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Published on: October 24, 2019
Visual Development and Neuropsychological Profile in Preterm Children from 6 Months to School Age
Mélissa Sue Sayeur1, Phetsamone Vannasing2, Emmanuel Tremblay1
1Research Centre in Neuropsychology and Cognition, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada Research Centre, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Insights
Children born preterm show altered visual pathway development but no cognitive deficits by school age. This study tracked visual evoked potentials and cognitive function in preterm infants, finding differences in visual processing without impacting overall cognition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Preterm birth can impact neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- Visual pathway development is crucial for cognitive function.
- Understanding long-term effects in preterm infants without major impairments is important.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development of central visual pathways in children born preterm.
- To establish the cognitive and behavioral profile of these children at school age.
- To compare visual pathway maturation between preterm and full-term infants.
Main Methods:
- Semilongitudinal study design.
- Assessed 10 preterm and 10 full-term children at 6 months and school age.
- Utilized visual evoked potentials (VEPs) for visual pathway assessment.
- Administered cognitive and behavioral tests at school age.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in VEP N1/P1 amplitude or latency at 6 months corrected age.
- At school age, preterm children showed significantly higher N1 amplitudes and higher P1 amplitudes.
- No significant differences in cognitive or behavioral measures between groups at school age.
Conclusions:
- Preterm birth influences the maturation of central visual pathways.
- Despite altered visual pathway development, preterm children without major impairments do not exhibit cognitive problems by school age.
- Visual evoked potentials may serve as sensitive indicators of subtle neurodevelopmental changes post-preterm birth.
Abstract:
The aim of this semilongitudinal study was to investigate the development of central visual pathways in children born preterm but without major neurologic impairments and to establish their cognitive and behavioral profile at school age. Ten children born preterm were assessed at 6 months and at school age, using visual evoked potentials at both time points and cognitive and behavioral tests at school age. We also tested 10 age-matched children born full-term. At 6 months' corrected age, we found no significant differences between preterm and full-term groups for either amplitude or latency of N1 and P1 components. At school age, the preterm group manifested significantly higher N1 amplitudes and tended to show higher P1 amplitudes than the full-term group. We found no significant differences in cognitive and behavioral measures at school age. These results suggest that preterm birth affects visual pathways development, yet the children born preterm did not manifest cognitive problems.
