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Visual Perceptual Skills in Very Preterm Children: Developmental Course and Associations With Neural Activation
Annika Lind1, Riitta Parkkola2, Marja Laasonen3
1Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS), University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Insights
Early nonverbal skills in very preterm children predict later brain activity during visual tasks, suggesting unique developmental pathways. Continued psychological assessment is recommended for these children.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Investigating the long-term effects of prematurity on cognitive and neural development.
- Understanding the relationship between early nonverbal skills and later brain function in very preterm infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between nonverbal skills at age five and visual perception brain activation at age 12 in very preterm children.
- To compare these associations in very preterm children and term-born controls.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study assessing 36 very preterm and 31 term-born children.
- Nonverbal skills assessed at age five using Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised and NEPSY-Second Edition.
- Visual perception tasks and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) conducted at age 12.
Main Results:
- Very preterm children showed poorer nonverbal skills at age five but similar visual perception performance at age 12 compared to controls.
- In very preterm children, better early nonverbal skills correlated with stronger neural activation during visual tasks at age 12.
- No such association was found in the term-born control group.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest potential delayed development or enhanced neural plasticity in the visual perception network of very preterm children.
- Early psychological assessment of nonverbal skills is crucial for the developmental follow-up of very preterm children up to age five.
Background:
The objective of this study was to examine how nonverbal skills at age five years relate to visual perception and brain activation during visual perception tasks at age 12 years in very preterm subjects without visual or other neurodevelopmental impairments or major brain pathologies.
Methods:
At age five years, 36 prematurely born (birth weight ≤1500 g or gestational age less than 32 weeks) and 31 term-born control children were assessed with the nonverbal subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised and the NEPSY-Second Edition. At age 12 years the same children were re-assessed with tasks from the Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Third Edition, during functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Results:
Test performance at age five years was significantly poorer in the very preterm group than the control subjects, but at age 12 years performance was similar in both groups. In the very preterm group, better nonverbal skills at age five years were significantly associated with stronger neural activation during the visual perception task at age 12 years. No associations between nonverbal skills at age five years and brain activation at age 12 years appeared in the control group.
Conclusions:
The associations between better nonverbal skills and stronger neural activation during visual perception task only observed in the very preterm group may reflect delayed development of the visual perception network and/or prematurity-related neural plasticity. The developmental follow-up of very preterm children should include psychological assessment of nonverbal skills at least until age five years.
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