According to our findings , auditory event‐related potentials can help to predict neurodevelopmental outcome in preterms .
Both prospect i ve and cross‐sectional studies reported a relationship between AERPs and cognitive outcome .
Our results show that larger amplitudes and shorter latencies of late AERPs are related to better cognitive outcomes .
HIGHLIGHTSPreterm birth is associated with an elevated risk for neurodevelopmental deficits .
Auditory event‐related potentials can be used to assess early cognitive functioning .
This paper represents the first systematic review investigating the predictive power of AERPs on  cognition in preterms .
ABSTRACT Prematurity is a known risk factor for later cognitive deficits .
At present there are neither behavioral nor neurological tests available to detect those preterm infants who would benefit most from early interventions .
Neurophysiologic methods , and more specifically , auditory event‐related potentials ( AERPs ) are convenient tools to investigate early cognitive functioning .
However , the capability of AERPs as a prognostic factor for mental development in preterm infants remains unclear .
Attention and mismatch negativity.
The mismatch negativity ( MMN ) component of the auditory event-related potential ( ERP ) is elicited by infrequent , physically deviant stimuli in a sequence of frequent homogeneous stimuli ( st and ards ) . It has been suggested that the MMN is generated by an automatic ( attention-independent ) neural mismatch process with a memory trace that encodes the physical features of the st and ard stimulus . The proposed MMN independence of attention was addressed in the present study . St and ard stimuli and two types of deviant stimuli , differing from st and ards either in frequency or intensity , were  dichotically  presented in r and om order and at a rapid rate . The subject attended either to left- or right-ear stimuli , counting the number of a design ated type of deviants in that ear . In the present conditions of very strongly focused attention , the MMN was elicited even by frequency change in the ignored input stream , and its amplitude was very similar to that of the MMN elicited by equivalent deviant stimuli ( targets ) in the attended input stream . In contrast , the MMN to intensity deviation was clearly attenuated in the absence of attention . This effect is , however , probably due to the attention effect on the MMN generator itself rather than the antecedent sensory- analysis and -storing functions
According to our findings , auditory event‐related potentials can help to predict neurodevelopmental outcome in preterms .
Both prospect i ve and cross‐sectional studies reported a relationship between AERPs and cognitive outcome .
Our results show that larger amplitudes and shorter latencies of late AERPs are related to better cognitive outcomes .
HIGHLIGHTSPreterm birth is associated with an elevated risk for neurodevelopmental deficits .
Auditory event‐related potentials can be used to assess early cognitive functioning .
This paper represents the first systematic review investigating the predictive power of AERPs on  cognition in preterms .
ABSTRACT Prematurity is a known risk factor for later cognitive deficits .
At present there are neither behavioral nor neurological tests available to detect those preterm infants who would benefit most from early interventions .
Neurophysiologic methods , and more specifically , auditory event‐related potentials ( AERPs ) are convenient tools to investigate early cognitive functioning .
However , the capability of AERPs as a prognostic factor for mental development in preterm infants remains unclear .