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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol
Published on: February 18, 2012
Parietal thickness predicts middle temporal area (V5) motion responses in 7-year-old children born very preterm
Linda Nguyen1, Andrew E Silva1, Tanya Poppe2
1School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, 200 Columbia St W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
Insights
Parietal cortical thickness in very preterm children may indicate dorsal visual stream development. Thinner cortices correlated with stronger brain responses to global motion, suggesting a structural basis for processing differences.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Very preterm birth is linked to brain development alterations.
- Impaired global motion processing is observed in the dorsal visual stream of these children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if cortical thickness in occipital and parietal regions predicts global motion processing.
- To explore the structural basis of visual processing differences in very preterm children.
Main Methods:
- Structural MRI was used to measure cortical thickness in 99 very preterm children.
- Global motion processing was assessed using motion coherence thresholds.
- Functional MRI (BOLD) measured brain activity in visual cortex areas (V1, V5) in 23 participants.
Main Results:
- Parietal cortical thickness predicted V5 BOLD response to coherent motion.
- Thinner parietal cortices were associated with stronger V5 BOLD responses.
Conclusions:
- Parietal thickness may be a structural indicator of dorsal stream development.
- Findings provide a structural basis for understanding individual differences in global motion processing in very preterm children.
Abstract:
Very preterm birth has been associated with altered brain development and impaired global motion processing within the dorsal visual stream. We explored whether cortical thickness in occipital and parietal regions predicted global motion processing in 7-year-old children born very preterm. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures were successfully computed for 99 children, motion coherence thresholds were evaluated in 85 participants and functional MRI blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) percent signal change in the primary visual cortex (V1) and/or middle temporal area (V5) was quantifiable in 23 participants. Parietal cortical thickness predicted V5 BOLD response to 100% coherent motion stimuli, where individuals with thinner parietal cortices had stronger V5 BOLD responses to coherent motion. These findings indicate that parietal thickness may serve as a structural indicator of dorsal stream development in children born very preterm and provide a structural basis for understanding individual differences in global motion processing.
