Development of somatosensory-evoked potentials in foetal sheep: effects of betamethasone

AimAntenatal glucocorticoids are used to accelerate foetal lung maturation in babies threatened with premature labour. We examined the influence of glucocorticoids on functional and structural maturation of the central somatosensory pathway in foetal sheep. Somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEP) reflect processing of somatosensory stimuli. SEP latencies are determined by afferent stimuli transmission while SEP amplitudes reveal cerebral processing. MethodsAfter chronic instrumentation of foetal sheep, mothers received saline (n=9) or three courses of betamethasone (human equivalent dose of 2x110gkg(-1) betamethasone i.m. 24h apart, n=12) at 0.7, 0.75 and 0.8 of gestational age. Trigeminal SEP were evoked prior to, 4 and 24h after each injection and at 0.8 of gestational age before brains were histologically processed. ResultsSomatosensory-evoked potentials were already detectable at 0.7 of gestation age. The early and late responses N20 and N200 were the only reproducible peaks over the entire study period. With advancing gestational age, SEP latencies decreased but amplitudes remained unchanged. Acutely, betamethasone did not affect SEP latencies and amplitudes 4 and 24h following administration. Chronically, betamethasone delayed developmental decrease in the N200 but not N20 latency by 2weeks without affecting amplitudes. In parallel, betamethasone decreased subcortical white matter myelination but did not affect network formation and synaptic density in the somatosensory cortex. ConclusionSomatosensory stimuli are already processed by the foetal cerebral cortex at the beginning of the third trimester. Subsequent developmental decrease in SEP latencies suggests ongoing maturation of afferent sensory transmission. Antenatal glucocorticoids affect structural and functional development of the somatosensory system with specific effects at subcortical level.