Neural dynamics and sensory processing in premature newborns during the third trimester of gestation

During the third trimester of gestational age, with the consolidation of thalamo-cortical connectivity, the refinement of neural circuits shifts from being guided primarily by endogenous neural activity to being guided also by exogenously induced neural activity. Evidence suggests that external sensory information makes a major contribution to the neuroplastic changes underlying neurodevelopment. We will present a unique cohort of 80 premature newborns, born between 27 and 37 weeks of gestational age, recorded with high-density electroencephalography (EEG) during rest and auditory rhythmic stimulation. We will present: (i) the systematic evolution of phase-amplitude coupling and aperiodic oscillatory characteristics of spontaneous neural activity; (ii) the development of neural synchronization to auditory periodicities (an important characteristic of musical rhythm and speech prosody); and (iii) the maturation of neural capacities for integrating auditory information across distributed cortical networks. In addition, we will show that integrating the characteristics of the neural response induced by exogenous stimulation and those of spontaneous endogenous neural activity can give reliable prediction of cerebral age across the third trimester of gestation. Finally, we will present and discuss a recording setup to measure newborn brain activity with Optically Pumped Magnetometers (OPM-MEG) and present first ever recordings from preterm infants during rest and auditory stimulation. Our studies provide new insights into how the assessment of the developmental dynamics of neuronal networks at rest and simultaneously of their distributed response to exogenous stimuli could constitute a key element in evaluating neurodevelopment and adaptation of the premature newborn to its environment.