Music intervention
APPENDIX, BLIND
Very preterm infants were randomly allocated to either the PTM or the PTC group. The research assistant, clinical staff and parents were blind to the group assignment.The music intervention was conducted for all very preterm infants from the 33rd week of GA, immediately after the first MRI (time-point 1), until term-equivalent age or until hospital discharge, before the second MRI at term-equivalent age (time-point 2). Infants were exposed to musical pieces approximately two times per day through headphones specifically designed for the study and adapted to preterm infants’ head size (The musical pieces used in this intervention were produced by Andreas Vollenweider (http://vollenweider.com/en), specifically for this project, and are composed of a calming background, bells, harp, and punji (charming snake flute) interactively creating a melody. The musical instruments and melody were chosen based on the behavioral and physiological responses of preterm newborns (for more details consult Appendix B of 