Emerging executive skills in very preterm children at 2 years corrected age: a composite assessment

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Executive Function (EF) deficits are known in preterm children.
• Emerging executive functions in preschool preterm children without major brain damage are less understood.
• This study investigates early EF development in extremely preterm infants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To broadly assess executive functions in extremely preterm children at 24 months corrected age.
• To compare EF development between extremely preterm and full-term children.
• To identify specific EF domains that differentiate these groups.

Main Methods:

• Study included 72 extremely preterm infants (gestational age < 34 weeks) and 73 full-term controls.
• Participants were assessed at 24 months corrected age.
• Executive functions were measured, and three factors were extracted: working memory, cognitive flexibility, and impulsivity control.

Main Results:

• Cognitive flexibility was the only executive function domain that significantly discriminated between extremely preterm children and controls.
• No significant differences were found in working memory or impulsivity control between the groups.
• This suggests a specific vulnerability in cognitive flexibility development for preterm infants.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive flexibility is a key executive function domain affected in extremely preterm children at 24 months corrected age.
• Early identification of cognitive flexibility deficits may inform targeted interventions for preterm populations.
• Further research is needed to understand the long-term implications and underlying mechanisms of these EF differences.