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Hippocampal volume and everyday memory in children of very low birth weight
E B Isaacs1, A Lucas, W K Chong
1MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom.
Insights
Children born preterm may experience learning difficulties due to smaller hippocampal volumes. This study found reduced hippocampal size and memory deficits in adolescents born very preterm, impacting everyday memory and numeracy skills.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Preterm birth and very low birth weight are associated with learning difficulties.
- The specific cognitive deficits and neuropathology in these children remain poorly understood.
- Hypoxic, metabolic, and nutritional insults may affect brain development in preterm infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that preterm birth leads to reduced hippocampal volumes and memory deficits.
- To examine the relationship between hippocampal volume and cognitive function in adolescents born preterm.
- To identify specific cognitive deficits in preterm adolescents.
Main Methods:
- Neuropsychological assessments were conducted.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure hippocampal volumes.
- Adolescents born preterm (<= 30 wk gestation) and full-term controls were studied.
Main Results:
- The preterm group exhibited significantly smaller hippocampal volumes bilaterally compared to controls.
- Preterm adolescents showed specific deficits in everyday memory, confirmed by objective testing and parental reports.
- A specific deficit in numeracy was observed in the preterm group.
Conclusions:
- Reduced hippocampal volumes and everyday memory deficits are prevalent in neurologically normal adolescents born preterm.
- These findings highlight previously unrecognized consequences of preterm birth on cognitive development.
- The hippocampus plays a crucial role in memory, and its vulnerability in preterm infants has significant implications.
Abstract:
Children born preterm and of very low birth weight have an increased incidence of learning difficulties, but little is known about the specific nature of their cognitive deficits and the underlying neuropathology. We hypothesized that their vulnerability to hypoxic, metabolic, and nutritional insults would lead to reduced hippocampal volumes and to deficits in memory because of the role of the hippocampus in this domain of cognition. Neuropsychological and magnetic resonance imaging methods were used to investigate this hypothesis in adolescents born preterm (< or = 30 wk gestation, n = 11) or full-term (n = 8). The preterm group had significantly smaller hippocampal volumes bilaterally, despite equivalent head size, and showed specific deficits in certain aspects of everyday memory, both on objective testing and as indicated by parental questionnaires. The preterm group also had a specific deficit in numeracy. The reduced hippocampal volumes and deficits in everyday memory have previously been unrecognized, but their prevalence in a group of neurologically normal children is striking.