A preliminary study on a new method for evaluating brain maturation in preterm infants / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To establish a new method for evaluating the brain maturation of preterm infants based on the features of electroencephalographic activity.@*METHODS@#A prospective study was conducted on the video electroencephalography (vEEG) and amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) recordings within 7 days after birth of preterm infants who had a postmenstrual age (PMA) of 25-36 weeks and met the inclusion criteria. The background activity of aEEG+conventional electroencephalography (cEEG) was scored according to the features of brain maturation as a new evaluation system and was compared with the aEEG evaluation system. The correlations of the evaluation results of the two methods with gestational age (GA), PMA, and head circumference were evaluated. The intervals of the total scores of aEEG+cEEG and aEEG were calculated for preterm infants with different PMAs and were compared between groups. The consistency of the new scoring system was evaluated among different raters.@*RESULTS@#A total of 52 preterm infants were included. The total scores of aEEG+cEEG and aEEG were positively correlated with GA, PMA, and head circumference (P<0.05), and the correlation coefficient between the total scores of the two systems and PMA and GA was >0.9. The normal score intervals for aEEG+cEEG and aEEG scoring systems were determined in preterm infants with different PMAs as follows: infants with a PMA of less than 28 weeks had scores of 13.0 (11.0, 14.0) points for aEEG+cEEG and 6.0 (4.0, 7.0) points for aEEG; infants with a PMA between 28 and 29+6 weeks had scores of 16.0 (14.5, 17.0) points for aEEG+cEEG and 8.0 (6.0, 8.0) points for aEEG; infants with a PMA between 30 and 31+6 weeks had scores of 18.0 (17.0, 21.0) points for aEEG+cEEG and 9.0 (8.0, 10.0) points for aEEG; infants with between 32 and 33+6 weeks had scores of 22.0 (20.0, 24.5) points for aEEG+cEEG and 10.0 (10.0, 10.8) points for aEEG; infants with a PMA between 34 and 36 weeks had scores of 26.0 (24.5, 27.5) points for aEEG+cEEG and 11.0 (10.0, 12.0) points for aEEG. There were significant differences in the total scores of aEEG+cEEG and aEEG among the different PMA groups (P<0.05). There was a high consistency between different raters when using the scoring system to evaluate the brain maturation of preterm infants (κ=0.86).@*CONCLUSIONS@#The aEEG+cEEG scoring system established in this study can quantitatively reflect the brain maturation of preterm infants, with a good discriminatory ability between preterm infants with different PMAs and high consistency between different raters.

Does the extent of Cortical Myelination at the age of onset of Second Language Acquisition (Sla) affect students’ academic performance? A University of Papua New Guinea case study

@#The influence of Age of Onset (AO) of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) on learners‟ Ultimate Attainment (UA) potential is well documented. The issue of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) potential enters a qualitatively different, pragmatic dimension in most multilingual developing nations (including Papua New Guinea), where English, a second language for most children, is also the language of education, and where, consequently, students‟ English proficiency necessarily affects their academic potential and the quality of their education. This study investigates whether the academic performance of students in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is affected by their linguistic backgrounds. Specifically, we examined the effect of three factors in the students‟ Early Language Education – their Age of Onset of learning English (AO), their Age at Literacy (AGELIT), and their Early Learning Language (ELL) – on their Semester 1, 2017 Grade Points Average (GPA). A purposive cross-sectional sampling method was used for the selection of students. All full-time registered students in the SHSS during the 2017 academic session were eligible to participate in the study. A self-designed pretested questionnaire consisting of nine short questions was used to collect data on SHSS students‟ language education backgrounds, including their AO, AGELIT and ELL. Our results show a strong and statistically significant inverse correlation between students‟ AO/AGELIT and their GPAs, as well as a strong positive link between ELL English and students‟ GPAs, which contrasts sharply with a significant decrease in GPAs in the presence of ELL Tok Pisin. The ELL Vernacular category was too small (sample size N=34) to yield statistically significant results. Our current results corroborate the findings of our earlier studies which established a highly significant inverse correlation between students‟ AO and their academic performance in the National High Schools, as well as in the University of Papua New Guinea.

Trastorno con déficit de atención e hiperactividad: neurobiología a lo largo de la vida / Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: neurobiology throughout life

Resumen El trastorno con déficit de atención e hiperactividad(TDAH) es el más frecuente motivo de consulta en neurología y psiquiatría en niños en edad escolar. Las manifestaciones clínicas incluyen niveles de inatención, hiperactividad e impulsividad más elevados que los esperados para la edad y el nivel de desarrollo. Desde las descripciones iniciales por un médico pediatra alemán, hasta nuestros días, existe cada día una mayor evidencia de que esta condición es una entidad neurobiológica, resultado la interacción de factores genéticos y medio ambientales que impactan el desarrollo y maduración cerebral del individuo. Muchas áreas científicas han proporcionado evidencia clara de esta base neurobiológica. Así mismo es claro que el TDAH es una entidad clínica que se presenta en todas las razas y estratos económicos con manifestaciones clínicas que cambian a lo largo de la vida del individuo. Entender y conocer las variaciones clínicas, los aspectos neurobiológicos y los factores que determinan el pronóstico a corto y largo plazo es el primer paso en el éxito de la intervención. En esta publicación se revisan algunos aspectos neurobiológicos a la luz del conocimiento actual en el contexto del impacto en el desarrollo y las manifestaciones a lo largo de la vida.

Abstract Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most frequent cause of consultation in clinical child neurology and child psychiatry in the school age group. The clinical manifestations include elevated levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, above of what is expected for their age and level of development. First descriptions of this conditions to our days, it is growing evidence that support the notion that this is a strong neurobiological condition. Clinical manifestations in ADHD are the result of complex interaction of genetic factors and environmental aspects that impact the presentation and severity of the symptoms as well the development and the brain maturation of the a ected individual. This neurobiological evidence comes from many sources of science from genetics, to neuroimaging. In addition, it is also clear that ADHD is present in all ethnicities and socio-economic groups, with clinical manifestations that change along the life associated with the maturation processes of the brain. Understanding and recognizing clinical variations, the neurobiological aspects and the aspects that will determine the prognosis to the long and short term is the first step for the success of any intervention. This publication will review the current knowledge of some neurobiological aspects in the context of the impact in brain development and clinical manifestations along the life of the affected individual.

Motor Evoked Potentials of the Upper Extremities in Healthy Children

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the organization of descending motor pathways to upper extremity muscles among healthy children. METHOD: The healthy children were 16 males and 7 females aged 1-19 years (average, 9 years), and eight healthy adults were enrolled as the control group. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to bilateral motor cortices, and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded using surface electrodes from the first dorsal interossei (FDI), the biceps brachii (BIC), and the deltoid (DEL) muscles. The onset latency, central motor conduction time (CMCT), and amplitude were obtained during a relaxed state. RESULTS: MEPs of FDI were obtained from subjects aged 13 months. The frequency of obtaining MEPs in proximal and distal muscles increased with age, although there was a less frequent incidence of obtaining MEPs in the proximal BIC and DEL muscles compared with those in the distal FDI muscle. MEP amplitudes increased with age, whereas latencies were relatively constant. CMCTs showed a similar pattern of maturation, and adult values were obtained by 13-years-of-age. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the proximal and distal muscles of the upper extremities show different maturation and organization patterns.

Role of amplitude-integrated EEG in evaluating the maturation of cerebral function in preterm infants / 中国小儿急救医学

Objective To investigate the efficacy of amplitude-integrated electroencephalographic (aEEG)in evaluating the maturation of cerebral function in preterm infants.Methods Ninety one neurologically normal and clinically stable preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit were studied prospectively by using aEEG.Background of aEEG activity patterns,presence of sleep-wake cycles,and the lower and higher border were analyzed.Results 112 aEEG were analyzed.The sleep-wake cycle and the continuity became more mature with PMA increased.The lower border were increased and the higher border were decreased with PMA increased(r =0.982,P ＜ 0.01 ; r =-0.964,P＜0.01).Conclusion In preterm infants,aEEG is a useful tool to evaluate the maturation of cerebral function.

Normal Changes in Brain During Childhood-Study of the Diffusion Tensor Imaging / 实用放射学杂志

Objective To study the normal changes in brain during childhood by analyzing the diffusion characters of different regions and different age phases with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods DTI was performed in 63 children (age range, 2 days to 9 years) without brain abnormalities and the data measured in ADC maps were analyzed statistically. Results (1) There were significant differences in ADC values among some different regions of brain tissue; (2) In babyhood, the ADC values in gray matters decreased faster than in white matters; (3) The ADC values decreased with the increasing of age , and show negatively exponentially correlation with age. Conclusion DTI shows the changes of brain tissue composition in vivo, with which normal changes in brain during childhood can be evaluated.