Brain Damage and Visuospatial Impairments: Exploring Early Structure-Function Associations in Children Born Very...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Assessing early neurodevelopment in extremely preterm infants is crucial.
• Understanding the link between brain structure and function is key for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between early structural brain damage and functional visuospatial attention and motion processing in very preterm children.
• To evaluate these functions from one to two years corrected age.

Main Methods:

• 112 children born before 32 weeks gestational age underwent MRI scans for brain damage assessment.
• Visuospatial attention and motion processing were evaluated using eye-tracking at one and two years corrected age.
• Standardized MRI scoring and Tobii T60XL eye-tracking system were utilized.

Main Results:

• Moderate to severe brain damage correlated with slower visuospatial reaction times at one year.
• At one year corrected age, 10% of infants had delayed attentional and 23% delayed motion reaction times.
• While reaction times improved by two years, 20% still showed attentional and 35% motion processing delays, with structural damage linked to abnormal function.

Conclusions:

• Moderate to severe brain damage is associated with visuospatial attention and motion processing deficits in very preterm infants at one year.
• This study emphasizes the value of comprehensive MRI scoring and quantitative functional assessments in very preterm children.
• Findings offer insights into neurodevelopmental outcomes and inform early intervention strategies.