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Int J Mol Sci 2021 May 1;22(9). Epub 2021 May 1.

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) remains to be a major cause of long-term neurodevelopmental deficits in term neonates. Hypothermia offers partial neuroprotection warranting research for additional therapies. Kynurenic acid (KYNA), an endogenous product of tryptophan metabolism, was previously shown to be beneficial in rat HIE models. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2021 May 3. Epub 2021 May 3.

Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Severance Children's Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Korea.

Objective: Seizures are one of the most common emergencies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). They are identified through visual inspection of electroencephalography (EEG) reports and treated by neurophysiologic experts. To support clinical seizure detection, several feature-based automatic neonatal seizure detection algorithms have been proposed. Read More

Neurophysiol Clin 2021 Mar 2;51(2):121-131. Epub 2021 Jan 2.

EA4489, Environnement périnatal et santé, Faculté de médecine, Université de Lille, 2 Avenue Eugène Avinée, 59120 Loos, France; Service de Neurologie pédiatrique, Hôpital Roger Salengro, CHRU de Lille, Avenue du Professeur Emile Laine, 59037, France.

Objectives: To identify relevant quantitative parameters for early classification of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) severity from conventional EEGs.

Methods: Ninety EEGs, recorded in full-term infants within 6 h of life after perinatal hypoxia, were visually classified according to the French EEG classification into three groups of increasing HIE severity. Physiologically significant EEG features (signal amplitude, continuity and frequency content) were automatically quantified using different parameters. Read More

Neurophysiol Clin 2021 Jan 2;51(1):89-98. Epub 2020 Nov 2.

Clinical Neurophysiology, Roger Salengro Hospital, CHRU Lille, France.

Sleep is a key process in neurodevelopment and essential for the maturation of fundamental brain functions. Premature birth can disturb the initial steps of sleep maturation, which may contribute to the impairment of neurodevelopment. It is thus fundamental to understand the maturation of the various sleep states and the quality of cerebral function in each vigilance state, as well as the development of sleep cyclicity, in at-risk neonatal infants, particularly those born premature. Read More

Ital J Pediatr 2020 Sep 24;46(1):140. Epub 2020 Sep 24.

Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties "G. D'Alessandro". University Hospital "P.Giaccone", University of Palermo, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127, Palermo, Italy.

Background: Mitochondrial diseases, also known as oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) disorders, with a prevalence rate of 1:5000, are the most frequent inherited metabolic diseases. Leigh Syndrome French Canadian type (LSFC), is caused by mutations in the nuclear gene (2p16) leucine-rich pentatricopeptide repeat-containing (LRPPRC). It is an autosomal recessive neurogenetic OXPHOS disorder, phenotypically distinct from other types of Leigh syndrome, with a carrier frequency up to 1:23 and an incidence of 1:2063 in the Saguenay-Lac-St Jean region of Quebec. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Sep 16;21(18). Epub 2020 Sep 16.

Department of Physiology, University of Szeged Faculty of Medicine, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is still a major cause of neonatal death and disability as therapeutic hypothermia (TH) alone cannot afford sufficient neuroprotection. The present study investigated whether ventilation with molecular hydrogen (2.1% H) or graded restoration of normocapnia with CO for 4 h after asphyxia would augment the neuroprotective effect of TH in a subacute (48 h) HIE piglet model. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2020 03 20;131(3):744-749. Epub 2020 Jan 20.

University Hospital "P. Giaccone", Department of Sciences for Health Promotion, Maternal Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties "G. D'Alessandro", Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Via A. Giordano 3, 90127 Palermo, Italy. Electronic address:

Objectives: To study the association between intrauterine growth and visual pathways maturation by neonatal visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in twins, in view of a possible prognostic role.

Methods: Seventy-four twin neonates from 37 pregnancies were selected based on gestational age of more than 30 weeks and uneventful perinatal clinical course. Flash VEPs were recorded at the same postmenstrual age in each twin pair. Read More

Pediatr Res 2020 07 10;88(1):91-99. Epub 2019 Dec 10.

Department of Clinical Psychology, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain.

Background: Delayed brain function development in small-gestational-age (SGA) infants has been reported. We aimed to quantify rates of immature neonatal EEG patterns and their association with neurodevelopment in SGA full-term neonates.

Methods: Using a cohort design, 50 SGA (birthweight <10th percentile) and 44 appropriate-gestational-age (AGA) term neonates underwent continuous video-EEG recordings lasting >3 h. Read More

Med Hypotheses 2020 Feb 28;135:109464. Epub 2019 Oct 28.

Fırat University Faculty of Engineering, Software Engineering, 23119 Elazig, Turkey. Electronic address:

The present study developed a feature selection (FS)-based decision support system using the electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded from neonates with and without seizures. The study employed 10 different FS algorithms to reduce the classification cost by using fewer features and to improve the classification performance of the model by removing the irrelevant features. In doing so, the classification performance of each FS algorithm on each EEG channel difference was also evaluated. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 06 13;10(1):2619. Epub 2019 Jun 13.

QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia.

Sleep architecture carries vital information about brain health across the lifespan. In particular, the ability to express distinct vigilance states is a key physiological marker of neurological wellbeing in the newborn infant although systems-level mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the transition from quiet to active sleep in newborn infants is marked by a substantial reorganization of large-scale cortical activity and functional brain networks. Read More

J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2019 09 25;60(9):975-987. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Background: Children born very preterm often display selective cognitive difficulties at school age even in the absence of major brain injury. Alterations in neurophysiological activity underpinning such difficulties, as well as their relation to specific aspects of adverse neonatal experience, remain poorly understood. In the present study, we examined interregional connectivity and spectral power in very preterm children at school age, and their relationship with clinical neonatal variables and long-term outcomes (IQ, executive functions, externalizing/internalizing behavior, visual-motor integration). Read More

Epilepsia 2019 01 7;60(1):20-32. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

INSERM Unit U1129 Infantile Epilepsies and Brain Plasticity, University Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.

Objective: We aimed to characterize epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS), a rare, severe early onset developmental epilepsy related to KCNT1 mutation, and to define specific electroencephalography (EEG) markers using EEG quantitative analysis. The ultimate goal would be to improve early diagnosis and to better understand seizure onset and propagation of EIMFS as compared to other early onset developmental epilepsy.

Methods: EEG of 7 EIMFS patients with KCNT1 mutations (115 seizures) and 17 patients with other early onset epilepsies (30 seizures) was included in this study. Read More

J Neural Eng 2018 12 22;15(6):066006. Epub 2018 Aug 22.

Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), STADIUS Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. imec, Leuven, Belgium.

Objective: Neonates spend most of their time asleep. Sleep of preterm infants evolves rapidly throughout maturation and plays an important role in brain development. Since visual labelling of the sleep stages is a time consuming task, automated analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) to identify sleep stages is of great interest to clinicians. Read More

Neonatology 2018 13;113(4):287-295. Epub 2018 Feb 13.

Background: Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) is used increasingly in neonatal intensive care and seems helpful in predicting outcomes at the age of 2 years.

Objectives: To determine whether early aEEG patterns in preterm infants are equally useful in predicting outcomes at early school age.

Methods: We recorded aEEG in 41 preterms (gestational age 26. Read More

BMJ Open 2017 Dec 3;7(12):e018084. Epub 2017 Dec 3.

Department of Neurology, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.

Introduction: Preterm and very low birthweight infants are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including cerebral palsy, sensory impairment and intellectual disability. Several early intervention approaches have been designed in the hope of optimising neurological development in this context. It seems important that the intervention takes into account parental mental health, focuses on parent-child interactions and lasts sufficiently long. Read More

Pediatr Neurol 2017 Dec 4;77:54-60.e1. Epub 2017 May 4.

Research Unit, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, La Laguna, Spain.

Background: What constitutes a "normal" background electroencephalography (EEG) rhythm immediately after birth is not well understood. We performed video-electroencephalography recordings in the first six hours (first measure) and the third day of life (second measure) for evidence of transient changes in brain function.

Methods: We performed a cohort study of an incidental sample of healthy term neonates in a single-center nursery. Read More

J Clin Neurophysiol 2017 Nov;34(6):484-491

*Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, APHP, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris, France; †INSERM U1129, Paris, France; ‡Paris Descartes University, Paris, France; §CEA, Gif sur Yvette, France; and ‖Department of Neonatology, APHP, Necker Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris, France.

Purpose: Benign neonatal sleep myoclonus is a common nonepileptic condition occurring in neurologically normal full-term newborns. During jerks, EEG has always been described as normal. The aim of this study was to describe EEG changes associated with the myoclonic jerks. Read More

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2018 Jan 19;103(1):F82-F84. Epub 2017 Aug 19.

Centre for the Studies of Asphyxia and Resuscitation, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Background: Visual attention (VA) is important for situation awareness and decision-making. Eye tracking can be used to analyse the VA of healthcare providers. No study has examined eye tracking during neonatal resuscitation. Read More

Early Hum Dev 2017 10 12;113:87-103. Epub 2017 Jul 12.

Department of Development and Regeneration, University Hospitals Leuven, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address:

Neonatal sleep is a crucial state that involves endogenous driven brain activity, important for neuronal survival and guidance of brain networks. Sequential EEG-sleep analysis in preterm infants provides insights into functional brain integrity and can document deviations of the biologically pre-programmed process of sleep ontogenesis during the neonatal period. Visual assessment of neonatal sleep-EEG, with integration of both cerebral and non-cerebral measures to better define neonatal state, is still considered the gold standard. Read More

J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017 Dec 15;58(12):1351-1359. Epub 2017 May 15.

Neonatology Department, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.

Background: Evolution preserves social attention due to its key role in supporting survival. Humans are attracted to social cues from infancy, but the neurobiological mechanisms for the development of social attention are unknown. An evolutionary-based, vertical-hierarchical theoretical model of self-regulation suggests that neonatal brainstem inputs are key for the development of well-regulated social attention. Read More

Med Eng Phys 2017 07 18;45:42-50. Epub 2017 Apr 18.

Neonatal Brain Research Group, Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT), University College Cork, Ireland. Electronic address:

Aim: To develop a method that segments preterm EEG into bursts and inter-bursts by extracting and combining multiple EEG features.

Methods: Two EEG experts annotated bursts in individual EEG channels for 36 preterm infants with gestational age < 30 weeks. The feature set included spectral, amplitude, and frequency-weighted energy features. Read More

Seizure 2017 Apr 2;47:13-16. Epub 2017 Mar 2.

Division of Neurology, CHU Sainte Justine, Department of Neurosciences and Paediatrics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Canada. Electronic address:

Purpose: Seizures are common in critically ill neonates. Both seizures and antiepileptic treatments may lead to short term complications and worsen the outcomes. Predicting the risks of seizure reoccurrence could enable individual treatment regimens and better outcomes. Read More

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2017 Sep 27;102(5):F383-F388. Epub 2017 Jan 27.

Department of Neonatology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Introduction: Elevated carbon dioxide (CO) blood levels have a depressant effect on the central nervous system and can lead to coma in adults. Less is known about the effect of CO on the neurological function of infants.

Objective: To describe the effect of acute severe hypercapnia (PaCO >70 mm Hg) on amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) and cerebral oxygenation in newborn infants. Read More

Pediatr Crit Care Med 2017 01;18(1):64-72

1Ruth D. & Ken M. Davee Pediatric Neurocritical Care Program, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.2Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.3Division of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.4Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

Objective: Spectral electroencephalogram analysis is a method for automated analysis of electroencephalogram patterns, which can be performed at the bedside. We sought to determine the utility of spectral electroencephalogram for grading hepatic encephalopathy in children with acute liver failure.

Design: Retrospective cohort study. Read More

Epilepsia 2016 09 13;57(9):1426-35. Epub 2016 Jul 13.

Clinical Neurophysiology and Epileptology Department, APHM, Timone Hospital, Marseille, France.

Objectives: The study of intracerebral electroencephalography (EEG) seizure-onset patterns is crucial to accurately define the epileptogenic zone and guide successful surgical resection. It also raises important pathophysiologic issues concerning mechanisms of seizure generation. Until now, several seizure-onset patterns have been described using distinct recording methods (subdural, depth electrode), mostly in temporal lobe epilepsies or with heterogeneous neocortical lesions. Read More

Clin EEG Neurosci 2017 Mar 10;48(2):146-154. Epub 2016 Jul 10.

1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.

Objective: To compare amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) and conventional EEG (EEG) activity in premature neonates.

Methods: Biweekly aEEG and EEG were simultaneously recorded in a cohort of infants born less than 34 weeks gestation. aEEG recordings were visually assessed for lower and upper border amplitude and bandwidth. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2016 08 16;127(8):2910-2918. Epub 2016 Apr 16.

Neonatal Brain Research Group, Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research, University College Cork, Ireland; Clinicum, University of Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address:

Objective: To develop an automated estimate of EEG maturational age (EMA) for preterm neonates.

Methods: The EMA estimator was based on the analysis of hourly epochs of EEG from 49 neonates with gestational age (GA) ranging from 23 to 32weeks. Neonates had appropriate EEG for GA based on visual interpretation of the EEG. Read More

Pediatr Res 2016 07 8;80(1):35-42. Epub 2016 Mar 8.

Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Background: Typically developing infants track moving objects with eye and head movements in a smooth and predictive way at 4 mo of age, but this ability is delayed in very preterm infants. We hypothesized that visual tracking ability in very preterm infants predicts later neurodevelopment.

Method: In 67 very preterm infants (gestational age<32 wk), eye and head movements were assessed at 4 mo corrected age while the infant tracked a moving object. Read More

Neuropsychologia 2016 Apr 4;84:89-104. Epub 2016 Feb 4.

Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Norway.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to investigate brain electrical activity of full-term and preterm infants at 4 and 12 months of age as a functional response mechanism to structured optic flow and random visual motion. EEG data were recorded with an array of 128-channel sensors. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and temporal spectral evolution (TSE, time-dependent amplitude changes) were analysed. Read More