EEG spectral power of young schoolchildren with perinatal pathology of the CNS

Abstract

The influence of perinatal risk factors (prematurity and hypoxia) on the spectral power values of individual EEG frequency bands (θ1, θ2, α1, α2, β1, β2, and γ) in the state of quiet wakefulness in young schoolchildren with educational problems was studied. The results of statistical analysis showed a significant predominance of the power in the θ1 (especially in the anterior and posterior associative areas), β, and γ (on the whole surface of the cortex, with a predominance of differences in the anterior associative areas) bands in children with a gestational age (GA) less than 38 weeks at birth compared to that in the control group (a GA of 38 weeks). The intergroup differences in the power of most frequency bands were most pronounced in the left temporal area. A relationship between the consequences of perinatal hypoxia and the GA, namely, an increase in the power (especially in the left-hemispheric areas) of all the EEG frequency components (except α2) in the group with a GA less than 38 weeks, in contrast to its slight inhibition in the control group (except the γ band), was found. The genesis of the specific features of the pattern of local EEG synchronization, as well as their functional significance in the formation of different structures of cognitive disorders in children with perinatal dysontogenesis, is discussed.