engleski

Recent advances in fetal neurophysiology

The prenatal period of life has considerable influence in shaping future development and behavior. Functional development of the fetal brain begins as early as the late embryonic period. During the nine months of gestation, a repertoire of fetal activities constantly expands, correlating precisely with the structural development of the central nervous system (CNS). In our longitudinal study fetal movements have been followed through all trimesters by four-dimensional (4D) sonography. Results have shown increasing frequency of the fetal movements during the first trimester. A tendency towards decreased frequency of facial expressions and movement patterns with increasing gestational age from second to third trimesters has been noticed. Extensive studies into the movement patterns have been conducted, tracing all newborn movement patterns back to the prenatal period. We confirmed the existence of prenatal-neonatal continuity even in subtle, fine movements such as facial mimics. Knowing that fetal behavioral patterns fairly correlate with the development of the CNS and that quality of fetal movements reveals the integrity of the CNS, in our recent research we compared the fetal behavior in normal and in high risk pregnancies, and proposed a new scoring system for fetal neurobehavior based on prenatal assessment by 3D/4D (three-dimensional/four-dimensional) sonography. This preliminary work may help in detecting fetal brain and neurodevelopmental alterations due to in utero brain impairment. The advanced imaging techniques such as 3D/4D sonography, indeed have revealed invaluable details of fetal behavior and its development, opening the door to a better understanding of the prenatal functional development of the CNS.

Fetal neurodevelopment; fetal movements; 4D sonography; fetal neurological assessment

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