Visuospatial working memory in very preterm and term born children--impact of age and performance

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Working memory is vital for daily activities and academic success.
• Very preterm birth is associated with an increased risk of impaired working memory capacity.
• Understanding the neural basis of working memory in preterm children is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the visuospatial working memory network in school-aged children born very preterm.
• To examine how age and performance influence the neural working memory network in this population.
• To compare the working memory network of preterm children with that of typically developing controls.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess brain activity during working memory tasks.
• Neuropsychological assessments were conducted to evaluate working memory performance.
• The study included 41 very preterm children and 36 term-born controls, aged 7-12 years.

Main Results:

• Despite similar overall working memory performance, preterm children exhibited less activation in the right middle frontal gyrus but greater activation in superior frontal regions compared to controls.
• Younger and lower-performing preterm children displayed an atypical working memory network.
• Older, high-performing preterm children showed a working memory network comparable to controls.

Conclusions:

• Younger and lower-performing preterm children demonstrate reduced neural efficiency in frontal brain areas related to working memory.
• Compensatory mechanisms appear to develop with increasing age and improved performance.
• Preterm children establish a typical visuospatial working memory network by approximately 12 years of age.