Association between cortical thickness and cognitive ability in very preterm school-age children

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Radiology

Background:

• Very preterm birth (before 32 weeks gestation) is associated with cognitive impairments.
• Cognitive function is linked to brain morphometry, particularly cortical thickness.
• The relationship between brain structure and higher-order cognitive function in preterm children requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore neurodevelopmental associations between brain structural changes and cognitive abilities in very preterm and full-term children.
• To investigate the relationship between cortical thickness and cognitive function in 6-year-old children.

Main Methods:

• Cortical thickness was measured in 37 very preterm and 24 full-term children using T1-weighted MRI and Advanced Normalization Tools.
• Associations between cortical thickness and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children scores were analyzed using regression analysis.

Main Results:

• Very preterm children displayed significant differences in cortical thickness compared to full-term children.
• Cortical thickness variations were associated with cognitive abilities in specific brain regions for both groups.
• Perceptual reasoning indices showed broad correlations with cortical thickness across all children.

Conclusions:

• Brain structural differences, specifically cortical thickness, are evident in very preterm children and relate to cognitive function.
• Cortical thickness may serve as a potential biomarker for predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes and diagnosing high-order cognitive function deficits.