A comparison of simultaneous and sequential visuo-spatial memory in children born very preterm
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Published on: April 28, 2016
Jenny Retzler1,2, Samantha Johnson3, Madeleine J Groom4
1Department of Psychology, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.
Insights
Children born very preterm may have difficulties with cognitive tasks, especially when information is presented simultaneously under high cognitive demand. This impacts their visuo-spatial memory and information processing abilities.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Children born very preterm (gestation ≤32 weeks) face higher risks of cognitive impairments compared to term-born peers.
- Specific deficits are noted in information processing and visuo-spatial memory, particularly with simultaneous information presentation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare visuo-spatial short-term and working memory performance between very preterm and term-born children.
- To investigate how presentation type (simultaneous vs. sequential) and memory type (short-term vs. working) affect performance in these groups.
Main Methods:
- 113 children (8-11 years) completed four visuo-spatial recall tasks.
- Tasks were designed to vary presentation (simultaneous/sequential) and memory (short-term/working) demands.
- Performance was assessed by the number of locations recalled.
Main Results:
- Both groups performed better on simultaneous than sequential tasks, and on short-term than working memory tasks.
- Term-born children outperformed very preterm children on sequential short-term memory tasks.
- Very preterm children showed deficits in simultaneous working memory tasks, suggesting impaired cognitive resources under high demand.
Conclusions:
- Simultaneous processing itself may not be impaired in very preterm children, but performance degrades under high cognitive load.
- Very preterm birth may reduce available cognitive resources for feature integration, particularly when demands are high.
- Cognitive demand interactions are crucial for understanding very preterm children's challenges and informing educational and clinical support.
Abstract:
Research suggests that children born very preterm (≤32 weeks' gestation) are at greater risk of impairments in information processing (particularly when information is presented simultaneously rather than sequentially) and visuo-spatial short-term and working memory relative to children born at term. This study compared the performance of children born very preterm with their term-born peers to elucidate the nature of group differences in these areas. 113 children (65 very preterm; 48 term-born) aged 8-to-11 years completed four visuo-spatial recall tasks. Tasks varied by presentation type (simultaneous or sequential) and memory type (short-term or working memory). Both groups recalled more locations in simultaneous than sequential tasks, and in short-term than working memory tasks. In short-term memory tasks, children born at term recalled more locations than children born very preterm for the sequential task, but groups did not differ on the simultaneous task. The opposite pattern was observed in the working memory tasks, with no group differences on the sequential task, but better performance on the simultaneous task for children born at term. Our findings indicate that simultaneous processing may not be impaired in children born very preterm per se, with poorer performance observed only under high cognitive demand. This interaction suggests very preterm birth may affect the level of cognitive resources available during feature integration, the consequences of which become apparent when resources are already stretched. The impact of interactions with cognitive demand in this population should be an important consideration for educational support strategies, and for assessment in research and clinic.
