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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 26, 2026

Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol

Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol

Published on: February 18, 2012

Early executive function differences in infants born moderate-to-late preterm.

Amanda S Hodel¹, Kate L Senich¹, Claire Jokinen¹

¹Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.

Early Human Development

|July 17, 2017

Summary

Infants born moderate-to-late preterm show subtle cognitive differences by 9 months, impacting memory and early executive function skills. Lower gestational age correlates with poorer performance, suggesting long-term developmental implications.

Keywords:

Executive function Moderate-to-late preterm Prefrontal cortex

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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

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Published on: July 1, 2015

Area of Science:

Developmental Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Neonatal Research

Background:

Individuals born very preterm (<32 weeks gestation) exhibit altered prefrontal cortex development and executive function (EF) skills.
Moderate-to-late preterm (PT; 32-36 weeks gestation) infants show fewer EF discrepancies, but early cognitive precursors are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether precursor skills to executive function, including complex attention, memory, and inhibition, are altered in moderate-to-late preterm infants at 9 months corrected age.
To determine if subtle cognitive differences emerge in infancy, potentially influencing later executive function development.

Main Methods:

Assessed 9-month-old healthy infants born moderate-to-late preterm and full-term peers.
Utilized habituation procedures to evaluate memory.
Administered early executive function tasks assessing complex attention, memory, and inhibition.

Main Results:

Moderate-to-late preterm infants demonstrated poorer memory performance post-habituation compared to full-term infants.
Lower gestational age was significantly associated with poorer performance on five out of six early executive function tasks.
Despite normal Bayley scores and no group differences in processing speed, subtle cognitive alterations were observed.

Conclusions:

Moderate-to-late preterm infants exhibit subtle alterations in cognitive skills, particularly memory and inhibition, by 9 months corrected age.
These early cognitive differences, linked to gestational age, may predispose individuals to long-term executive function challenges.
Findings highlight the importance of early detection and intervention for cognitive development in preterm infants.