ABSTRACT. Objective. To investigate the effects of early experience on brain function and structure.Methods. A randomized clinical trial tested the neurodevelopmental effectiveness of the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP). Thirty preterm infants, 28 to 33 weeks' gestational age (GA) at birth and free of known developmental risk factors, participated in the trial. NIDCAP was initiated within 72 hours of intensive care unit admission and continued to the age of 2 weeks, corrected for prematurity. Control (14) and experimental (16) infants were assessed at 2 weeks' and 9 months' corrected age on health status, growth, and neurobehavior, and at 2 weeks' corrected age additionally on electroencephalogram spectral coherence, magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, and measurements of transverse relaxation time.Results. The groups were medically and demographically comparable before as well as after the treatment. However, the experimental group showed significantly better neurobehavioral functioning, increased coherence between frontal and a broad spectrum of mainly occipital brain regions, and higher relative anisotropy in left internal capsule, with a trend for right internal capsule and frontal white matter. Transverse relaxation time showed no difference. Behavioral function was improved also at 9 months' corrected age. The relationship among the 3 neurodevelopmental domains was significant. The results indicated consistently better function and more mature fiber structure for experimental infants compared with their controls.Conclusions. This is the first in vivo evidence of enhanced brain function and structure due to the NIDCAP. The study demonstrates that quality of experience before term may influence brain development significantly. Pediatrics 2004;113:846 -857; preterm infants, NIDCAP, neurobehavior, spectral coherence, diffusion tensor imaging, transverse relaxation time, Bayley Scales of Infant Development, APIB.ABBREVIATIONS. NICU, newborn intensive care unit; NIDCAP, Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; EEG, electroencephalogram; APIB, Assessment of Preterm Infants' Behavior; Prechtl, Prechtl Neurologic Examination of the Fullterm Newborn Infant; Bayley II, Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Second Edition; MDI, mental developmental index; PDI, psychomotor developmental index; BRS, Behavior Rating Scale; T2*, transverse relaxation time; DTI, diffusion tensor imaging; ROI, region(s) of interest; E1, principal eigenvalue; E3, tertiary eigenvalue; RA, relative anisotropy; MANOVA, multivariate analysis of variance. T he preterm infant provides an opportunity to study the effects of early postnatal experience on brain development. Increasing evidence suggests that features of brain structure 1-4 and function [5][6][7][8] are different between medically healthy preterm infants and their term counterparts when assessed at a comparable age point. Although some differences are explained by the cumulative ...

Medical, neurodevelopmental, and parenting effects of individualized developmental care were investigated in a three-center, randomized, controlled trial. A total of 92 preterm infants, weighing less than 1250 g and aged less than 28 weeks, participated. Outcome measures included medical, neurodevelopmental and family function. Quality of care was also assessed. Multivariate analysis of variance investigated group, site, and interaction effects; correlation analysis identified individual variable contributions to significant effects. The results consistently favored the experimental groups. The following contributed to the group effects: shorter duration of parenteral feeding, transition to full oral feeding, intensive care, and hospitalization; lower incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis; reduced discharge ages and hospital charges; improved weight, length, and head circumferences; enhanced autonomic, motor, state, attention, and self-regulatory functioning; reduced need for facilitation; and lowered family stress and enhanced appreciation of the infant. Quality of care was measurably improved. Very low birth weight infants and their parents, across diverse settings, may benefit from individualized developmental care.