Comprehensive Summary
This study aimed to investigate how premature infants respond to auditory stimuli, particularly whether they can differentiate between repetitive and alternative sound patterns. Fourteen preterm infants, with an average gestational age at birth of 30.1 ± 1.2 weeks and at testing of 31.4 ± 1.7 weeks, were given repetitive and alternating sequenced auditory stimuli and their electroencephalography responses (EEG) were recorded. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was used to classify the two types of auditory stimuli and compare EEG responses. The CNN was analyzed by area under the curve calculations, which were 0.91 for repetition and 0.92 for alternation stimuli. The recordings found a delayed response to the alternating auditory sequences among premature infants when compared to repetition sequences. Average area under the curve calculations were also made for each brain region to assess differentiating capabilities. It was found that the right temporal frontal region had the highest values for repetition sequences and the left temporal frontal region had the highest for alternating patterns. This ability of the CNN model to integrate spatial and temporal convolutions highlights the auditory and cognitive interactions in premature infants. Additionally, the activation of the temporal frontal regions by auditory stimuli indicates region recruitment in sound perception and processing in preterm neonates.
Outcomes and Implications
In the United States, about 7% of children are impacted by developmental speech and language disorders. With studies underscoring that sensory development is initiated during the prenatal stages, sometimes as early as the sixth month of gestation, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the recognition and processing of sound at early developmental stages. The 2D-CNN model and its classification of sound sequences provides a tool for further investigating the auditory perception and analysis in preterm infants. This opens the door for clinical applications in auditory processing during development and how it subsequently affects speech and language development.