# Predicting the developmental trajectories of cognitive and motor dimensions from preterm neonatal vocalizations

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · 2021 · $240,336

## Abstract

Summary
One in every 10 babies is born prematurely in the US, and this contributes to high rates of long-term
negative health consequences. An even higher rate of preterm births is expected in the near future
due to maternal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. While premature birth does not
necessarily result in developmental neuropsychiatric disorders, it is associated with elevated rates of
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)1-9, intellectual disability10, 11, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD)2, 12, learning disabilities13, cerebral palsy13, and delays in cognitive, social, and motor
development2, 4, 8, 10, 14-16. The developmental risks and uncertainty associated with premature birth
may overwhelm caregivers with confusion, stress, and anxiety about the future. Moreover, the
heterogeneity of cognitive, social, and motor developmental trajectories among preterm infants
confounds the accurate, early detection of developmental issues and the early implementation of
therapeutic interventions17-21. As some forms of early intervention improve the prognoses of infants
with (or at high risk of) developmental neuropsychiatric disorders22-28, an objective, quantitative
method of predicting (or improving the prediction of) the developmental trajectories of preterm infants
is urgently needed. A number of research groups have attempted to use computational models to
differentiate the cries of preterm and term infants29-32. However, computational models that can predict
the heterogeneous cognitive, social, and motor developmental trajectories among preterm infants do
not exist. Moreover, the neural basis of how preterm birth alters the cognitive, social, and motor
developmental trajectories is poorly understood. Based on our preliminary data, which showed that the
volume of the amygdala is selectively impacted by a gene variant that is linked to social deficits in
mice, we hypothesize that preterm birth also alters the cognitive, social, and motor developmental
trajectories from the neonatal to early adult periods via variable alterations of brain structures relevant
to cognitive, social, and motor capacities. To test this hypothesis, we will leverage our expertise in
computational feature selection, using variables of neonatal vocalization and volumes of various
mouse brain regions that best account for variances in cognitive, social, and motor capacities. A
positive outcome will provide much-needed predictive models to further explore the mechanistic bases
of cognitive, social, and motor development in mouse models. This should enable investigators to
further evaluate the mechanistic, structural bases for heterogeneous cognitive, social, and motor
trajectories in preclinical models of environmental and genetic risk factors.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10315460
- **Project number:** 1R21HD105287-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Noboru Hiroi
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $240,336
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-08-06 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10315460

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10315460, Predicting the developmental trajectories of cognitive and motor dimensions from preterm neonatal vocalizations (1R21HD105287-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10315460. Licensed CC0.

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