Behavioural Changes and Bioelectric Brain Maturation of Preterm and Fullterm Newborn Infants: a Polygraphic Study

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Abstract
Preterm and full-term infants (52) requiring assisted ventilation were observed and examined polygraphically. Preterm infants (24) without prenatal or perinatal complications and not needing assisted ventilation were examined polygraphically to validate a special method of differentiating sleep states and sleep cycles. State criteria were EEG records, eye movements and gross body movements. Using this evaluation method, all 14 low-risk preterm infants showed stable sleep states and cycles, as did 16 of 23 high-risk preterm and 10 of 15 high-risk full-term infants. Eleven high-risk preterm and full-term infants had extremely unstable sleep states, or were comatose. The EEG could not be evaluated in only 1 case. Infants requiring assited ventilation showed the following changes in comparison with the infants who did not need ventilation: the percentage of quiet sleep increased significantly; the percentage of indeterminate sleep increased as a sign of more unstable behavior; and the individual measurement of the recorded and observed variables showed wider variability. Bioelectric brain maturation decreased significantly with increasing risk among both preterm and full-term infants given assisted ventilation.