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Successful oral feeding and speech emergence are dependent upon the coordination of shared oral muscles and facial nerves. We aimed to determine if the speech-associated genes, forkhead box P2 (FOXP2), contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2), glutamate receptor, ionotropic, N-methyl D-aspartate 2A (GRIN2A), and neurexin 1, were detectable in neonatal saliva and could predict feeding outcomes in premature newborns.

In this prospective, observational, preliminary study, saliva collected from 51 premature infants (gestational ages: 30–34 6/7 weeks) at different stages of oral feeding development underwent gene expression analysis. Binary (+/–) expression profiles were explored and examined in relation to days to achieve full oral feeds.

GRIN2A and neurexin 1 rarely amplified in neonatal saliva and were not informative. Infants who amplified FOXP2 but not CNTNAP2 …