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[Neuromotor and cognitive development of high-risk newborn infants at 5 years of age]
A Legner1, U Pauli-Pott, D Beckmann
1Abteilung Medizinische Psychologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität, Giessen.
Insights
Children with perinatal neurological risk, even with favorable neuromotor development, show lower concentration and verbal skills compared to healthy peers. Their performance IQ remains comparable, indicating specific cognitive deficits.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neuroscience
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Perinatal neurological risk can impact child development.
- Neuromotoric development trajectories vary among at-risk children.
- Understanding cognitive outcomes in these children is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare cognitive development in 5-year-olds with perinatal neurological risk and healthy controls.
- To investigate specific developmental courses within at-risk subgroups.
- To identify cognitive deficits despite favorable neuromotor development.
Main Methods:
- Stratification of 5-year-olds with perinatal neurological risk into subgroups based on neuromotor development.
- Comparison between a subgroup with favorable neuromotor development and a healthy control group.
- Assessment of neuromotor and cognitive development, including concentration and verbal competence.
Main Results:
- Children with perinatal neurological risk and favorable neuromotor development performed significantly worse on a concentration test than controls.
- Deficits were also observed in verbal competence among the at-risk subgroup.
- Performance IQ levels were comparable between the at-risk subgroup and the control group.
Conclusions:
- Favorable neuromotor development at age 5 does not preclude cognitive deficits in children with perinatal neurological risk.
- Specific areas like concentration and verbal skills are vulnerable.
- Early identification and targeted interventions are essential for at-risk children.
Abstract:
A group of 5-year-old children bearing a perinatal neurological risk is divided into subgroups according to the specific courses of their neuromotoric development. Then comparison is made between two of the subgroups consisting of children with a favourable neuromotoric development at the age of 5 and a control-group of healthy born children with regard to the neuromotoric as well as the cognitive development. As a result the children of the two subgroups, whose neuromotoric development in the age of five was comparable to that of the control group, showed a significantly lower performance on a concentration test than those of the control group. Additionally there is also a deficiency within the scope of verbal competence, whereas the level of the performance IQ of the children with perinatal neurological risk is quite comparable with that of the children of the control group.