Exposure to general anesthesia during early brain development has emerged as an important risk factor for long-term attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-like behaviors and learning difficulties in school-aged children. However, objective biomarkers for perioperative neurofunctional assessment and effective non-invasive physical interventions remain lacking in clinical practice.
This study adopts a prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to establish a clinical cohort of preschool children undergoing surgery under general anesthesia. Early postoperative intervention will be performed using 40-Hz non-invasive synchronized audiovisual stimulation. Portable electroencephalography (EEG) technology will be employed to quantify prefrontal gamma oscillatory activity by analyzing the relative gamma-band power spectrum and phase-locking index (PLI) during the perioperative period. The study aims to characterize the pathological suppression of gamma oscillations following general anesthesia and to evaluate the restorative effects of 40-Hz stimulation on gamma-band neural activity. Long-term postoperative follow-up, combined with the Conners Rating Scales and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), will be conducted to systematically investigate the association between gamma oscillation restoration and improvements in long-term ADHD-like symptoms.
The successful completion of this project will establish an integrated pediatric postoperative neurorehabilitation strategy encompassing screening, intervention, and outcome evaluation, thereby providing a novel clinical approach with substantial translational potential and broad prospects for clinical implementation.
Children aged 3-6 years, irrespective of sex, representing the critical period of brain network development.
A preoperative diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), epilepsy, intellectual developmental disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or any other neurological or psychiatric disorder.