Motion-defined form processing in extremely premature children

Children born extremely prematurely are at risk for a variety of problems with motion analysis, including problems with motion-defined (MD) form recognition [Downie, A. L. S., Jakobson, L. S., Frisk, V., & Ushycky, I. (2003). Periventricular brain injury, visual motion processing, and reading and spelling abilities in children who were extremely-low-birthweight. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 440-449]. The aims of the present study were (1) to examine the impact of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and mild periventricular brain injury (PVBI) on MD form processing in this population; (2) to assess relationships between MD form recognition in these children and their performance in several other areas of visual competence. To this end, a battery of visual and visuomotor tests was administered to 43, 5- and 6-year old, extremely premature children, all of whom had escaped severe PVBI. A group of full-term controls was also studied. Relative to controls, premature children displayed clear deficits in MD form recognition and these deficits were related to the presence of ROP and/or mild PVBI, rather than to a history of prematurity per se. Regression analyses revealed significant associations in premature children between MD form processing deficits and problems with visual search, stereopsis, visuoconstructive and graphomotor skills, motor development, and Performance IQ. The results suggest that assessment of sensitivity to MD forms may be useful in the early identification of preterm children at greatest risk for visual problems associated with dorsal stream dysfunction.