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Impaired language abilities and white matter abnormalities in children born very preterm and/or very low birth weight

Natalie Reidy1, Angela Morgan, Deanne K Thompson

  • 1Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Victoria, Australia. n.barre@alumni.unimelb.edu.au

The Journal of Pediatrics
|November 20, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Children born very preterm (VPT) or with very low birth weight (VLBW) show language deficits at age 7. Neonatal white matter abnormalities partially explain these differences in language development.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Speech and Language Pathology

Background:

  • Children born very preterm (VPT) or with very low birth weight (VLBW) are at risk for developmental challenges.
  • Language development is a critical area of concern for this population.
  • Cerebral white matter integrity in infancy may impact later cognitive and linguistic outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare language abilities at 7 years of age in children born VPT/VLBW versus term-born controls.
  • To investigate the role of neonatal white matter abnormalities in explaining language differences.
  • To examine language subdomains including phonological awareness, semantics, grammar, discourse, and pragmatics.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study included 198 VPT/VLBW children and 70 term-born controls.
  • Neonatal brain MRI was used to assess white matter abnormalities.
  • Standardized language tests were administered at age 7 years.

Main Results:

  • Children born VPT/VLBW performed significantly worse across all assessed language subdomains compared to controls (P < .001).
  • Neonatal white matter abnormalities mediated group differences in phonological awareness, semantics, grammar, and discourse.
  • No significant association was found between white matter abnormalities and pragmatic language skills (P = .13).

Conclusions:

  • Language development is a significant concern for VPT/VLBW children.
  • Neonatal white matter abnormalities are key predictors of language outcomes.
  • The relationship between white matter integrity and specific language abilities varies.
Abstract

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