Changes of functional response in sensorimotor cortex of preterm and full-term infants during the first year: An fNIRS study

Background: Motor impairments are frequently associated with preterm birth and interfere in acquisition of essential skills to global development. Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), the study of neural correlates of motor development in early stages of life are feasible in an ecological assessment. Aims: To evaluate changes in cortical activity in response to a sensorimotor stimulation in preterm and full-term infants at 6 and 12 months of age. Study design: A longitudinal study was conducted with 22 infants (12 preterm and 10 full-term). Hemodynamic activity during sensorimotor task (8 blocks of 8 s of vibration applied to infant's right hand) was measured by Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). The optical probe consisted of 84 channels positioned according to the international 10–20 system coordinates, covering the frontal (38 channels), parietal (16 channels), temporal (22 channels) and occipital (8 channels) lobes of both hemispheres. Results: Preterm and full-term infants exhibited differences of location of the activation as well on the hemodynamic response in both the evaluated age groups. Conclusions: Group differences in activation of sensorimotor cortex observed in this study demonstrate the potential of fNIRS application for preterm evaluation of motor development in children. Overall, the present work contributes to our understanding of cortical activation of cerebral motor skills spanning early ages in preterm-born children.