Impact of Moderate Preterm Birth on Vocabulary Acquisition

Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille160 enrolled

Overview

Children born prematurely may present a neurodevelopmental disorder with a language delay diagnosed as early as 2-3 years of age. This situation is not uncommon: each year in France, approximately 35,000 children are born between 32 and 36 weeks of amenorrhea. In our most recent work, we have shown that moderate premature infants show an attenuated cortical response to a vowel change, suggesting a deficit in the cortical encoding of vowels. This work needs to be continued in order to better understand syllable encoding and identify the neuroplasticity mechanisms underlying early speech encoding. The identification of markers to predict language development is essential for the screening of these children at risk of language delay. These children could thus benefit from early adapted care even before the appearance of language deficits.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

160

Conditions

Premature Birth

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 0 DaysMax age: 2 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Infants born prematurely (32-36 weeks gestational age, GA) or at term (40-2 weeks gestational age, GA) * Birth weight appropriate to gestational age determined by WHO growth charts (weight, height, head circumference) * Normal clinical examination at inclusion. * Written informed consent obtained from both parents (or single parent if single parent) * Infant with at least one parent who speaks and understands fluent French * Infant is affiliated with the social security system * Infant whose parents reside in Marseille Exclusion Criteria: * Neonatal distress (Apgar score \< 7) * Hypoxic and ischemic encephalopathy * Perinatal acidosis * Intrauterine growth retardation * Brain injury (such as intraventricular or periventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia) * Cerebral congenital malformations * Neonatal epilepsy * Any condition that in the opinion of the investigator would not be compatible with the conduct of this study * Abnormal hearing test performed as part of the child's routine care at birth,