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Early-onset binocularity in preterm infants reveals experience-dependent visual development in humans.

ABSTRACT: Although there is a great deal of knowledge regarding the phylo- and ontogenetic plasticity of the neocortex, the precise nature of environmental impact on the newborn human brain is still one of the most controversial issues of neuroscience. The leading model-system of experience-dependent brain development is binocular vision, also called stereopsis. Here, we show that extra postnatal visual experience in preterm human neonates leads to a change in the developmental timing of binocular vision. The onset age of binocular function, as measured by the visual evoked response to dynamic random dot correlograms (DRDC-VEP), appears to be at around the same time after birth in preterm (4.07 mo) and full-term (3.78 mo) infants. To assess the integrity of the visual pathway in the studied infants, we also measured the latency of the visual-evoked response to pattern reversal stimuli (PR-VEP). PR-VEP latency is not affected by premature birth, demonstrating that the maturation of the visual pathway follows a preprogrammed developmental course. Despite the immaturity of the visual pathway, clearly demonstrated by the PR-VEP latencies, our DRCD-VEP data show that the visual cortex is remarkably ready to accept environmental stimulation right after birth. This early plasticity makes full use of the available extra stimulation time in preterm human infants and results in an early onset of cortical binocularity. According to our data, the developmental processes preceding the onset of binocular function are not preprogrammed, and the mechanisms turning on stereopsis are extremely experience-dependent in humans.

SUBMITTER: Jando G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3390849 | biostudies-other | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Early-onset binocularity in preterm infants reveals experience-dependent visual development in humans.

Jandó Gábor G Mikó-Baráth Eszter E Markó Katalin K Hollódy Katalin K Török Béla B Kovacs Ilona I

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20120618 27

Although there is a great deal of knowledge regarding the phylo- and ontogenetic plasticity of the neocortex, the precise nature of environmental impact on the newborn human brain is still one of the most controversial issues of neuroscience. The leading model-system of experience-dependent brain development is binocular vision, also called stereopsis. Here, we show that extra postnatal visual experience in preterm human neonates leads to a change in the developmental timing of binocular vision. ...[more]

PMID: 22711824

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Project description:BackgroundEarly onset sepsis (EOS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in preterm infants, yet diagnosis remains inadequate resulting in missed cases or prolonged empiric antibiotics with adverse consequences. Evaluation of acute phase reactant (APR) biomarkers in umbilical cord blood at birth may improve EOS detection in preterm infants with intrauterine infection.MethodsIn this nested case-control study, infants (29.7 weeks gestation, IQR: 27.7-32.2) were identified from a longitudinal cohort with archived cord blood and placental histopathology. Patients were categorized using culture, laboratory, clinical, and antibiotic treatment data into sepsis groups: confirmed sepsis (cEOS, n = 12); presumed sepsis (PS, n = 30); and no sepsis (controls, n = 30). Nine APRs were measured in duplicate from cord blood using commercially available multiplex immunoassays (Bio-Plex Pro™). In addition, placental histopathologic data were linked to biomarker results.ResultscEOS organisms were Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae, Proteus mirabilis, Haemophilus influenzae and Listeria monocytogenes. C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid P and ferritin were significantly elevated in cEOS compared to controls (p<0.01). SAA, CRP, and Hp were elevated in cEOS but not in PS (p<0.01) and had AUCs of 99%, 96%, and 95% respectively in predicting cEOS. Regression analysis revealed robust associations of SAA, CRP, and Hp with EOS after adjustment for covariates. Procalcitonin, fibrinogen, α-2-macroglobulin and tissue plasminogen activator were not significantly different across groups. Placental acute inflammation was associated with APR elevation and was present in all cEOS, 9 PS, and 17 control infants.ConclusionThis study shows that certain APRs are elevated in cord blood of premature infants with EOS of intrauterine origin. SAA, CRP, and Hp at birth have potential diagnostic utility for risk stratification and identification of infants with EOS.

Project description:BackgroundNecrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating intestinal disease that afflicts 10% of extremely preterm infants. The contribution of early intestinal colonization to NEC onset is not understood, and predictive biomarkers to guide prevention are lacking. We analyzed banked stool and urine samples collected prior to disease onset from infants <29 weeks gestational age, including 11 infants who developed NEC and 21 matched controls who survived free of NEC. Stool bacterial communities were profiled by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Urinary metabolomic profiles were assessed by NMR.ResultsDuring postnatal days 4 to 9, samples from infants who later developed NEC tended towards lower alpha diversity (Chao1 index, P = 0.086) and lacked Propionibacterium (P = 0.009) compared to controls. Furthermore, NEC was preceded by distinct forms of dysbiosis. During days 4 to 9, samples from four NEC cases were dominated by members of the Firmicutes (median relative abundance >99% versus <17% in the remaining NEC and controls, P < 0.001). During postnatal days 10 to 16, samples from the remaining NEC cases were dominated by Proteobacteria, specifically Enterobacteriaceae (median relative abundance >99% versus 38% in the other NEC cases and 84% in controls, P = 0.01). NEC preceded by Firmicutes dysbiosis occurred earlier (onset, days 7 to 21) than NEC preceded by Proteobacteria dysbiosis (onset, days 19 to 39). All NEC cases lacked Propionibacterium and were preceded by either Firmicutes (?98% relative abundance, days 4 to 9) or Proteobacteria (?90% relative abundance, days 10 to 16) dysbiosis, while only 25% of controls had this phenotype (predictive value 88%, P = 0.001). Analysis of days 4 to 9 urine samples found no metabolites associated with all NEC cases, but alanine was positively associated with NEC cases that were preceded by Firmicutes dysbiosis (P < 0.001) and histidine was inversely associated with NEC cases preceded by Proteobacteria dysbiosis (P = 0.013). A high urinary alanine:histidine ratio was associated with microbial characteristics (P < 0.001) and provided good prediction of overall NEC (predictive value 78%, P = 0.007).ConclusionsEarly dysbiosis is strongly involved in the pathobiology of NEC. These striking findings require validation in larger studies but indicate that early microbial and metabolomic signatures may provide highly predictive biomarkers of NEC.

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Early-onset binocularity in preterm infants reveals experience-dependent visual development in humans.

Publications

Early-onset binocularity in preterm infants reveals experience-dependent visual development in humans.

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