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Visual attention control differences in 12-month-old preterm infants
Michelle Downes1, David Kelly2, Kayleigh Day3
1School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland; Developmental Neurosciences,UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
Insights
Very preterm infants show early attention control differences compared to full-term peers. Lower gestational age correlates with poorer attention fixation and slower processing, indicating potential executive function challenges.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Preterm birth is linked to executive function deficits in older children, impacting academic success.
- Early markers of executive function in preterm infants remain understudied.
- Attention control is a crucial component of executive function with early developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate early attention control development in very preterm infants (born <30 weeks gestation).
- To compare attention control in 12-month-old age-corrected preterm infants with full-term infants.
- To identify potential early indicators of executive function differences in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Utilized eye-tracking methodology to objectively measure attention control.
- Recruited healthy 12-month-old age-corrected infants born very preterm and a full-term control group.
- Assessed target fixation, processing speed, inhibition of return, and interference control.
Main Results:
- Preterm infants demonstrated reduced time focused on targets and slower attention fixation.
- Lower gestational age was significantly associated with poorer target fixation and slower processing speed.
- No significant group differences were found for inhibition of return or interference control.
Conclusions:
- Eye-tracking reveals specific emerging deficits in attention control for very preterm infants at 12 months corrected age.
- These attention control differences may precede measurable deficits on standardized developmental scales like the Bayley Scales.
- Early identification of attention control challenges in preterm infants is possible and warrants further investigation for long-term outcomes.
Abstract:
There have been few previous attempts to assess the development of early markers of executive function in infants born preterm despite well-established deficits reported for older preterm children that have been closely linked to poorer academic functioning. The present study investigates early attention control development in healthy 12-month-old age-corrected pre-term infants who were born less than 30 weeks and compares their performance to full-term infants. Eye-tracking methodology was used to measure attention control. Preterm Infants spent less time focused on the target and were slower to fixate attention, with lower gestational age associated with poorer target fixation and slower processing speed. There were no significant group differences observed for inhibition of return or interference control. These findings suggest that specific emerging deficits in attention control may be observed using eye tracking methodology in very preterm infants at this early stage of development, despite scores within the average range on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.
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