Affiliations: Máxima Medical Centre, Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit, 5500 MB, Veldhoven, The Netherlands | Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Radboud
University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands | Department of Child Neurology, Academic Hospital
Maastricht, 6229 HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands | Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology,
Academic Hospital Maastricht, 6229 HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands | Department of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University
of Technology, 5612 AZ, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Note: [] Corresponding author: Peter Andriessen, Máxima Medical
Centre, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, PO Box 7777, 5500 MB, Veldhoven, The
Netherlands. Tel.: +31 408889350; Fax: +31 408889340; E-mail:
p.andriessen@mmc.nl
Abstract: Despite increase in survival of very low birth weight infants, the
number of infants who experience neuromotor or neurocognitive problems later in
life is still high. Therefore, accurate documentation of the brain development
in these infants is indicated. Electroencephalography (EEG) may be a valuable
tool to monitor brain development during the intensive care period. However,
our knowledge on EEG maturation is based on visually determined patterns. Since
there are no exact reference values, conclusions on EEG maturation are
difficult to establish and may vary between investigators. Also, most knowledge
concerning EEG maturation is derived from relatively old studies in the
"pre-digital" era. New digital EEG recorders provide the opportunity towards
a quantitative approach of EEG maturation. This approach may lead to a more
objective and uniform description of EEG maturation. In this article we review
the most important aspects of EEG maturation, i.e. changes in discontinuity,
development of age specific waveforms, inter-hemispheric synchrony/correlation
and the development of sleep-wake cycles, and qualitative or semi-quantitative
studies concerning EEG maturation and outcome. We discuss the concept of an EEG
analyzing algorithm and propose several quantitative analyzing techniques which
may be incorporated in such an algorithm.
