Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Hospitalized preterm and critically ill infants are commonly exposed to early life insults, such as painful procedures, mechanical ventilation, and surgery. These early exposures are associated with adverse consequences, including changes in brain development and pain processing. Yet, there is a lack of research characterizing the influences of varying degrees and types of these early life exposures on brain and sensory development in childhood. The proposed study will explore brain development and sensory processing in previously hospitalized children with mild, moderate, and major early life exposures (preterm birth, surgery, brief or prolonged exposure to anesthetics, sedatives, opioids, and isolation). Specifically, this study will examine 1) patterns of brain activity using electroencephalogram (EEG) network analyses, 2) sensory thresholds and brain responses to child-appropriate quantitative sensory testing stimuli, and 3) cognitive development using standardized and novel multi-domain developmental testing measures. We hypothesize that EEG brain patterns, responses to sensory testing, and cognitive development will be associated with the severity and timing of early life experiences. Findings of this study will make important contributions to our understanding of long-term effects of adverse early life exposures on neurodevelopment and sensory processing in childhood, and may lead to improved future care of preterm and critically ill infants.