Phase-based cortical synchrony is affected by prematurity

Inter-areal synchronization by phase-phase correlations (PPC) of cortical oscillations mediates many higher neurocognitive functions, which are often affected by prematurity, a globally prominent neurodevelopmental risk factor. Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to examine brain-wide cortical PPC networks at term-equivalent age, comparing human infants after early prematurity to a cohort of healthy controls. We found that prematurity affected these networks in a sleep state-specific manner, and the differences between groups were also frequency-selective, involving brain-wide connections. The strength of synchronization in these networks was predictive of clinical outcomes in the preterm infants. These findings show that prematurity affects PPC networks in a clinically significant manner suggesting early functional biomarkers of later neurodevelopmental compromise to be used in clinical and translational studies after early neonatal adversity.