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Development of smooth pursuit eye movements in very prematurely born infants: 2. The low-risk subgroup
Helena Grönqvist1, Katarina Strand Brodd, Kerstin Rosander
1Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Insights
Premature infants born before 32 weeks showed delayed visual tracking development, specifically in smooth pursuit, by 4 months corrected age. Extra visual experience did not accelerate visuo-motor development in these low-risk preterm infants.
Area of Science:
- Developmental neuroscience
- Pediatric ophthalmology
- Infant visual development
Background:
- Premature birth impacts neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Visual tracking is a key indicator of visuo-motor development.
- Low-risk preterm infants may experience subtle developmental delays.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess visual tracking abilities in preterm infants.
- To compare visuo-motor development between preterm and full-term infants.
- To investigate the effect of corrected age on visual tracking in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Eye and head movements were recorded in 37 preterm infants (born <32 weeks) and controls.
- Infants tracked a moving object at 2 and 4 months corrected age.
- Smooth pursuit, saccades, gaze accuracy, and head movements were analyzed.
Main Results:
- All infants improved smooth pursuit over time.
- Preterm infants exhibited a lower proportion of smooth pursuit than full-term infants.
- Saccade frequency was higher in preterm infants in certain conditions.
Conclusions:
- Smooth pursuit development is significantly delayed in low-risk preterm infants.
- Extended visual experience did not enhance visuo-motor development in this cohort.
- Early visual tracking deficits may indicate longer-term neurodevelopmental considerations.
Aim:
To investigate the impact of premature birth on visual tracking in a group of 37 infants, born before the 32nd gestational weeks (mean 29 + 6 weeks) and diagnosed as being without major neonatal complications. This paper is a part of the LOVIS study (Strand Brodd, Ewald, Grönqvist, Holmström, Strömberg, Von Hofsten, et al. Acta Pediatrica, 2011).
Methods:
At 2 and 4 months corrected age, eye and head movements were measured when the infant tracked a moving object. The eye movements were analysed in terms of smooth pursuit and saccades (Vision Res, 37, 1997, 1799; Exp Brain Res, 146, 2002, 257). Accuracy of gaze, proportion of smooth pursuit, head movements and saccades were calculated.
Results:
Between 2 and 4 months of age, all infants improved their ability to smoothly pursue a moving object. However, at both occasions, the preterm infants had less proportion smooth pursuit than the full-term infants. The groups did not differ with respect to gaze and head movements, but the saccade frequency was higher for the very preterms in some of the conditions.
Conclusion:
The development of smooth pursuit in the low-risk preterm infant group was strongly delayed compared to typically developed infants. Thus, the 2 months or more extra visual experience did not have a distinguishable positive effect on visuo-motor development as expressed in smooth pursuit.
