fMRI evidence for dorsal stream processing abnormality in adults born preterm
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Thierry Chaminade1, Russia Ha-Vinh Leutcher, Véronique Millet
1Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France. tchamina@gmail.com
Insights
Premature birth impacts visual processing, with adults born prematurely (Premas) relying more on basic visual data than controls. This suggests Premas inadequately use higher-order functions for dorsal stream tasks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Visual Neuroscience
Background:
- Premature birth can affect brain development and function.
- The dorsal stream is crucial for visual processing, including action and spatial awareness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of premature birth on the functional neuroanatomy of the dorsal stream of visual processing.
- To compare brain activity during object and grip processing between adults born prematurely and matched controls.
Main Methods:
- fMRI scans were recorded from 16 healthy adults (8 born prematurely, 8 controls).
- Participants performed a 1-back memory task involving object or grip information.
- Regions of interest included occipital, temporal, and parietal lobes.
Main Results:
- Task performance was not significantly affected by prematurity history.
- Object processing activated ventral stream regions similarly in both groups.
- Grip processing revealed differences: controls focused on action goals, while premature individuals relied on lower-level visual information.
Conclusions:
- Prematurity may lead to a shift towards lower-order visual processing in the dorsal stream.
- Adults born prematurely might not adequately recruit higher-order visual functions for dorsal stream tasks.
Abstract:
We investigated the consequences of premature birth on the functional neuroanatomy of the dorsal stream of visual processing. fMRI was recorded while sixteen healthy participants, 8 (two men) adults (19 years 6 months old, SD 10 months) born premature (mean gestational age 30 weeks), referred to as Premas, and 8 (two men) matched controls (20 years 1 month old, SD 13 months), performed a 1-back memory task of Object or Grip information using a hand grasping a drinking vessel as stimulus. While history of prematurity did not significantly affect task performance, Group by Task analysis of variance in regions of interest spanning the occipital, temporal and parietal lobes revealed main effects of Task and interactions between the two factors. Object processing activated the left inferior occipital cortex and bilateral ventral temporal regions, belonging to the ventral stream, with no effect of Group. Grip processing across groups activated the early visual cortex and the left supramarginal gyrus belonging to the dorsal stream. Group effect on the brain activity during Grip suggested that Controls represented the actions' goal while Premas relied more on low-level visual information. This shift from higher- to lower-order visual processing between Controls and Premas may reflect a more general trend, in which Premas inadequately recruit higher-order visual functions for dorsal stream task performance, and rely more on lower-level functions.
