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Cognitive flexibility in 12-month-old preterm and term infants is associated with neurobehavioural development in

Yuta Shinya1, Masahiko Kawai2, Fusako Niwa2

  • 1Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. shinya@p.u-tokyo.ac.jp.

Scientific Reports
|January 11, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Very preterm infants show delayed oculomotor response shifting, impacting later executive function. Early attention and cognitive development are linked to this infant behavior, highlighting risks for preterm children.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental neuroscience
  • Pediatric neurology
  • Cognitive psychology

Background:

  • Preterm children face higher risks for executive functioning deficits, impacting behavior and attention.
  • Early cognitive flexibility may predict later executive function, but its development and relation to neurobehavioral outcomes in preterm infants are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate oculomotor response shifting in preterm and term infants at 12 months.
  • To examine the relationship between early oculomotor response shifting and later cognitive development and effortful control at 18 months.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study involving 27 preterm and 25 term infants.
  • Oculomotor response shifting assessed at 12 months.
  • General cognitive development and effortful control assessed at 18 months.

Main Results:

  • Very preterm infants showed impaired inhibition of perseverative looking at 12 months compared to moderate-to-late preterm and term infants.
  • Lower inhibition of perseverative looking correlated with poorer general cognitive development and attentional shifting at 18 months.

Conclusions:

  • Atypical oculomotor response shifting in infancy may serve as an early behavioral marker for neurodevelopmental risks in preterm children.
  • These findings suggest potential for early identification of attention-related problems in preterm populations.

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