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Altered working memory-related brain responses and white matter microstructure in extremely preterm-born children at
Maksym Tokariev1, Virve Vuontela1, Piia Lönnberg2
1Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland; Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Insights
Children born extremely preterm show subtle brain differences impacting working memory and white matter integrity, even without diagnosed deficits. These findings highlight potential challenges for academic success in school-aged preterm individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Preterm birth (<28 weeks gestation) can impact neurocognitive development.
- Children born preterm often face academic expectations despite potential subtle brain function differences.
- Assessing brain function and microstructure is crucial for understanding school-aged preterm children's development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate subtle abnormalities in brain function and white-matter microstructure in school-aged children born extremely preterm.
- To test hypotheses regarding working memory (WM) performance and associated neural activity.
- To examine white-matter integrity differences in relation to cognitive performance.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during working-memory tasks.
- Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to assess white-matter microstructure.
- Comparison between extremely preterm children and age/gender-matched term-born controls.
Main Results:
- Preterm children exhibited lower accuracy in working memory tasks.
- Reduced right prefrontal activation and weaker right temporal lobe deactivation were observed in preterm children.
- Altered white matter microstructure (higher fractional anisotropy, lower diffusivity) was found in preterm children, correlating with cognitive performance.
Conclusions:
- Children born extremely preterm demonstrate altered brain activation patterns during working memory tasks.
- White matter microstructure is different in extremely preterm children, impacting cognitive abilities.
- These findings reveal subtle neurobiological differences in preterm children with normal global cognitive ability.
Abstract:
Preterm birth poses a risk for neurocognitive and behavioral development. Preterm children, who have not been diagnosed with neurological or cognitive deficits, enter normal schools and are expected to succeed as their term-born peers. Here we tested the hypotheses that despite an uneventful development after preterm birth, these children might exhibit subtle abnormalities in brain function and white-matter microstructure at school-age. We recruited 7.5-year-old children born extremely prematurely (<28 weeks' gestation), and age- and gender-matched term-born controls (≥37 weeks' gestation). We applied fMRI during working-memory (WM) tasks, and investigated white-matter microstructure with diffusion tensor imaging. Compared with controls, preterm-born children performed WM tasks less accurately, had reduced activation in several right prefrontal areas, and weaker deactivation of right temporal lobe areas. The weaker prefrontal activation correlated with poorer WM performance. Preterm-born children had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) and lower diffusivity than controls in several white-matter areas, and in the posterior cerebellum, the higher FA associated with poorer visuospatial test scores. In controls, higher FA and lower diffusivity correlated with faster WM performance. Together these findings demonstrate weaker WM-related brain activations and altered white matter microstructure in children born extremely preterm, who had normal global cognitive ability.
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