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. 2014;22(6):605-15.
doi: 10.1080/09658211.2013.809765. Epub 2013 Jun 27.

Neonatal brain abnormalities and memory and learning outcomes at 7 years in children born very preterm

Cristina Omizzolo  1 , Shannon E Scratch, Robyn Stargatt, Hiroyuki Kidokoro, Deanne K Thompson, Katherine J Lee, Jeanie Cheong, Jeffrey Neil, Terrie E Inder, Lex W Doyle, Peter J Anderson
Affiliations

Neonatal brain abnormalities and memory and learning outcomes at 7 years in children born very preterm

Cristina Omizzolo et al. Memory. 2014.

Abstract

Using prospective longitudinal data from 198 very preterm and 70 full term children, this study characterised the memory and learning abilities of very preterm children at 7 years of age in both verbal and visual domains. The relationship between the extent of brain abnormalities on neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and memory and learning outcomes at 7 years of age in very preterm children was also investigated. Neonatal MRI scans were qualitatively assessed for global, white-matter, cortical grey-matter, deep grey-matter, and cerebellar abnormalities. Very preterm children performed less well on measures of immediate memory, working memory, long-term memory, and learning compared with term-born controls. Neonatal brain abnormalities, and in particular deep grey-matter abnormality, were associated with poorer memory and learning performance at 7 years in very preterm children. Findings support the importance of cerebral neonatal pathology for predicting later memory and learning function.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between brain injury at term and memory and learning at 7 years. The figure shows the linear regression coefficient and its 95% Confidence Interval (CI), which represents the change in memory and learning outcome per one unit change in brain abnormality score.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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