title: Perinatal cerebral insults alter auditory event-related potentials.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) can be used as indices of neural information processing. Altered AERPs have been reported in children and young adults with frontal lobe infarction.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to test the hypothesis that perinatal brain injury affects cortical auditory processing.
  
  
  METHODS
  we assessed AERPs at term, 6 and 12months of age in preterm infants [n=9, median gestational age (GA) 27.9, range 23.9-30.0wk], term infants with perinatal intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) [n=5, GA 40.3, range 37.4-42.3wk], and term infants with perinatal asphyxia [n=4, GA 39.4, range 37.9-40.3wk]. Healthy preterm (n=16) and term infants (n=22) served as controls. A harmonic tone of 500-Hz frequency was used as standard and of 750-Hz as deviant stimulus. Mean AERP amplitudes were calculated over 100ms periods from 50 to 350ms. The developmental outcome was followed until 2years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the term ICH (p=0.012) and asphyxia (p=0.0016) group had smaller or more negative responses to the deviant, resulting in smaller or more negative MMR amplitudes than those of the controls. The preterm ICH group did not differ significantly from their preterm born controls. MMR varied in all patient groups and was not associated with adverse outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AERP alterations suggest that perinatal cerebral insults affect cortical auditory processing.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finnish Office for Health Care Technology Assessment (FinOHTA), Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Jaana A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Leipälä
authors.forename: Eino
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Partanen
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kushnerenko
authors.forename: Minna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huotilainen
authors.forename: Vineta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fellman
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D055815:Young Adult