Impact of Moderate Preterm Birth on Vocabulary Acquisition

Children born prematurely may present a neurodevelopmental disorder with a language delay diagnosed as early as 2-3 years of age. This situation is not uncommon: each year in France, approximately 35,000 children are born between 32 and 36 weeks of amenorrhea.

In our most recent work, we have shown that moderate premature infants show an attenuated cortical response to a vowel change, suggesting a deficit in the cortical encoding of vowels. This work needs to be continued in order to better understand syllable encoding and identify the neuroplasticity mechanisms underlying early speech encoding.

The identification of markers to predict language development is essential for the screening of these children at risk of language delay. These children could thus benefit from early adapted care even before the appearance of language deficits.