Neurological Weakness In Kids Linked to Premature Births

Study has revealed that the premature born babies are more prone to developing psychiatric issues and neurotic symptoms as they grow up. The reason behind this is that because of the premature birth the electro-chemical systems of the infant’s brain are not able to develop fully. The problems may include difficulties in regulation of emotions, speech and attention span. The study made a comparison using the brain scans of normal babies and premature babies and revealed a lot of difference. The major difference comes from the state of both the brains. In early life brain is like a plastic thing which gets modified due to the various experiences be it optimal or adverse. These changes add to the impact of the birth trauma in these kids in their later lives.

It is very unfortunate that medical help can only be taken after the damage has been done. Though there a number of therapies (partially successful ones) that can be applied as the child grows, but since not all cases are the same, different options need to be explored. Cynthia Rogers, principal investigator and assistant professor of child psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine said, “The brain is particularly ‘plastic’ very early in life and potentially could be modified by early intervention. We usually can’t begin interventions until after symptoms develop, but what we’re trying to do is develop objective measures of brain development in preemies that can indicate whether a child is likely to have later problems so that we can intervene with extra support and therapy early on to try to improve outcomes.”

The latest observations of the study were presented at the Neuroscience 2015 conference held on October 19. According to statistics, one out of nine is a premature born baby in the United States. As the time passes, the risk of autism, anxiety disorders and ADHD increases in these children. The brains of the prematurely born babies were examined using the MRI techniques. It was found that in these infants the region of the brain responsible for key functions was still undeveloped. The hypothesis states that later the infant has to face bad situations because of these early deficiencies. A close observation when these infants are 9 – 10 years old can reveal a lot of things about these deficiencies.

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