-continuity (cyclic alternating pattern) in healthy term infants aged 1 to 4 months.

Study Objectives: To evaluate non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep instability, as measured by the cyclic alternating pattern (CAP), in the first months of life in a group of normal healthy infants, in order to obtain more information on the maturation of arousal mechanisms during NREM sleep and to set normative data of CAP parameters in this age range (from 1 to 4 months of life).

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Sleep unit of an academic centre.

Multivariate analysis of full-term neonatal polysomnographic data.

Introduction: Polysomnography (PSG) is one of the most important noninvasive methods for studying maturation of the child brain. Sleep in infants is significantly different from sleep in adults. This paper addresses the problem of computer analysis of neonatal polygraphic signals.

Habituation of visual evoked potentials in healthy infants and in infants with periventricular leukomalacia.

Objective: To investigate whether habituation of flash visual evoked potentials is already present during the first 3 months of life, and to explore differences between healthy infants, term infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), and preterm infants with PVL.

Methods: Referential recordings to stimuli consisting of photic stimulation presented in blocks were obtained. A total of 25 blocks, 15-stimuli each, were presented.

Human parechovirus causes encephalitis with white matter injury in neonates.

Objective: To assess the role of human parechoviruses (HPeVs) as a cause of neonatal cerebral infection and to report neuroimaging findings of newborn infants with encephalitis caused by HPeVs.

Methods: Clinical presentation, cranial ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, and neurodevelopmental outcome of 10 infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit and diagnosed with encephalitis caused by HPeVs are reported.

Results: Nine of 10 infants, with a gestational age of 29 to 41 weeks, presented at 36 to 41 weeks postmenstrual age with clinical seizures.

Influences of perinatal dioxin load to visual motion and oddball stimuli examined with an EEG and MEG analysis.

Objective: With MEG and EEG the effect of perinatal dioxin load of 38 healthy 7- to 12-year-old children was studied to assess possible disturbances of visual development.

Methods: Latencies and amplitudes of the motion (N2 with subcomponents) and oddball responses (N200 and P3b) were analysed after age correction.

Results: With increasing load, latencies increased and the amplitudes of the oddball components tended to be reduced.

Neurodevelopmental evolution of West syndrome: a 2-year prospective study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the epileptic and developmental evolution in infants with West syndrome.

Methods: A prospective study of 21 infants was performed, with a follow-up at 2 years. Serial assessment included long-term EEG monitoring, visual and auditory evaluation and assessment of neurodevelopment.