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Poor executive functioning in children born very preterm: Using dual-task methodology to untangle alternative
Louise Delane1, Donna M Bayliss1, Catherine Campbell2
1Neurocognitive Development Unit, School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|September 1, 2016
Summary
Children born very preterm (VP) show executive functioning deficits due to selective vulnerability, not general processing issues. This impacts complex cognitive tasks, even when difficulty is controlled.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Children born very preterm (VP; ⩽32 weeks) often exhibit executive functioning (EF) difficulties.
- Two theories exist: general vulnerability affecting processing capacities or selective vulnerability in EF processes.
- Distinguishing these theories is challenging due to the inherent complexity of EF tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate between general and selective vulnerability in executive functioning in very preterm children.
- To isolate executive control by controlling for task difficulty.
Main Methods:
- Employed an experimental dual-task design to assess executive control.
- Included 50 very preterm children and 39 term-born controls (mean age ~7.3 years).
- Controlled for individual differences in baseline task abilities and task difficulty.
Main Results:
- Very preterm children showed significantly higher dual-task costs than controls.
- This difference persisted even when task difficulty was reduced.
- Results indicate a specific deficit in executive-level processes.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a selective vulnerability in executive functioning for very preterm children.
- This vulnerability is distinct from general deficits in attentional or processing capacities.
- Suggests targeted interventions for executive control in this population.
