Influence of body mobility on attention networks in school-aged prematurely born children: A controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Developmental neuroscience
• Cognitive psychology
• Pediatric neurology

Background:

• School-aged prematurely born children (PC) exhibit higher risks of academic difficulties, often linked to attention deficits.
• Children's attentional performance may be modulated by body posture and spontaneous movements.
• Understanding these influences is crucial for developing targeted interventions for PC children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of varying body mobility conditions on attention functions in school-aged PC versus term-born children (TC).
• Specifically, to assess alertness, orienting, and executive control under imposed fixed postures (sitting, standing) and a free-to-move condition.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-one PC and 21 TC children participated in the study (ClinicalTrials.gov - NCT03125447).
• Children performed the Attention Network Test for Children (ANT-C) in three distinct body mobility conditions.
• Median reaction times were analyzed to calculate performance in alertness, orienting, and executive control across conditions.

Main Results:

• Prematurely born children (PC) showed significantly slower responses during executive tasks in a standing-still posture compared to a sitting-still posture when distracting information was present.
• Term-born children (TC) did not exhibit this difference in response times between postures.
• No significant differences in alertness or orienting were found between PC and TC children across any body mobility condition.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest that PC children expend more executive resources to maintain a stable standing posture, which consequently impairs their performance on executive tasks.
• These results may indicate less developed postural control and motor inhibition in prematurely born children.
• Further research into motor-cognitive interactions is warranted for this population.