The degree of prematurity affects functional brain activity in preterm born children at school-age: An EEG study.

Abstract Prematurely born children are at higher risk for long-term adverse motor and cognitive outcomes. The aim of this paper was to compare quantitative measures derived from electroencephalography (EEG) between extremely (EP) and very prematurely (VP) born children at 9–10 years of age. Fifty-five children born Relative power and functional connectivity were significantly higher in VP than EP children in the upper alpha frequency band, and VP children had more integrated networks. A strong positive correlation was found between relative upper alpha power and motor outcome whilst controlling for gestational age, age during EEG recording, and gender (ρ = 0.493, p = 0.004). These results suggest that 9–10 years after birth, the effects of the degree of prematurity can be observed in terms of alterations in functional brain activity and that motor deficits are associated with decreases in relative upper alpha power.