Born three months prematurely, Nicholas is part of a landmark study to determine how early growth and development, particularly brain growth, effects later patterns of motor development. Problems might be minimal, but they tend to have more visual, cognitive, and motor problems than other infants and they have a higher chance of developing cerebral palsy. Premature infants are tested twice during the neonatal period to measure their visual skills, reflex abilities, and neural functioning. All the infants are also given a sickness index rating. So far, the research team has documented the results of half of the infants in the study.
Therapists usually see infants when atypical movement patterns have been used for many months.
This research will help to define the nature of the atypical movement and lead the way for newer, more focused interventions. In addition to providing detailed documentation of the developmental patterns of premature infants, the study is also giving researchers a better idea of what the brains of premature infants look like, and how extensive the damage is from white matter disease. Using the MRI's, we've found that there is a significant difference in how the brains of even healthy premature infants are formed when compared to full term infants. Previously, we thought they were essentially the same when they reached the same gestational age. Fetters adds that although the infants' brains are formed differently, it might not impact their future development.